The Vietnam war

1. The Vietnam war By: Kaleb Sargent

2. Vietnam was controlled by the French, but as the spread of communism occurred better known as “The Red Scare” the united states got involved. The Domino theory is a major part in why the United Stats got involved. The United states was worried that if Southern Vietnam fell to communism that it would start a chain reaction causing other countries such as Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaya, Indonesia, Burma, and even India. In 1954 the French lost total control over Northern Vietnam. Vietnam separated in half because of the Geneva agreement. The beginning

3. In 1964 two U.S. ships were attacked by Northern Vietnam gun boats. In defense The American senate gave President Johnson the power to give any help to a country who is fighting for their freedom. In March of 1965 the First U.S. ground troops were sent to Vietnam. Bombing in Northern Vietnam had already been going on as “Operation “Rolling Thunder” By December of 1965 there were over 150,000 U.S. Troops stationed in that country. The Beginning continued

4. Anti-communists. South Korea, U.S., South Vietnam, Australia, the Philippines, New Zealand, Thailand, Khmer Republic, Laos. Communist supporters. North Vietnam, NLF, Khmer Rouge, Pathet Lao, North Korea, The peoples public of China, Soviet Union, and Cuba Countries that were involved in the Vietnam war.

5. Leaders during Vietnam • President Johnson was the United States of America’s President during the beginning of the ground invasion in Vietnam. He was the President During the Gulf of Tonkin attack which plunged U.S. forces into the Vietnam war. During his presidency he issued air strikes in Northern Vietnam territory. He also was President during the Tet Offensive, which was attacks on Major Southern Vietnam cities. President Johnson would not take the democratic re-nomination for president. • President Nixon was the President of the United states near the middle and end of the war. He wanted to use a method referred to as “Vietnamization”, this was a tactic to train South Vietnam soldiers to fight against the Northern Vietnamese while slowly pulling out the American troops.

6. Leaders during Vietnam • Ho Chi Minh was a Prime minister and President of Northern Vietnam. He was a key figure in the formation of Northern Vietnam. He was inspired by the Russian Revolution in 1924 and wanted to liberate Vietnam from the control of the French. He eventually succeeded in separating Northern Vietnam from France but did not get full control of the Southern part of Vietnam, which was still under a huge French influence. He died midway through the war in 1969.

7. The Tet Offensive • The Tet Offensive was an attack on major cities in South Vietnam. This was the turning point in the war because South Vietnam began to fall to the overwhelming power of the North. • The fall of Saigon was part of the Tet Offensive. The fall of Saigon was the overwhelming factor that caused South Vietnam to be taking over by communist North Vietnam.

8. In October of 1972 President Nixon’s security advisor, Henry Kissinger, who had a secret peace agreement with Le Duc Tho from North Vietnam. With The U.S. leaving southeast Asia, it left South Vietnam practically defenseles. This led to Vietnam becoming communist. Thus America got out of the illegal war that they had gotten themselves into by wanting to protect another country’s freedom to help prevent the spread of communism. Concluding Vietnam.

9. Work cited. • Eggman, Phill. "Hippies Views on the War in Vietnam." Hippiesviews. 2 May 1999. Web. 1 Nov. 2011. <http://hippieviews.com/hippie-views-of-the-vietnam-war>. • Learn History. 30 Oct. 2009. Web. 1 Nov. 2011. <http://www.learnhistory.org.uk/vietnam/reasons.htm>. • Morris, Jill. "The Presidents during the Vietnam War." 2 July 2002. Web. 1 Nov. 2011. <http://personal.ashland.edu/~jmoser1/usfp/morris.htm>. • Why Did the U.S.A Get Involved in Vietnam. 5 Mar. 2001. Web. 1 Nov. 2011. <http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/gcselinks/britishworld/vietnam/getinvolved.pdf>.