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Ho Chi Minh is born
He led the independence movement in Vietnam. He was a communist leader. He also formed the Viet Minh -
Vietnam declares independence from France, but neither France nor the United States recognizes Vietnam as a separate nation
North Vietnam wants to be recognized as a separate nation and they want their government system to be communism. However it took 30 more years to be recognized as a fully communist country. -
President Eisenhower declares "Domino Theory"
This is the theory that if one nation falls to communism others around it will fall to communism. They believed Vietnam was going to be the one to fall and the others would follow. This was the rear of communism throughout Asia. -
The Viet Minh and Ho Chi Minh defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu
The U.S. helped the French by supplying money and equipment to them. The U.S. With the Geneva Accords, the French were out of Vietnam. -
The Geneva Accords cause Vietnam to be split into North and South
The nation is divided at the 17th parallel. The North was communist and the leader was Ho Chi Minh. The leader of the South was Ngo Dinh Diem. -
Ngo Dinh Diem cancels election in Vietnam
He decided to cancel the election because he knew that the majority of the South didn't support him. They were voting on bringing North and South Vietnam together as one country. The North wanted to bring the country together under communism. -
The National Liberation Front is formed
They were also known as the Vietcong. They occupied South Vietnam. The Viet Minh and Ho Chi Minh were in the North while the Vietcong were in the South. -
The United Stated withdraws support of Ngo Dinh Diem, leader of South Vietnam
After this happened he was assassinated on November 2nd 1963, 20 days before JFK will be assassianted. -
A South Vietnamese monk set himself on fire
He was a Buddhist monk in South Vietnam. He was protesting persecution by Ngo Dinh Diem. People knew what he was going to do and gathered in the streets. -
President Kennedy is assassinated, leading to the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson.
If he lived, the United States would not have gotten as involved in Vietnam. He was about to go into the reelection and had public support. He also supported civil rights movements. -
President Johnson claims that a U.S. ship had been fired upon by the North Vietnamese.
The ship was the USS Maddox. His response is to send troops to Vietnam. He wanted to send troops to Vietnam but he couldn't without a cause. It was possible with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. -
The first combat troops arrive in Vietnam
The U.S. first send military advisers to Vietnam in September of 1950. It took them 15 more years to sent combat troops over.
