PathToWar

=VIETNAM - THE PATH TO WAR =

You all know that the United States was involved in a major military conflict 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 paragraphs
 * contain the following terms - France, Ho Chi Minh, communism, Ngo Dinh Diem, military advisors, Gulf of Tonkin
 * 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// [|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

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The causes for the Vietnam War start all the way back to World War II. The United States was trying to free Japan's claim on Southeast Asia including Vietnam. The United States gave help to a group of Vietnamese men known as the Viet men. This group was led by Ho Chi Minh. Minh was a communist revolutionary. The Viet men with the help of the United States gained huge areas in North Vietnam. When Japan surrendered in WWII, they took their troops out of Vietnam. Minh decided that now was the perfect time to take out the French who had been ruling Vietnam. When the Japanese left, Minh declared Vietnam a free nation. Truman was fretting over the growing power of the Soviet Union and communism. Truman thought that it was America's duty to stop the growth of communism. France was a democracy. France was willing to help America because of the fact that the French wanted their colonies in Southeast Asia back. Minh asked other communists for help. The French fought against the Vietnamese, Soviet Union, and Chinese. So that Vietnam wouldn't become communist, America "gave their... support" to the French. Eisenhower was worried that once Vietnam became Communist, the rest of Southeast Asia would become communist, also. The French were losing and were about to surrender. Vietnam was split so that Minh controlled the top half while anti-communists controlled the bottom half. It was probable that Minh would rule the bottom half too and America didn't like that so they called off the elections. America supported and helped South Vietnam led by the unpopular Ngo Dinh Diem. The Vietcong destroyed public utilities in the South with help from the North. Kennedy, the president at the time, sent 400 military advisors to help the South with their fighting skills. Diem was not the most likeable leader and some ended up killing themselves because of Diem's rule. Diem was removed from power and assassinated. A little while later, Kennedy was assassinated. Now, Johnson's president. The Maddox, a US ship, was passing through the Gulf of Tonkin. They were torpedoed by the North Vietnamese. Johnson ordered air strikes. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed where the President had the power to send troops to Vietnam without a declaration of war.