Causes+of+the+Vietnam+War

=**VIETNAM - THE PATH TO WAR **=

You all know that the United States was involved in a major military conflict in Vietnam during the Cold War ... but why? What was America's "path to war"? Using the resources below and __Creating America__, your task this evening is to write a description in YOUR OWN WORDS of the causes of American involvement in Southeast Asia. Pretend you are writing it as a summary for on online encyclopedia or textbook. Your description should ...
 * be between two and four complete, well written paragraphs
 * contain the following terms - France, Ho Chi Minh, communism, Ngo Dinh Diem, military advisors, Gulf of Tonkin, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Rolling Thunder
 * be IN YOUR OWN WORDS (remember, it's easy to check this online)
 * contain two images THAT RELATE TO YOUR WRITING
 * Should end with the first Marines landing in Vietnam in 1965

Need some help? How about ... //Creating America// [|This cool animation] [|Into Vietnam (Overview)] from ABC-CLIO [|Timeline of the Vietnam War] [|Vietnam Online Timeline] Causes of the Vietnam War video below

The Vietnam War has its roots going as far back as the late 19th century. During the late 1800s, the French occupied the Indochina region, including Vietnam. The Vietnamese didn't like the French and frequently revolted against there rule. In 1930, revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh brought together three Communist groups and formed the Indochinese Communist Party. The goal of this party was for the Vietnamese people to gain control of Vietnam. The French responded by arresting a number of party leaders and even executing some. Ho Chi Minh, who was in China at the time, was sentenced to death. In 1940, Japan took over the region. Ho Chi Minh returned the next year and established the Viet Minh, an militaristic organization dedicated to making Vietnam independent. The U.S. aided them because Japan was one of their enemies in WWII.

After the war, France soon regained control. When China became communist in 1949, President Truman stuck to his containment policies and helped France prevent the communists from gaining control in Vietnam. Once Eisenhower became President, he also helped aid the French.. In 1954, the Viet Minh won the battle of Dien Bien Phu, and France agreed to peace talks with Viet Minh leaders. The country was split at the 17th parallel, with a communist controlled North, and a U.S. backed democracy in the South. The leader in the South was Ngo Dinh Diem, who was unpopular and later ousted in a coup. Eisenhower and later President Kennedy had military advisors sent to the leader to aid the South Vietnamese government. Later on in 1964, President Johnson called for Operation Rolling Thunder, the strategic bombing of North Vietnam. However, it needed to be approved by Congress. A turning point came when the U.S. destroyer Maddox was supposedly torpedoed by North Vietnamese boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. President Johnson asked Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave the President the power to send military to Vietnam without approval by Congress. The bombing began and he also sent the first Marine combat troops to Vietnam in 1965.