Vietnam-+Path+to+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

US involvement with Vietnam dates back to when __Truman__ was president. Truman thought that it was the job of the United States to control communism, and to keep the world democratic. France had control of Vietnam from the 1800's up until World War Two. The French were not wanted by the Nationalists in Vietnam. In 1954, Vietnam was divided into two seperate countries. They were divided at the 17th parallel, and here was created North Vietnam and South Vietnam. However, Ngo Diem refused to let elections take place in 1956, for fear that this would lead to a communist rule. This broke the peace accord that had been put in place,and it created some problems with the US, as they had always supported the French. Eisenhower had sent over 900 military advisers to Vietnam, and __President Kennedy__ increased that number to 11,000.

South Vietnam lost their leader, __President Ngo Ding Diem__, after an assassination in 1963. South Vietnam was in shambles. They had no leader. __President Johnson__ was going to do everything in his power to prevent South Vietnam from capitulating to __communism__. His plan was to increase war efforts in South Vietnam. In summer 1964, __military advisers__ to Johnson said that they wanted to bomb North Vietnam. They were hoping to force __Ho Chi Minh__ to discontinue his support for the Viet Cong.

The US had a destroyer, //Maddox//, in the __Gulf of Tonkin__. Maddox was under fire by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. Maddox was also attacked two days later on August 4. This attack was never confirmed. There had been thunderstorms on the night of the attack, and it was though that the weather affected the radar screens. There were jet pilots flying above the Gulf, and they said that they hadn't seen any North Vietnamese boats. To retaliate, LBJ had troops air strike against the North Vietnamese. Later, LBJ ordered __Operation Rolling Thunder.__ This was the constant bombing of North Vietnam. LBJ was hoping that the bombs would persuade the North to talk peace; unfortunately, this did not work. The Viet Cong attacked the US in Saigon. In response, LBJ landed the first marines in Vietnam. The US is now in the Vietnam War.

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

media type="youtube" key="Fd8wKKfN7sM" height="344" width="425" and this voicethread, made by your favorite 8th grade American history teacher that you have this year (I like to limit my competition)

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