notes
-Vietnam was originally a french colony (Indochina)
-In WWII the Japanese invade for resources and Ho Chi Minh, a communist, attempted to resist the Japanese occupation
-After the war the French reentered to regain their colony, Ho Chi Minh successfully defeated the French in 1954 (Dien Bien Phu)
-Vietnam divided among the 17th parallel into a democratic south and communist north
-The Viet Cong were located in the south and fought against the democratic and Buddhist south
-The US viewed this as a containment issue
-Initially sent military advisors in 1962
-A controversial event was "set up", American destroyer USS Maddox was sunk by torpedoed
-President Johnson installs the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
-By 1965 200,000 troops were deployed
-The North was supporting the groups in the south such as the VC and NLF, they used the Ho Chi Ming Trail which was through Laos and Cambodia to move around the DMZ
-The US weren't allowed to enter Laos or Cambodia and therefore it was tough to stop
-In 1968 the North Vietnamese Army surprised the americans with an attack on Tet (Vietnamese holiday), these attacks were published in America and support for the war was lost
-In WWII the Japanese invade for resources and Ho Chi Minh, a communist, attempted to resist the Japanese occupation
-After the war the French reentered to regain their colony, Ho Chi Minh successfully defeated the French in 1954 (Dien Bien Phu)
-Vietnam divided among the 17th parallel into a democratic south and communist north
-The Viet Cong were located in the south and fought against the democratic and Buddhist south
-The US viewed this as a containment issue
-Initially sent military advisors in 1962
-A controversial event was "set up", American destroyer USS Maddox was sunk by torpedoed
-President Johnson installs the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
-By 1965 200,000 troops were deployed
-The North was supporting the groups in the south such as the VC and NLF, they used the Ho Chi Ming Trail which was through Laos and Cambodia to move around the DMZ
-The US weren't allowed to enter Laos or Cambodia and therefore it was tough to stop
-In 1968 the North Vietnamese Army surprised the americans with an attack on Tet (Vietnamese holiday), these attacks were published in America and support for the war was lost
summary
Using the concept of containment the Americans justified entering South Vietnam to protect democracy after a communist uprising in the north started by Ho Chi Minh.