Vietnam
The Vietnam War took place during the years of 1964 through 1975. This war was fought in southern Vietnam between communist North Vietnam and capitalist South Vietnam. The capitalist South Vietnam included the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea troops. The communist North Vietnam was lead by the USSR. It all started because American President Eisenhower did not want communism to spread around the world and to America. The end resulted in communist North Vietnam conquering the republic South Vietnam in 1975, and that the U.S. did not achieve its goal of preventing it. Vietnam became a communist state.
First North Vietnam Bombing
August 4, 1964
- United States bombs North Vietnam for the first time
- Designed to prohibit North Vietnam's transportation routes in southern part of North Vietnam to slow down supplies into South Vietnam
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
- August 7, 1964
- Passed by the United States Congress
- Gave President Lyndon B. Johnson the right to use military force without declaring war in Southeast Asia
- Resulted in the escalation of the war in Vietnam
Students Burn Draft Cards
- May 1964
- Some 1,000 students gather for the Vietnam War to protest their freedom of speech in New York City
- 12 burnt their selective service registration cards (draft cards)
- Draft cards were the symbolic gesture of opposition to the war
- Many were punished because of the Supreme Court declaring that this was unrelated to freedom of speech
- This started the 1964 National Service Act
Tet Offensive
- January 30, 1968
- Military campaign
- Between forces of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnam against South Vietnam, U.S., and their allies
- known as Tet Offensive because there was a prior agreement to "cease fire" during the Tet Lunar New Year celebrations
- 2,965,318,710 casualties
- North Vietnam propaganda
- Victory Depletion of Viet Cong leading to replacement by North Vietnam