Vietnam: 1954-1968

Use your textbook to define the terms below and then answer the questions using the Battlefield Vietnam website.

Domino Theory, Vietminh, Saigon, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh

Battlefield Vietnam: 1954-1968

  1. Which European country had ruled over Vietnam until 1954? As a result of what battle did this country decide to abandon its imperial rule over Vietnam?
  2. How was Vietnam to be divided according to the Geneva Peace Accords?
  3. Why did Cold War tensions between the communist world (U.S.S.R. and China) and the U.S. play a role in the decision to divide Vietnam?
  4. What was supposed to happen in 1956 in Vietnam? Why didn’t it happen?
  5. What was SEATO? Why was it created?
  6. Who became president of South Vietnam (GVN)? Why was their outcry against his leadership by citizens of the country?
  7. From whom did Diem face opposition within South Vietnam? Who did he claim he and his country were under attack from?
  8. What was the National Liberation Front? Why was it created?
  9. Under who’s control did the U.S. claim the NLF was under? What nickname did the U.S. create for the NLF?
  10. What action did President Kennedy decide to take in Vietnam? What form of aid did he provide to Diem and the South Vietnamese?
  11. What was the Strategic Hamlet Program? What was the mission of this program? Was it successful? Why or why not?
  12. What did South Vietnam (GVN) claim that Buddhist monks were guilty of? How did the monks respond?
  13. Why did the U.S. come to support an overthrow of Diem from power in South Vietnam (GVN)?
  14. How many advisors were in Vietnam at the time of the Kennedy and Diem assassinations?
  15. What happened in the Gulf of Tonkin that convinced President Johnson to increase U.S. military involvement in Vietnam? Were the reports accurate?
  16. What was decided in the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?
  17. What strategy was decided upon by the Johnson administration?
  18. What was Operation Rolling Thunder?
  19. What strategy was decided upon by the communists in North Vietnam to defeat the U.S.?
  20. What strategy was decided upon by the Johnson administration to achieve victory in Vietnam?
  21. What was the domestic impact of the war in Vietnam? Give two examples of where and how American citizens protested the war.