Vietnam-Path

Vietnam was in French Indochina. In the late 1800s Vietnam was a French colony. Ho Chi Minh led a communist revolt against the French gov't in the 30s. The French arrested him, then he went to China and then the Soviet Union. Ho Chi was Vietnam's freedom leader. In the 40s the Japanese took over Vietnam then Ho Chi led a gorilla war against Japan. After WWII the French take over Vietnam again. Ho Chi then created the Vietminh party to liberate the country. They declared independence in 1945. The Vietminh defeated the French after a nine year war in North Vietnam, and they established a communist gov't there. After the Korean War Vietnam is temporarily split, but there will be free elections in 1956 to unite the country. The elections do not happen. There is a civil war between the communists in the North, and the Americans in the South.

Five Presidents were related to the war. Truman was all about containment and he sent military aid to French troops so they could keep their colonies in Indochina. Eisenhower thought that if one country fell to communism, others would too, just like dominoes. He helped creat a puppet state in South Vietnam when he sent military advisors to help in the South. Ngo Dinh Diem becomes the leader of South Vietnam. He is very corrupt and there are no free elections held. JFK does not like Ngo and he supports an overthrow of Ngo in 1963, where Ngo is killed. JFK doesn't want to be soft on communism, so he kept sending advisors to Vietnam. LBJ becomes the next president, and he really commits the US to the war in Vietnam. He sends a few more advisors but he doesn't want to escalade the war.

Everything "comes to a head" at the Gulf of Tonkin. US Marine ships go there for reasons unknown. Vietnamese shot at the ships. Johnson wants to do anything that is necessary to protect US forces from the Vietnamese. Congress gives him this in the Golf of Tonkin Resolution. The president can wage war on Vietnam without declaring war, and he ends up gaining a lot of power. Wayne Morse and Ernest something were the only two men in senate that opposeed the Golf of Tonkin Resolution.

LBJ says that they only want to defend themselves, but in Oper. Rolling Thunder, the US drops tons of bombs on North Vietnam. In 1965 US ground troops were sent to Vietnam. The goal was to fight a war of attrition. Next, it was pacification- the US wanted to win over the Vietnamese people. Then, the US wanted to relocate the effected areas of Vietnam. At first Americans supported the war, but when LBJ is president, many more troops are sent to Vietnam. LBJ said the position of the US was the same as before.