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

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]

Before the France left Vietnam in 1954, Truman gave them $10 million in military aid in Vietnam. Eventually the North Vietnamese were scheduled to vote but because of Ho Chi Minh's popularity from the revolution the vote was cancelled by Ngo Dinh Diem, leader of the South Vietnamese, in fear that communism and Ho Chi Minh would take over.

The U.S. was on the side of the South Vietnamese and Diem and supported them. The rebellious Viet Minh then decided to go back to war to reunite the country. Diem needed and asked for help. He got troops and military advisers. By 1963 Kennedy had sent 11,000 military advisers to Diem. Diem was unpopular and so was his army. An assassination of Diem was planned and even thought the U.S. knew about it they did nothing and it went successfully.

In 1964 Johnson announced that the USS Maddox had been attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin, and actions of the North Vietnamese were unprovoked. Also he stated that they came back and attacked again a few days later. This wasn't the whole truth. The Maddox was engaged in a U.S. military operation that supported South Vietnamese moving to the north and there never was a second attack.

Rolling thunder is a program that recognizes Prisoners Of War (POW) and Missing In Action (MIA) soldiers. It formed after the U.S. left Vietnam and abandoned those soldiers that were lost or taken captive. They excercise their right to petition and assemble about the issue in Washington D.C.