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Ho Chi Minh is born
He would go on to lead the Vietnam independence movement and created the Vietminh. He is important because he created the Communist party and Vietminh, which would later take control over the northern part of Vietnam making him the leader of North Vietnam. -
Vietnam declares independence from France, but neither France nor the United States recognize Vietnam as a separate nation
The Vietminh launched an attack against the French in Hanoi on December 19, 1945. This was significant because it began the first Indochina war, which was the war before the Vietnam war. -
The Geneva Accords cause Vietnam to be split into North and South
Vietnam was split along the 17 parallel. The importance of the Geneva Accords and the splitting of Vietnam was it ended the French influence and first Indochina war and set the base for the Vietnam War. -
President Eisenhower declares "Domino Theory."
The idea behind the Domino Theory was about countries in danger of having a Communist takeover as one goes the one next to it will follow much like dominoes, and how Vietnam was one of those countries. The importance was it allowed the US to increase and justify its involvement in the Vietnam War. -
The Vietminh and Ho Chi Minh defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu
The US responded to the defeat by jumping in and taking over the fight which would last for 20 years. This is significant because it was the turning point in Indochina. -
Ngo Dinh Diem cancels elections in Vietnam
Ngo Dinh Diem knew Ho Chi Minh would win popular support in the election. This is significant because the communist no longer has a way to reunify Vietnam so they turn to military force into order to reunite South Vietnam with the North. -
The National Liberation Front is formed
The National Liberation Front was known as the Viet Cong and they occupied South Vietnam. The Viet Cong were important as they were the allies of North Vietnam who sought to conquer and reunited Vietnam as a communist state. -
A South Vietnamese monk sets himself on fire
The man belonged to Buddhism. He did this to protest against the South Vietnamese government under Ngo Dinh Diem. This was important because it got the United States' attention on the cruel actions of the South Vietnamese government run by Ngo Dinh Diem. -
The United States withdraws support of Ngo Dinh Diem, leader of South Vietnam
After he lost US support he was overthrown and assassinated. It was significant because the hatred towards Ngo Dinh Diem led to the rise of the Viet Cong in South Vietnam. -
President Kennedy is assassinated, leading to the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson
If JFK had still been alive at the time, the United States would've not got involved in Vietnam and allowed them to figure things out on their own. Kennedy's assassination that led to Lyndon's presidency was significant because this allowed a numberous amount of legalization to be passed through Congress. -
President Johnson claims a U.S. ship had been fired upon by the North Vietnamese
The name of the ship that was attacked was USS Maddox. The response to this incident was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This was important because the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave President Lyndon B. Johnson the unlimited military power to fight against "communist aggression" in Vietnam. -
The first combat troops arrive in Vietnam
The first military advisors the United States sent was in September of 1950. This was significant since it was the start of the United States involvement in the Vietnam War.
