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War Powers Act,
The Constitution of the United States divides the war powers of the federal government between the Executive and Legislative branches: the President is the Commander in Chief of the armed forces, while Congress has the power to make declarations of war, and to raise and support the armed forces. Over time, questions arose as to the extent of the President's authority to deploy U.S. armed forces into hostile situations abroad without a declaration of war or some other form of Congressional approv -
Geneva Conference,
Vietminh General Ta Quang Buu and French General Henri Delteil sign the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Vietnam. As part of the agreement, a provisional demarcation line is drawn at the 17th parallel which will divide Vietnam until nationwide elections are held in 1956. The United States does not accept the agreement, neither does the government of Bao Dai. -
Buddist Monks
Buddhist monks start setting themselves on fire in public places tp protest
against the Diem government policy of removing Buddhists from key government
positions and replacing them with Catholics -
Golf of tonkin incident
Following the Gulf of Tonkin Incident Congress authorizes President Johnson to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression." The US wages total war against North Vietnam -
Tonkin Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave broad congressional approval for expansion of the Vietnam War. During the spring of 1964, military planners had developed a detailed design for major attacks on the North, but at that time President Lyndon B. Johnson and his advisers feared that the public would not support an expansion of the war. By summer, however, rebel forces had established control over nearly half of South Vietnam, and Senator Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee for president, was cr -
Operation Rolling Thunder,
This massive bombardment was intended to put military pressure on North Vietnam's Communist leaders and reduce their capacity to wage war against the U.S -
Johnson meets Vietnam leader
President Johnson meets with South Vietnamese Premier Nguyen Cao Ky and his military advisors in Honolulu -
iron Cross
The Iron Triangle of Vietcong tunnels is discovered -
Us Seceratory
The US Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara admits that the US bombing raids had failed to meet their objectives -
Tet offensive
a serious of surprise attacks by the vietcong and north vietnamese on cities, towns, and farm land. -
Peace talks
Peace Talks take place in Paris between the North Vietnamese and the Americans -
The death of Ho Chi Minh
The death of Ho Chi Minh -
Defensive Diiscosions
Melvin Laird the US Secretary of Defense discusses a diminishing role for the US military in Vietnam -
Vietnamization
Soon after taking office. President Richard Nixon introduced his policy of "vietnamization". The plan was to encourage the South Vietnamese to take more responsibility for fighting the war. It was hoped that this policy would eventually enable the United States to withdraw gradually all their soldiers from Vietnam -
Kent State
Members of Ohio national guard fired into a crowd of Kent state university students. killing four wounding 9. The impact of the shootings was dramatic. The event triggered a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of colleges and universities to close. -
26th Amendment
The long debate over lowering the voting age in America from 21 to 18 began during World War II and intensified during the Vietnam War, when young men denied the right to vote were being conscripted to fight for their country -
Pressure on Nixon
Pressure on Nixon increases to end the involvement of the US in Vietnam and secret peace talks are initiated. US forces apply pressure on North Vietnam by heavy bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong -
US withdrawl of troops
peace treaty was signed by the United States and all three Vietnamese parties (North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the Viet Cong). It provided for the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops within 60 days and created a political process for the peaceful resolution of the conflict in the south. Nothing was said, however, about the presence of more than 100,000 North Vietnamese troops in South Vietnam. -
South Vietnam surrenders
North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace and the war came to an end. North Vietnamese Col. Bui Tin accepted the surrender from Gen. Duong Van Minh, who had taken over after Tran Van Huong spent only one day in power. Tin explained to Minh, "You have nothing to fear. Between Vietnamese there are no victors and no vanquished. Only the Americans have been beaten. If you are patriots, consider this a moment of joy. The war for our country is over."
