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Paris Peace Conference/Accords
1919 the event at which the Allies met to discuss the fate of Europe after the end of WWI (the Central Powers were not allowed to participate in negotiations and Russia couldn't attend because of civil war) -
Fulbright Commission
Senator J.William Fulbright: In 1954, he was the only Senator to vote against an appropriation for the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Senator Joseph R. McCarthy; and, in 1961, he lodged serious objections to President Kennedy in advance of the Bay of Pigs invasion. Fulbright Program: authorized the U.S. Secretary of State to enter into executive agreements with foreign governments to manage the funds derived from the sale of war property through educational programs. -
Dien Bien Phu
Vietminh rebels besieged a French garrison at Dien Bien Phu, deep in the interior of northern Vietnam. In May, after the United States refused to intervene, Dien Bien Phu fell to the communists.
(13 March – 7 May 1954) -
Geneva Accords
Temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel on July 21st, 1954; kicked french out and called for a referendum in two years.
Control of the north: Ho Chi Minh.
Control of the south: the state of Vietnam
Created: Laos and Cambodia -
Gulf of Tonkin
President Lyndon B. Johnson incorrectly claimed that North Vietnamese forces had twice attacked American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed by U.S. Congress on August 7, 1964 in direct response to a minor naval engagement known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. It is of historical significance because it gave U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson authorization, without a formal declaration of war by Congress, for the use of military force in Southeast Asia. -
Tonkin Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was a joint resolution of the U.S. Congress passed on August 7, 1964 in direct response to a minor naval engagement known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. It is of historical significance because it gave U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson authorization, without a formal declaration of war by Congress, for the use of military force in Southeast Asia. -
Tet Offensive
National Liberation Front and North Vietnamese forces launched a huge attack on the Vietnamese New Year (Tet), which was defeated after a month of fighting and many thousands of casualties; major defeat for communism, but Americans reacted sharply, with declining approval of LBJ and more anti-war sentiment
January 30 1968-September 23 1968 -
My Lai Massacre
An American patrol entered the village of My Lai on a search and destroy mission.They killed women, men, children and babies, many women were raped before they were murdered. Led by Lieutenant William Calley, 347 people were killed. The raid was kept private for a year but was exposed by journalists and a soldier who heard rumors of the massacre. Calley, was the only soldier convicted of murder. In 1971 he was sentenced to life imprisonment but served less than four years, Nixon pardoned him. -
Vietnamization
Americans fighting ground war A war policy in Vietnam initiated by Nixon in June of 1969. This strategy called for dramatic reduction of U.S. troops followed by an increased injection of S. Vietnamese troops in their place. This policy became the cornerstone of the so-called "Nixon Doctrine". As applied to Vietnam, it was labeled "Victimization".This involved a gradual withdrawal of American troops and replacement of them with South Vietnamese forces. -
Invasion of Cambodia
Nixon ordered troops into Cambodia to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail and other supply lines used by North Vietnam, even though Cambodia was neutral. In 1970, he ordered air and ground strikes in Cambodia. This is the most controversial act of his to end the Vietnam War. -
Daniel Ellsberg
a former American military analyst employed by the RAND Corporation who precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers -
Pentagon Papers
1971, Daniel Ellsburg released the Pentagon papers that were created by the U.S. Defense Department, which had all the information about the relations of Vietnam from 1945-1967. Nixon tried to stop the spread of the document, but it was against the Constitution to do so since it went against the first amendment. Nixon then tried to throw Ellsburg in jail saying it was against the Espionage act but the judge called off the trial. This created tensions between the government and its people. -
Christmas Bombing
the heaviest and most destructive air raids of the entire war on North Vietnam, civilian casualties were high
Dec 18, 1972 – Dec 29, 1972 -
War Powers Act
In effort to reduce the presidential ability to involve the U.S. in undeclared war. It was put into place to insure that the collective judgement of both congress and the president will be given before US enters into war -
The Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period leading to the formal reunification of Vietnam into a socialist republic, governed by the Communist Party of Vietnam.
