WHY DID THE US GET INVOLVED

IN VIETNAM?

Learning OutcomesBy the end of the lesson, we will have…

… showed off our art skills

… produced a timeline showing the process through which the US got involved in Vietnam

… prioritised the reasons why the US got involved

Who is this?

Ho Chi Minh – leader of

North Vietnam

60 seconds – draw a quick cartoon / picture of Ho so you remember what he

looks like

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Learning OutcomesBy the end of the lesson, we will have…

… showed off our art skills

… produced a timeline showing the process through which the US got involved in Vietnam

… prioritised the reasons why the US got involved

• Ho was a Communist but first and foremost he was a Nationalist…

• he wanted to get foreign “invaders” out of Vietnam…

• from the 1860s until WW2, Vietnam was under French control…

• during WW2 the Japanese took control of Vietnam…

• Ho and his army, the Viet Minh, spent WW2 fighting the Japanese…

• but when WW2 ended the French returned to Vietnam…

TASK:

Use the handout to complete the worksheet, showing the events that triggered increasing US involvement in

Vietnam.

Show this increasing involvement as a line graph… but do not limit yourself to troop numbers. That is just one

measure.

Write key events in the boxes provided. Also add other details outside these boxes.

Highlight the 2 events that you think were most important in increasing US involvement – write a

short explanation of your choices.

Timeline…

1949: Chinese Communists under Mao Zedong offer support to Ho & the Viet Minh… US responds by giving

$500m a year to the French

1954: French defeated at Dien Bien Phu; French leave; Vietnam divided into North & South; Communists control

N; US prevents elections because it is worried that HO will win!

1955: US helps Ngo Dinh Diem set up Republic of South Vietnam – gives $1.6bn aid to his corrupt government in

the 1950s

1960: Viet Cong (S. Viet Communists and opponents of the Govt.) start a “guerrilla” war against Ngo… they also

attack US bases

1961/2: JFK starts sending military “advisors” to help Ngo

1963: Kennedy killed; his successor, Lyndon Johnson (LBJ), was more ready to go to war in Vietnam…

Aug 1964: Gulf of Tonkin “incident” – N. Viet ships fire on US ships… US Congress passes “Tonkin Gulf Resolution”,

authorising “all measures necessary”…

Mar 1965: – 3,500 US combat marines land at Da Nang… US officially “at war” in Vietnam…

Learning OutcomesBy the end of the lesson, we will have…

… showed off our art skills

… produced a timeline showing the process through which the US got involved in Vietnam

… prioritised the reasons why the US got involved

Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) – US President 1963-1968

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Domino theory

1.Stick the reasons for US involvement in Vietnam sheet into your books.

2.Order these from (1) Most Important to (2) Least Important.

3.Write a short paragraph explaining your decision.

EXT: add/list any other arguments you can think of why the US got involved – e.g. can you make a link to the outcome of

the CMC?

Learning OutcomesBy the end of the lesson, we will have…

… showed off our art skills

… produced a timeline showing the process through which the US got involved in Vietnam

… prioritised the reasons why the US got involved

Video

Vietnam War – The Gulf of

Tonkin incident

Video

LBJ statement on the Gulf of Tonkin

incident – 4 Aug 1964