1. BELLWORK
Using your Vietnam War Timeline, answer the following questions:
Who was the first president to send aide into Vietnam?
Which European country colonized Vietnam?
Describe the two sides of conflict in May 1950.
What happens in May 1954? Why is this event important?
Who is Ho Chi Minh?
THINKER: In your opinion…….. Who killed JFK?

2. HISTORY MYSTERY: JFK vs. Lincoln

3. HISTORY MYSTERY: JFK vs. Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.
Abraham Lincoln was elected President in John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.
Both were concerned with civil rights for African Americans.
Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.
Both Presidents were shot on a  Friday & both were shot in the head
Lincoln's secretary was named  Kennedy. Kennedy's Secretary was named Lincoln.

4. Now it gets weird…….. Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.
Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.
John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in  Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was  born in 1939
Lincoln was shot at the theatre named 'Ford'. Kennedy was shot in a car made by 'Ford'.
Lincoln was shot in a theatre and his assassin ran and hid in a warehouse. Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a theatre.
Booth and Oswald were both assassinated before their trials

5. Discussion Question
As you know, containment (stopping the spread of communism) is one of America’s main priorities during the Cold War. Which area should the U.S. focus on “containing” first? Eastern Europe, (Poland/Czech), the Caribbean (Cuba) or Southeast Asia (China/Vietnam). Why is communism the most dangerous in this area? Explain your answer!

6. The Domino Theory
In 1954, President Eisenhower described American involvement and its relation to dominoes:
“You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly.”
What is Eisenhower trying to prove by using the metaphor of “dominoes?” How does this relate to communism and the containment policy?

7. The Domino Theory
The Domino Theory: the fear that if one Southeast Asian nation fell to Communism, the others would also fall.
I.E: If Vietnam fell to Communism, because of its location, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Thailand would also be in danger.

8. Background of the War
The Geneva Accords: 1954 peace settlement that divided Vietnam into two separate nations.
Ho Chi Minh became president of the new Communist North Vietnam.
Ngo Dinh Diem became president of the anti-Communist South Vietnam.
Elections were supposed to be held in 1956 to unify Vietnam, but South Vietnam refused and it remained divided.

11. U.S. Involvement
President Eisenhower pledged his support to South Vietnam’s Diem.
In 1960, Eisenhower provided U.S. advisors to assist South Vietnam; thus beginning U.S involvement in the Vietnam War.

12. Kennedy’s Policy
When Kennedy took office in 1961 he was even more determined to prevent the spread of communism.
Kennedy increased the number of military advisors to Vietnam.
By the end of 1963, that number had grown to more than 16,000.

14. Diem’s Downfall
Diem was unpopular in South Vietnam because of his Catholic policies and relocation of peasant farmers.
U.S. officials told the South Vietnamese military that it would not object to Diem’s overthrow. In November 1963, they staged a coup and the military took control of the government.
Diem’s successors were also unpopular and unsuccessful.

16. The Viet Cong
The Viet Cong were communist guerrillas in the south. Together with their political party The National Liberation Front they gained more popularity in the South.
Ho Chi Minh and the North Vietnamese aided the Viet Cong throughout the war.

18. Johnson Takes Over
When Johnson becomes President he declares “I am not going to lose Vietnam.”
In August 1964, North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.
Due to the attack, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which authorized Johnson to take military action in Vietnam.

23. Discussion
In YOUR opinion, do you feel the U.S. should have intervened in Vietnam?
Where there any alternatives to an invasion?
How do you think American citizens responded?

24. Closure What were the two sides of the Vietnam War?
What was President Kennedy’s policy in Vietnam?
What was President Johnson’s policy in Vietnam?
Who were the Viet Cong? Who supported them?

25. Worksheet: Fighting Vietnam
You are now going to learn more about the fighting tactics/strategies used by Americans during the Vietnam War.
To complete the worksheet, read pgs
These will be your notes for the section, so explain your answers! Provide details!
Be ready to discuss!

26. Operation Rolling Thunder

27. American Bombings

28. General Nguyen Van Thieu

29. U.S. Troops in Vietnam

30. Vietcong Underground Tunnels

31. Conditions in Vietnam War

33. Guerilla Warfare

34. Agent Orange

41. Napalm Bombs

43. Cities of the Underworld: Vietnam