CH 15 SEC 4 War in Southeast Asia

I. Indochina After World War 2 The French had controlled much of Indochina from the 1800’s until World War 2. During the war, the Japanese conquered the area, but were resisted by guerilla groups, especially in Vietnam. When the French tried to take control back after the war, Ho Chi Min led the fight against them. He defeated the French at Dienbienphu, and they gave up left Vietnam.

I. Indochina After World War 2 Ho Chi Min was communist, and the U.S. did not want to let the Communists take over the whole country, so it was agreed to split it into Communist North Vietnam and noncommunist South Vietnam. Many people fled the communists in the North, but many also hated the corrupt government in the South, but it was supported by the U.S. Communists started invading South Vietnam, and civil war broke out.

II. America Enters the Vietnam War The threat of communism spreading throughout Southeast Asia had the U.S. worried. Some leaders felt that if Vietnam fell, then all the other countries would fall to communism as well. This was labeled the domino theory. At first, the U.S. only sent supplies and advisors to help fight off the communists, but as the Viet Cong, or communist rebels, had success, the U.S. got more involved.

II. America Enters the Vietnam War A U.S. Navy destroyer called the Maddox was attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964, and President Johnson pushed for retaliation. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, giving the president power to stop all further aggression in Southeast Asia. The U.S. started a bombing campaign in North Vietnam, and began sending troops to fight. A draft was initiated, and over 500,000 would fight in the war.

II. America Enters the Vietnam War Vietnam was a guerilla war, and since many of the rebels were from South Vietnam the American soldiers never really knew who were enemies and who were friends. In 1968 the communists initiated a huge attack, called the Tet offensive, that did not gain any territory, but it made the American public question the reason for the war.

III. The Vietnam War Ends Public support of the war continued to decline. The cost of the war, casualties, and the POWs made people question if the war could actually be won. People began to rally against the war, and turned against the government that kept fighting in it. President Johnson did not run for reelection because he had no support in the country.

III. The Vietnam War Ends Nixon was elected president, and faced pressure to end the war. He finally agreed in 1973 to a cease-fire, and promised to remove troops by Soon after the U.S. left, North Vietnam conquered South Vietnam and the country became communist, with the capital at Hanoi.

IV. Southeast Asia After the War After Vietnam fell, some other countries did fall to the Communists. Cambodia and Laos did have communist governments, but that was as far it went. Cambodia was attacked during the war by the U.S., and after the war a communist group, the Khmer Rouge, took control of the country.

IV. Southeast Asia After the War The Khmer Rouge were led by Pol Pot, who tried to wipe out Western influence in Cambodia by torturing and killing anyone he deemed a threat. He killed about a third of the population during his reign. Many people fled the country, coming to the U.S. on boats to escape the conditions in Cambodia.

IV. Southeast Asia After the War The Vietnamese eventually invaded Cambodia and drove the Khmer Rouge out of power. They controlled Cambodia, but the killings did stop. Many people also fled Vietnam during this time, and they also came to the U.S. on boats looking for a chance to be free.

IV. Southeast Asia After the War Vietnam had a difficult time recovering from the war and establishing their economy. They had few resources, and the U.S. put an embargo on Vietnam to prevent other countries from trading with them. This kept Vietnam very poor, and the country struggled to provide for itself.

In your notebooks Half-page summary of the lecture.