Vietnam Timeline

By hjankowski1

  • Fulbright Commission

    Not really sure about this, but this was a scholarship made by senator J. William Fulbright which we read about yesterday. (I looked up Fulbright Commission and nothing came up.)

  • Dien Bien Phu

    First win for Indochina War. But a second Indochina war that began in 1956 would eventually lead to the Vietnam war. (President Eisenhower)

  • Geneva Accords

    Eisenhower. Removed French Troops from North Vietnam and separated north and south Korea at the 17th parallel. The US would protect South Vietnam (which isn't communist.)

  • Gulf of Tonkin

    Johnson. Incident where US destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin had shot at "nothing." Lead to the (gulf of)Tonkin Resolution.

  • Tonkin Resolution

    Johnson. Resolved the incident on the Gulf of Tonkin and gave the US reason to be involved in Asia to protect against "communist aggression."

  • Daniel Ellsburg

    Political activist, economist, and former US military analyst who was involved in the research that resulted in the Pentagon Papers. The research began in 1967 during Johnson's presidency (the research would go on for several years collecting data on the Vietnam War.)

  • Vietnamization

    Nixon. Allowed US troops to come home. Trained southern Vietnam to fight on their own so that the US could be less involved.

  • Tet Offensive

    Johnson. Made connections between Vietnam and the US weary and wavered citizens' confidence in military leaders.

  • My Lai Massacre

    Nixon. Made the Vietnam war an even more controversial issue. Brought to dark sides of the US into view.

  • Invasion of Cambodia

    Nixon. Strengthened anti-war views and split the US even more on Vietnam. Nixon supported the invasion saying it would help to end the war sooner.

  • Pentagon Papers

    Kennedy/Nixon? Parts of research were released by Daniel Ellsburg because of personal thought that it needed to be seen by the public. Exposed the US on things they had done in the Vietnam war that wasn't released to the public.

  • Christmas Bombing

    Nixon. Effects are questionable as to whether it was really necessary. Even though the end of the Vietnam War came after, it's hard to say whether it helped get to that point or whether it was just something that caused additional damage and casualties.

  • Paris Peace Conference/Accords

    Nixon? Brought an end to the war and kept the separation at the 17th parallel.

  • War Powers Act

    Nixon? The war powers act made it harder for presidents to cause war at such a fast pace because of the invasion of Cambodia and other events.

  • Fall of Saigon

    Ford. South Vietnam surrenders ending the Vietnam War.