Chapter 29 Section 1 Notes

Second Half“Kennedy and Foreign Policy”–

“Conflict in Vietnam”

Vietnam After World War II- For centuries the Vietnamese

were dominated by China

- French Indochina – colony of France since late 1800s that included Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia

- Vietnamese fought French rule, under the leadership of the Communist leader, Ho Chi Minh

- during World War II Japan took over Vietnam

- Ho Chi Minh formed the Viet Minh to fight the Japanese and received aid from the United States for doing so

- after the Japanese surrendered to end WWII, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam independent, France returned to regain their old colony

- both Presidents Truman and Eisenhower gave France aid to fight the communist Viet Minh

Ho Chi Minh

Truman & Eisenhower Aid the French

- while France was fighting in Vietnam the U.S. was following its containment plan in Western Europe against the Soviet Union in the Cold War

- when China became communist in 1949 U.S. leaders feared the spread of communism in Asia

- domino theory – U.S. theory that if one nation fell to communism, that other neighboring nations would become communist, too

Chairman Mao Zedong, Communist Leader of China

Sec. of State John Foster Dulles and President Dwight Eisenhower

discuss strategy in Vietnam

French Defeated in Vietnam- Viet Minh had fewer weapons and supplies but used hit-and-run guerilla

tactics to weaken French

- France was defeated at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland began

French surrender to Vietnamese forces at Dien Bien Phu

French get re-supplied by air while surrounded at Dien Bien Phu

Geneva Accords Divide Vietnam- Geneva Accords – agreement

that was to temporarily split Vietnam between north and south, with elections to unify the nation to be held in 1956

- North Vietnam became communist under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh

- South Vietnam became anti-communist under Ngo Dinh Diem (supported by the U.S.)

- Diem’s govt. in South Vietnam wasn’t democratic, but was corrupt, oppressive, and unpopular

- Thousands of political opponents were imprisoned and tortured

- elections to unify Vietnam never held as the popular Ho Chi Minh would have won and turned Vietnam communist

President Eisenhower and South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem

Diem’s Government in South Vietnam

The Viet Cong Oppose Diem

- National Liberation Front is formed by the North Vietnamese to oppose Diem and recruit fighters against his govt.

- Viet Cong – nickname for South Vietnamese communists who opposed Diem and were aided North Vietnam

- Viet Cong fought to overthrow Diem’s govt. and reunite the nation all of Vietnam under communist rule

American Involvement

• Diem ordered troops to open fire on Buddhist protesters against his government

• Buddhist monk sets himself on fire in protest against South Vietnam’s govt.

• Pres. Eisenhower helped Diem’s government in South Vietnam by sending aid, weapons, and military advisors

• Kennedy sent more advisors and special forces (who did take part in combat missions)

The Diem Government Falls- U.S. aid increased in South

Vietnam, but U.S. upset that Diem wouldn’t make political, economic, and military reforms

- with U.S. support, a military coup overthrew Diem, and against Kennedy’s wishes killed Diem

- shortly after, Kennedy himself was assassinated and the problem of Vietnam fell to the new U.S. President, Lyndon Johnson

V.P. Lyndon Johnson is sworn in as President

aboard Air Force One inthe presence of JFK’s wife,

Jacqueline Kennedy