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War Power Act
The War Powers Act is a congressional resolution designed to limit the U.S. president’s ability to initiate or escalate military actions abroad. Among other restrictions, the law requires that presidents notify Congress after deploying the armed forces and limits how long units can remain engaged without congressional approval. -
Domino Theory coined
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 domino's. Significant because it described how quickly communism would spread once it infiltrated a nation. -
Geneva Accords
The Geneva Accords were comprised of ten separate documents that outlined military agreements, declarations from the parties present, and a plan for elections in Vietnam. They brought an end to the First Indochina War and marked the end of French influence in Southeast Asia -
Assassination of Diem
President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother are captured and killed by a group of soldiers. The death of Diem caused celebration among many people in South Vietnam, but also lead to political chaos in the nation. The United States subsequently became more heavily involved in Vietnam as it tried to stabilize the South Vietnamese government and beat back the communist rebels that were becoming an increasingly powerful threat. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized President Lyndon Johnson to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression” by the communist government of North Vietnam. Significant because it authorized 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
President Lyndon B. Johnson decided to send the Marines 3,500 of them to Vietnam as what proves to be just the first American commitment of regular troops to that embattled country. Purpose was to send money, supplies and military advisers to help the South Vietnamese Government. -
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. -
My Lai Massacre
Company of American Soldiers killed women, children, and old men, in a village of My Lai. Around 500 people were slaughtered, young girls and women rapped. U.S. soldiers committed terrible atrocities against Vietnamese civilians, which ignited a public outcry and debate upon their exposure to Americans at home. -
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, It would prepare the South Vietnamese to act in their own defense against a North Vietnamese takeover and allow the United States to leave Vietnam with its honor intact. -
Nixon sends troops into Cambodia
Nixon ordered troops into Cambodia to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail and other supply lines used by North Vietnam, even though Cambodia was neutral. In 1970, he ordered air and ground strikes in Cambodia. This is the most controversial act of his to end the Vietnam War. -
Kent State shooting
Members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students. A peace rally opposing the expanding involvement of the Vietnam War into neutral Cambodia by United States military forces as well as protesting the National Guard presence on campus. -
Hard Hat Riot
Protesting students at City College met resistance from a small group of construction workers, some of whom self-identified themselves as Vietnam veterans.Nearly 200 construction workers arrived at the protest bearing patriotic signs and, according to a New York Times report on the incident, chants of “All The Way, U.S.A.” and “Love It or Leave It.” -
Nixon’s Christmas bombing
Brought on by stalemate in peace talks; 11 straight days of bombing N. Vietnam pausing only on Christmas day.According to Nixon and his supporters, the Christmas bombing forced the North Vietnamese to make concessions, accept an armistice, and release American POWs. It was a great U.S. victory that brought peace with honor. -
Paris Peace Accords
The Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1973 by the governments of North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the United States with the intent to establish peace in Vietnam. The Paris Peace Accords End Direct Combat Role of United States in the Vietnam War. -
Saigon Falls
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. American diplomats were on the front lines, organizing what would be the most ambitious helicopter evacuation in history.