-
Creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh, leader of the Viet Minh, declares independence from French colonial rule as he announces the formation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Democratic Republic of Vietnam initiated a "correction campaign" which by 1958 had resulted in the return of land to many of those harmed by the land reform. -
Creation of the 17th parallel between North and South Vietnam
The Geneva Accords establish North and South Vietnam with the 17th parallel as the dividing line. The agreement also stipulates that elections are to be held within two years to unify Vietnam under a single democratic government. -
Period: to
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu began in mid-March and ended in early May 1954. In the end, of the 16,000 French troops, fewer than 100 broke through the siege at Dien Bien Phu, with the rest killed, wounded, or captured. The defeat was a complete rout for the French. -
Establishment of the National Liberation Front
National Liberation Front (NLF), formally National Front for the Liberation of the South, Vietnamese Mat-Tran Dan-Toc Giai-Phong Mien-Nam, Vietnamese political organization formed on December 20, 1960, to effect the overthrow of the South Vietnamese government and the reunification of North and South Vietnam. -
Gulf of Tonkin Incident and 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. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
The operation became the most intense air/ground battle waged during the Cold War period; it was the most difficult such campaign fought by the United States.Operation Rolling Thunder was a frequently interrupted bombing campaign that began on 24 February 1965 and lasted until the end of October 1968. During this period U.S. Air Force and Navy aircraft engaged in a bombing campaign designed to force Ho Chi Minh to abandon his ambition to take over South Vietnam, -
US combat troops arrive in Vietnam
3,500 Marines of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade arrived in Da Nang to protect the U.S. airbase there from Viet Cong attacks. -
Tet Offensive
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, children and old men—in the village of My Lai on March 16, 1968. More than 500 people were slaughtered in the My Lai massacre, including young girls and women who were raped and mutilated before being killed -
Period: to
1968 Democratic National Convention
On this day in 1968, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, tens of thousands of Vietnam War protesters battle police in the streets, while the Democratic Party falls apart over an internal disagreement concerning its stance on Vietnam. -
1968 Presidential Election
The Republican nominee, former vice president Richard Nixon, defeated both the Democratic nominee, incumbent vice president Hubert Humphrey, and the American Independent Party nominee, former Alabama governor George Wallace. Presidential election results map -
Tinker v. Des Moines
On Feb. 24, 1969, the court ruled 7-2 that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” The Court took the position that school officials could not prohibit only on the suspicion that the speech might disrupt the learning environment. -
Period: to
Woodstock 1969
The festival was meant to only last three days, but bad weather and traffic jams caused many delays and performances were pushed late into the night each night and early into the morning, finishing up on Monday, August 18th. Woodstock was organized by four inexperienced promoters who managed to sign rock acts that included Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, the Who, and the Grateful Dead. -
Kent State University Protest
members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students -
Jackson State College Protest
On May 15, 1970, the police opened fire shortly after midnight on students (and passersby) in a May 14 protest of the U.S. invasion of Cambodia during the Vietnam War at Jackson State College in Mississippi. -
Pentagon Papers
The Pentagon Papers revealed that the U.S. had secretly enlarged the scope of its actions in the Vietnam War with coastal raids on North Vietnam and Marine Corps attacks—none of which were reported in the mainstream media. -
Watergate
The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual attempts to cover up its involvement in the June 17, 1972 break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Washington, D.C., Watergate Office Building. -
1973 Paris Peace Accords
The Paris Peace Accords End Direct Combat Role of United States in the Vietnam War. In January of 1973 the Paris Peace Accords were signed after four years of negotiations, with the intent to establish peace in Vietnam and end the war. The Accords were signed by the United States, and North and South Vietnam. -
United States vs. Nixon
The President cannot shield himself from producing evidence in a criminal prosecution based on the doctrine of executive privilege, although it is valid in other situations. -
Fall of Saigon
On April 30, 1975, the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese Army, effectively ending the Vietnam War. In the days before, U.S. forces evacuated thousands of Americans and South Vietnamese.