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Ho Chi Minh would eventually become the Nationalist revolutionary of Vietnam. He was inspired by Russia's revolution and sought to bring communism to South East Asia. He founded the Vietminh and became the president of North Vietnam.
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When Ho Chi Minh declared independence, France and the United States did not recognize this and fought to keep Vietnam as a colony. In response, the Viet Minh attacked the French and began the First Indochina War.
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During a speech, President Eisenhower described communism in Indochina as a domino effect. He predicted that if one country would fall to communism, it would cause nearby countries to become communist as well. This would become the reasoning behind the US containment policy.
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After the French withdrew from Vietnam, the US got more involved. They began supporting Ngo Dinh Diem and South Vietnam in the conflict against the communist North.
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Vietnam is divided along the 17th parallel. The North becomes communist and the South anticommunist, but nationwide elections are supposed to be held to reunify the country.
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South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem announced that he would not support the elections that would reunify North and South Vietnam. He cancelled the elections because Ho Chi Minh was more popular, and he didn't want Vietnam to become communist.
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The National Liberation Front, also known as the Viet Cong, was formed to overthrow the South Vietnamese government. Supported by North Vietnam, they occupied South Vietnam and fought using guerrilla tactics.
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The US withdrew support of Ngo Dinh Diem and supported a coup d’état. South Vietnamese officials, led by General Duong Van Minh, assassinated Diem and his brother.
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Thich Quang Duc, a Buddist monk, set himself of fire in the streets of Saigon to protest Ngo Dinh Diem's discriminatory policies. Diem only supported Catholics and passed laws against Buddhism, including banning the Buddhist flag. Outrage over Diem's religious policies led to the US withdrawing support and allowing his assassination
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If JFK had not been assassinated, the war in Vietnam might have ended much sooner. He didn't always trust his advisers, and he was already planning to consider withdrawal after the 1964 election when he died, so it's likely that he would have pulled the US out of the conflict when things looked bad.
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Johnson announced that the USS Maddox had been shot at by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. Congress saw this as a good reason to get involved in Vietnam and passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which allowed the president to take all necessary measures against North Vietnam.
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In 1955, President Eisenhower sent the first military advisors to Vietnam. JFK sent more troops and advisors in 1961, and eventually, President Johnson escalated to sending combat troops.
