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Pentagon Papers
It was a series of papers that started in 1945 which was the name given to a top secret Department of Defense which studied the U.S politics and the military involvement in Vietnam. There were even troops that would help on the papers. One man named Daniel Ellsberg who was against the war decided that the papers should go public. The United States got affected because it would lead to problems in the United States. -
Dien Bien Phu
Dien Bien Phu is a city in northwestern region of Vietnam but it known for the Battle of Dien Bien Phu were it was during the first Indochina War from 1946-1954. In the battle it was against North Vietnam (with he help of China) v France. French forces were in Dien Bien Phu but they were talking by Vietnam forces. This affected the United States because it would look bad that France with is anti communist lost and the United States should have help. -
Eisenhower Administration
The 1953 was passed which was the start of Eisenhower's presidency. Somethings that Eisenhower for the United States was to keep the United States out of the Vietnam war. Some rather then give get involved in the war, they will give more money and give more weapons to France for they can fight in the war in Vietnam. They did this for the national security of the United States. -
Geneva Accords
This was a conference to settle the problems from the Korean Wars and the Indochina Wars and to have peace and reunification but in the end there was no nations that came to an agreement and overall it was a failed attempt. Nations that were at the meetings were the United States, Soviet Union, China, Great Britain and more. Even if it was a failed attempt it created the 38th parallel in Korea and 17th parallel in Vietnam. The U.S was affected because it created a divide of nations. -
Kennedy Administration
American efforts began for during Kennedy's presidency and Kennedy believed that they should get involved more in the war and that they should increase the military program mostly because of the North Vietnam and the political reform that is going on in South Vietnam. This was a big step because the United States is getting involved more. -
Johnson Administration
Johnson helped the United States with things like the Great Society which was made to stop poverty and racial injustice (United States program) and the War on Poverty which was a program for the United States to uplift the economy of the United States and this was important for the time because the United States was having problems with that. -
Gulf of Tonkin
There was a event where two torpedo boats destroyed the boats named Maddox and Tuner Joy (U.S Seventh Fleet) in the Gulf of Tonkin. These would led to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This affected the United States because of the last of ships and it got the United States in the war. -
Tonkin Resolution
After the Gulf of Tonkin (destroy of two ships that helped South Vietnam), the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was authorized and then later passed by Congress, it was to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression". This would get in the United States fully involved in the Vietnam War. This affected the United States because they are going to fight in the war. -
Fulbright Commission
It was a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to talk about the process of the Vietnam war. Something that was interesting was that it was on television. Some key players were people like William Fulbright, McGeorge Bundy, and Henry Kissinger. LBJ kicked out Fulbright from his Circle of Trust because of this meeting. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive is one of the biggest battles and its was a series of attacks by North Vietnam on South Vietnam where they attack more then 100 cities. The reason for the attack was to cause rebellion in South Vietnam and a warning message to the United States to not get as involved in the war. The attack was a successful and marked a turning point of the war. This affected the United States and would later lead to the United States to leave Vietnam. -
Vietnamization
It was a policy that was used by Nixon to end the United States to get involved in the Vietnam war (get troops out) but to rather train the troops and move the troops out slowly at a time. The reason for this is because of the public backslash from the war and so Nixon created this but it was a flaw from the beginning and it failed and would lead to the Fall of Saigon. -
My Lai Massacre
The Lai Massacre was a horrific incident in Vietnam where American soldier killed unarmed men, women, children, and old men in the village of Lai. More then 500 people were slaughtered. Women were even raped and mutilated and these event was hidden until the press found out about it and it resulted in international outrage and it helped fuel anti war sentiment. -
Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg was a military analyst that leaked the Pentagon Papers to the New York times. The reason that he was in jail is because he left the people should know and because he was against the war. He expected to go to jail because of the Espionage Act and the trail lasted for 4 months and he was dismissed of all charges. This affected the United States because their information was leaked and the enemy can see it. -
Nixon Administration
Some things that Nixon did was the Vietnamization which helped move the troops out of the Vietnam and bring them back to the United States and it was good at first but it will later be the turning point of the war because there will be less efforts in the war. The United States will also get involved in the Easter Offensive. -
Ford Administration
Somethings that Ford did was the signing of the Paris Peace Agreement to end the war in Vietnam that was signed in 1973. They also created Detente which was an effort to lessen the tension with Soviet Union was important to end communism. Ford was important to the United States to fix relations with foreign countries. -
Invasion of Cambodia
Nixon ordered the Invasion of Cambodia on television. The invasion would involved the United States military and South Vietnam troops to take over Cambodia to cut off the supplies to North Vietnam but this would cause protest in the United States and there will be anti war movements (college students around the nation were protesting against it). This was a problem for the United States because of the different ideas and views. -
The Christmas Bombing
It started on December 13th when the United States and the North Vietnam negotiations failed (because North Vietnam didn't want to make agreements) and on December 18th, 1972, the United States sent out B-52's to North Vietnam and dropped bombs on them. As a result Vietnam agreed to talk to the United States again. There were around 1,600 people that died from the bombing. It had a great impact on the United States because it stopped them from any more deaths and fighting. -
War Powers Act
The War Powers Act was an act to check/ limits the presidents power to commit the United States into an armed conflict without the consent of the United State Congress. It also involved to talk to Congress on the number of troops deployed and the goal was to not have conflicts in Vietnam. This affected the United States in a good way because it will stop the United States getting involved in a major war. -
Paris Peace Conference/Accords
It was a treaty to end in the war in Vietnam and have peace and it was signed on January 23rd 1973. The United States, South Vietnam, Viet Cong, and North Vietnam were the ones that were at the meeting and signed the treaty and it called to cease fire in Vietnam. This affected the United States in a good way because it ended the fighting in Vietnam. -
Fall of Saigon
It was a series that led to this and it started with the United States leaving Vietnam and it also started with North Vietnam capturing area leading to Saigon and then after the White Christmas event the United States had to help evacuate 7,000 people form Vietnam. This affected the United States because it would show that communism is taking over.