Early Vietnam

BackgroundVietnam was part of French Indochina since

late 19th centuryJapan had occupied them during WWIIWhen Japanese surrendered to the Allies,

Ho Chi Minh (leader of Vietnamese resistance to Japan) declared their independence, using words from the US Declaration of Independence

By Sept. 1945, they were independent

BackgroundFrance rejected their independence in 1946

and began an eight-year struggle for who would take control

Ho Chi Minh tried to call on Truman for support

He ignored the call for help and instead sided with the French

Done in part to help French rebuild their economy

In addition:When China became Communist in 1949,

the US was concerned they would side with the USSR and try to bring down colonial empires in Asia

Republican criticism of Truman about China being “lost” persuaded Truman to take a strong stance against Communist aggression in Korea and Vietnam

In addition:Truman would do anything at this point for

France’s support in large part due to his wanting NATO to last

The Soviets and Chinese recognized Ho’s republic in 1950

The British and US recognized the puppet government of Bao Dai

Truman and IkeBoth gave a great deal of financial support

to the French in VietnamThis was part of the domino effect: support

non-Communist governments in the area so that they stay non-Communist

TensionsEven with US support, French control was

weakening: Viet-minh forces were getting stronger in northern Vietnam

In 1954, Viet-minh forces seized Dienbienphu after 56 days of attacks

This victory led to the partitioning of Vietnam at the 17th parallel in the Geneva accords

France withdrew forces north of the line

More...Geneva Accords called for free elections

for both sides within two years to choose a unified government

The US feared that Communism would be voted in; they did not sign the accords

Instead, said they would acknowledge the accords and would refrain from using violence

Results:Ngo Dino Diem was an anti-Communist

Catholic who was in the US for eight years; he was chosen to rule South Vietnam in 1954

Ho Chi Minh would have won the unified elections; before they were to take place, Diem called them off

The US supported this move

Domino Theory

At this point...The US replaced France as the main

democratic power in Vietnam, looking to ensure that communism would not spread

Vietnam, though small, became a symbol for US Cold War struggle

Ike funded Diem and gave a small number of troops for protection and support in Saigon

JFK’s roleJFK wanted to use Vietnam to test

counterinsurgency techniquesOver the course of three years, North and

South Vietnam built towards a major conflict: guerilla warfare in the north was now present

US increased its troop level, stayed out of guerilla warfare

National Liberation Front

A combination of North Vietnam’s Communists and South Vietnam’s Diem opponents: NLF aka Vietcong Est. 1960 Found civilian supporters that would be accepting of

Diem’s being removed They tried to ally with Buddhists (main religion of

Vietnam) who would not support Diem’s Catholicism A number of militant demonstrations Diem retaliated by raiding temples and mass arrests of

Buddhist priests

JFK’s reactionHe realized that Diem needed to be

removed or there would be risk to losing the South to the Communists

Due to the fact that the US now supported the end of Diem’s tenure, they were now seemingly forced to stay in the region

Saigon—June 11, 1963—Buddhist Monk

Diem’s assassinationNov. 1, 1963: Diem was assassinated by

officers in the South Vietnamese armyJFK knew of the

JFK was assassinated less than a month later; some feel that he might have removed the troops had he lived; most feel that his actions showed he was not going to do that

U.S. had 16,000 “military advisers” in Vietnam at the time

LBJHe decided to keep the troops there,

saying he would maintain US support of South Vietnam