Path+to+War


 * =**VIETNAM - THE PATH TO WAR **=

You all know that the United States was involved in a major military conflict during the Cold War ... but why? What was America's "path to war"? Using the resources below and Creating America, your task this evening is to write a description in YOUR OWN WORDS of the causes of American involvement in Southeast Asia. Pretend you are writing it as a summary for on online encyclopedia or textbook. Your description should ...


 * be between two and four paragraphs
 * contain the following terms - France, Ho Chi Minh, communism, Ngo Dinh Diem, military advisors, Gulf of Tonkin
 * be IN YOUR OWN WORDS (remember, it's easy to check this online)
 * contain two images THAT RELATE TO YOUR WRITING
 * Should end with the first Marines landing in Vietnam in 1965

Need some help? How about ... //Creating America// [|Into Vietnam (Overview)] from ABC-CLIO [|**Vietnam War** - the **Causes**] [|Timeline of the Vietnam War] [|Vietnam Online Timeline] Causes of the Vietnam War video below

France was officially defeated in Vietnam in the battle of Dien Bien Phu; after the battle, the Geneva Conference was held to create international peace. This conference drew a temporary dividing line across Vietnam at the 17th parallel. The French and their allies would move to the south while the communists would rule in the north. Then the whole country would reunite and choose a government to rule the whole reunited Vietnam in 1956.

Diem, the prime minister of South Vietnam, didn't allow the scheduled vote in 1956 to occur, believing that the popularity of Ho Chi Minh would lead to a Communist win in the election. They decided to go back to war to reunite Vietnam, since the elections were cancelled and the peace agreement had been broken. Diem asked for American assistance and military advisors in this fight, and Eisenhower gave it to him.

The Democratic govt. of South Vietnam was corrupt, weak, and very unpopular. The ARVN followed suit. Communist warriors surrounded both sides of the 17th parallel, and even though the ARVN outnumbered the communist forces 10 to 1, they couldn't hold them back.

Lyndon Johnson announced that the USS Maddox was put through an unprovoked attack by North Vietnam forces at the Gulf of Tonkin, and Congress granted him the authority to do whatever it takes to defend the US troops in Vietnam. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964) approved US involvement in Vietnam. By early 1965, Johnson had agreed to participating in bombing missions in North Vietnam. In March 1965, US troops had been sent and landed in Vietnam. ||