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Domino Theory coined
Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower described the theory during a news conference on 7 April 1954. The theory described that if one country became communist, all of the other countries around it would quickly fall to communism as well. -
Geneva Accords
A conference that aimed to settle issues from The Korean War and the First Indochina War. France resolved to pull their troops out of Vietnam. -
Assassination of Diem
On 1 November 1963, Ngô Đình Diệm, the president of South Vietnam, was arrested and assassinated in a successful coup d'état led by General Dương Văn Minh. This event was a beginning point for the Vietnam War. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
It stated that "Congress approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repeal any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent any further aggression." It basically justified U.S involvement in Vietnam without being at war. -
LBJ ordered 1st troops to Vietnam
In response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident of August 2 and 4, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson deployed 3,500 U.S troops, escalating the Vietnam Conflict. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a coordinated series of attacks by the North Vietnamese on important cities. It was a turning point in the war. -
My Lai Massacre
The Mỹ Lai massacre was the mass murder of unarmed South Vietnamese civilians by United States troops in Sơn Tịnh District, South Vietnam, on 16 March 1968 during the Vietnam War. The event was an example of the brutality of the Vietnam War. -
Nixon’s Vietnamization policy
A policy by Richard Nixon that involved gradually removing U.S troops from Vietnam. -
Nixon sends troops into Cambodia
Enhancing the destruction, in April 1970, President Nixon ordered United States troops to occupy parts of Cambodia. Nixon claimed that the soldiers were protecting the United States' withdrawal from South Vietnam. -
Kent State shooting
The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre and the Kent State massacre, were the killings of four and wounding of nine other unarmed Kent State University students by the Ohio National Guard on May 4, 1970, in Kent, Ohio, 40 mi south of Cleveland. -
Hard Hat Riot
The Hard Hat Riot occurred on May 8, 1970, in New York City. It started around noon when around 400 construction workers and around 800 office workers attacked around 1,000 demonstrators affiliated with the student strike of 1970. This event showed that the American public was largely opposed to the Vietnam war. -
Nixon’s Christmas bombing
From Dec 18, 1972 – Dec 29, 1972, Nixon launched a plan to bomb Vietnam repeatedly to end the stalemate. The attacks caused North Vietnam to resume peace negotiations. -
Paris Peace Accords
The Paris Peace Accords, officially the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam, was a peace treaty signed on January 27, 1973, to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War. -
War Powers Act
The War Powers Resolution is a federal law intended to check the U.S. president's power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of the U.S. Congress. -
Saigon Falls
The city of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese, marking the end of the Vietnam War and the victory for the Communist Party.