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Domino theory
The domino theory was a Cold War policy that suggested a communist government in one nation would quickly lead to communist takeovers in neighboring states, each falling like a perfectly aligned row of dominos. The first public mention of it was made by President Eisenhower in a speech in 1954, where he explained why America would aid the French in their struggle against communists in Vietnam. -
Geneva accords
The Geneva Conference was a conference involving several nations that took place in Geneva, Switzerland. The Geneva Accords were significant for two reasons, one being they brought an end to the First Indochina War and marked the end of French influence in Southeast Asia. The Geneva Accords also helped lay the groundwork for the Vietnam War. -
Assassination of Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm was a Vietnamese politician. He was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam and then served as President of South Vietnam from 1955 until he was captured and assassinated during the 1963 military coup. The death of Diem caused celebration among many people in South Vietnam but also lead to political chaos in the nation. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
North Vietnamese warships purportedly attacked United States warships, the U.S.S. Maddox and the U.S.S. C. LBJ claimed that the United States did nothing to provoke these two attacks and that North Vietnam was the aggressor. On August 7, 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing President Johnson to take any measures he believed were necessary to retaliate and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia. -
LBJ ordered 1st troops to Vietnam
LBJ sent troops to Vietnam in response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. Those 3,500 soldiers were the first combat troops the United States had dispatched to South Vietnam to support the Saigon government in its effort to defeat an increasingly lethal Communist insurgency. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam. The offensive was an attempt to foment rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back its involvement in the Vietnam War.The Tet Offensive played an important role in weakening U.S. public support for the war in Vietnam. -
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai massacre was one of the most horrific incidents of violence committed against unarmed civilians during the Vietnam War. A company of American soldiers brutally killed most of the people such as women, children and old men—in the village of My Lai.. The brutality of the My Lai killings and the official cover-up fueled anti-war sentiment and further divided the United States over the Vietnam War. -
Nixon's Vietnamization Policy
Vietnamization was a policy of the Richard Nixon administration to end U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War through a program to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnamese forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S. combat troops". -
Nixon sent troops into Cambodia
He announced his decision to launch American forces into Cambodia. Nixon approved the use of American ground forces in Cambodia to fight alongside South Vietnamese troops attacking communist bases there -
Kent State shooting
The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre and the Kent State massacre, were the killings of four and wounding of nine other unarmed Kent State University students by the Ohio National Guard. The incident marked the first time that a student had been killed in an anti-war gathering in United States history. Twenty-eight National Guard soldiers fired approximately 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds. -
Hard Hat Riot
The long-term significance of the 1970 hardhat riot was that it was the first public manifestation of the alienation of blue-collar workers from their traditional allegiance to the Democratic Party and their movement into the Republican Party. It started around noon when around 400 construction workers and around 800 office workers attacked around 1,000 demonstrators affiliated with the student strike of 1970 -
Nixon's Christmas bombing
President Richard Nixon ordered plans for retaliatory bombings of North Vietnam after talks to end the war in Vietnam broke down December 13, 1972. Nixon ordered the start of a massive, two-week bombing campaign of communist North Vietnam. dropped more than 20,000 tons of bombs on the cities of Hanoi and Haiphong. -
War powers act
The War Powers Resolution of 1973 is a congressional resolution designed to limit the U.S. president's ability to initiate or escalate military actions abroad. The law aims to check the executive branch's power. -
Paris Peace accords
The Paris Peace Accords was a peace treaty signed on January 27, 1973, to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War. The Paris Peace Accords End Direct Combat Role of United States in the Vietnam War. Paris Peace Accords were signed after four years of negotiations. -
Saigon Falls
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong. The South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese Army, effectively ending the Vietnam War. In the days before, U.S. forces evacuated thousands of Americans and South Vietnamese