US involvement in Vietnam

  • Eisenhower (Jan.20th 1953-Jan. 20 1961):

  • 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.
  • Geneva Accords

    A peace agreement that divided Vietnam into Communist-controlled North Vietnam and non-Communist South Vietnam until unification elections could be held in 1956
  • Bay of Pigs Invasion

    Cuban exiles launched what became a botched invasion at the Bay of Pigs on the south coast of Cuba. In 1959, Fidel Castro came to power in an armed revolt that overthrew Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.
  • Tonkin Resolution

    Authority granted by congress to President Johnson in 1964 to approve and support in advance.
    (gave President Johnson power to wage war in Southeast Asia)
  • Gulf of 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
  • My Lai Massacre

    American troops had brutally massacred innocent women and children in the village of My
    Lai, also led to more opposition to the war.
  • 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.
  • Vietnamization

    Nixon's policy that involved withdrawing 540,000 US troops from South Vietnam over an extended period of time. It also included a gradual take over of the South Vietnamese taking responsibility of fighting their own war by American-provided money, weapons, training, and advice.
  • Fulbright Commision

    Created by a treaty signed by both countries (US & UK) It is a non-profit organisation based in London, UK. Its aim is to foster mutual cultural understanding through educational exchange between both nations.
  • Pentagon Papers

    During the Vietnam War, Daniel Ellsberg leaked confidential information to the press. These Pentagon Papers revealed that the government had kept information about the war from Congress and the public. At first Nixon tried to block New York Times from pub- lishing the information, but Congress ruled that the papers have the constitutional right to publish any information they have. The Pentagon Papers caused Americans to believe that the U.S. may lose the War in Vietnam.
  • 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
  • Christmas Bombing

    US Seventh Air Force and US Navy Task Force 77 aerial bombing. Conducted against targets in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam during the final period of US involvemnt in the Vietnam War.
  • Paris Peace Conference/Accords

    Intended to establish peace in Vietnam and an end to the Vietnam Conflict; ended direct U.S. military involvement and temporarily stopped the fighting between north and south. Cease-fire agreement where the US agreed to withdraw their troops from South Vietnam.
  • War Powers Act

    Federal law intended to check the president powers to commit the United States to an armed conflict
  • Fall of Saigon

    The capture of Saigon, the Capital of South Vietnam.