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Domino Theory coined- Eisenhower
One of the most famous Cold War phrases when he suggests the fall of French Indochina to the communists could create a “domino” effect in Southeast Asia. This was the basis for the US strategy of containment and the reason for entering the Vietnam War. -
Geneva Accords
As part of the agreement, the French agreed to withdraw their troops from northern Vietnam.Vietnam would be temporarily divided at the 17th parallel, pending elections within two years to choose a president and reunite the country. The purpose was to resolve to war between the french and the DRV -
Assassination of Diem
General Dương Văn Minh assassinated Diem on November 1st 1963. His brutal treatment of the opposition to his regime alienated the South Vietnamese populace, notably Buddhists. In 1963 he was murdered during a coup d'état by some of his generals. -
LBJ ordered 1st troops to Vietnam
The United States first deployed troops to Vietnam in 1965 in the purpose was to respond to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident of August 2 and 4, 1964. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing President Johnson to take any measures he believed were necessary to retaliate and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam. The offensive was an attempt to foment rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back its involvement in the Vietnam War. -
My Lai Massacre
A company of American soldiers brutally killed most of the people—women, children and old men—in the village of My Lai on March 16, 1968. It occurred when Charlie Company was ordered to enter the village for a search and destroy mission. -
Nixon’s Vietnamization policy
President Nixon believed his Vietnamization strategy, which involved building up South Vietnam's armed forces and withdrawing U.S. troops, would prepare the South Vietnamese to act in their own defense against a North Vietnamese takeover and allow the United States to leave Vietnam with its honor intact. -
Nixon sends troops into Cambodia
He announced his decision to launch American forces into Cambodia with the special objective of capturing COSVN, "the headquarters of the entire communist military operation in South Vietnam." Nixon's speech on national television on 30 April 1970 was called "vintage Nixon" by Kissinger. -
Hard Hat Riot
The students were protesting the May 4 Kent State shootings and the Vietnam War, following the April 30 announcement by President Richard Nixon of the U.S. invasion of neutral Cambodia. -
Kent State shooting
The incident marked the first time that a student had been killed in an anti-war gathering in United States history. Twenty-eight National Guard soldiers fired approximately 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis.
Indeed, the Kent State shooting remains symbolic of the division in public opinion about war in general, and the Vietnam War specifically. -
Nixon's Christmas Bombing
President Richard Nixon ordered plans for retaliatory bombings of North Vietnam after talks to end the war in Vietnam broke down December 13, 1972. Operation Linebacker II, otherwise known as the “Christmas Bombings,” began December 18 and lasted for two weeks. -
Paris Peace Accords
Was a peace treaty signed on January 27, 1973, to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War. 4 years of negotiations with the intent to establish peace in Vietnam and end the war. -
War Powers Act
A congressional resolution designed to limit the U.S. president's ability to initiate or escalate military actions abroad. As part of our system of governmental “checks and balances,” the law aims to check the executive branch's power. Ended the war. Veto over President Nixon. -
Saigon Falls
The phrase 'the fall of Saigon' refers to the takeover of the city by the Viet Cong two years later on 30 April 1975. This was to reduce the population of Saigon which had become over crowded during the war.