History of French Indochina

French Colonialism 1800s - 1941 In the 1800s the French assumed a protectorate over French Indochina

1800s - 1941 In 1919, at the Treaty of Versailles, a young Vietnamese man, later known as Ho Chi Minh appealed to President Wilson for help. Minh wanted a constitutional government that would give the Vietnamese people the same civil and political rights as the Americans. Wilson refused to consider Minh’s proposal and instead supported the French Ho Chi Minh (Bringer of Light) was a Paris- educated, Moscow-trained Communist. Ho had lived in the United States, England, France, Russia, and China. He spoke at least 4 languages.

Based upon what you just learned about Ho Chi Minh, which man do you think he is?

FDR and WWII (1941-1945) During WWII Japan occupied Vietnam and drove out the French. The United States supported Minh’s guerilla war against the Japanese. The Vietminh not only fought along side American forces, but were also responsible for rescuing downed Air Force Pilots.

Truman In 1945, with the defeat of the Japanese, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam a free and independent country. He gave his speech in Hanoi in front of a huge crowd of cheering Vietnamese and American soldiers. Read the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence

Truman Cont. In 1946, the French tried to recolonize Indochina. The French could claim that they were not fighting to preserve colonial privileges but to stem the tide of world communism. This became even more evident after the fall of China and the Korean War. The United States, ready to support anti-communist movements, gave considerable financial aid to the French, but did not fight. Over four years, the U.S pumped nearly $2.6 billion into the effort to defeat Ho Chi Minh. Ironically, the U.S had supported Ho during WWII when they forged an alliance with Minh, supplying him with aid to resist the Japanese.

Eisenhower On taking office in 1953, Eisenhower continued to support the French military campaign. By 1954, the United States was paying roughly 75% of France’s war costs.

Eisenhower In 1954, the Vietminh defeated France at Dien Bien Phu The Vietminh used guerilla war tactics. Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia were recognized as independent Vietnam was split in two at the Seventeenth parallel into a Communist governed North, and a non-Communist South Vietnam.

Eisenhower Peace talks to end the conflict were held in Geneva, Switzerland. The Geneva Accords: Divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel into North and South. As well as recognizing Cambodia’s independence. Decided that elections were to be held in 1956 to reunite the country under a single government.

North Vietnam North Vietnam, with its capital in Hanoi, was called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and led by Ho Chi Minh.

Eisenhower South Vietnam, with its capital in Saigon, was largely supported by the United States The US felt that they had to fill the power vacuum created by the French withdrawal The Eisenhower administration provided economic and military aid to South Vietnam’s regime. The U.S. set up Ngo Dinh Diem, who had recently been living in New Jersey, as the head of the government. Diem was elected in 1955 Called off the reunification election of 1956, violation of the Geneva Accords

Ngo Dinh Diem Born to one of the noble families in Vietnam Family converted from Buddhism to Catholicism Was on friendly terms with the imperial family in his youth Served as a government leader under Emperor Bao Dai, but resigned because of France’s unwillingness to support legislative reform Gave up his title and lived quietly in the north 1945 – captured by Ho Chi Minh forces Asked to join Minh’s movement Minh hoped this would bring in Catholic support Diem refused Self-imposed exile for the next decade Elected in 1955, ousted the emperor From 1955-1961, the Diem government received more than $1 billion in aid. American advisers organized and trained Diem’s army.

Kennedy In 1961, President Kennedy continued the nation’s policy of support for South Vietnam. Kennedy sharply increased military aid and sent more advisers to Vietnam. From 1961-1963, the number of American military personnel in South Vietnam jumped from about 2,000 to around 15,000.

Kennedy U.S. supported South Vietnam leader, Diem. But Diem turned out to be oppressive and unpopular. He canceled elections, repressed Buddhists; caused major discontent in South Vietnam.

Kennedy November 1, 1963 U.S. feared that Diem’s unpopularity will push more South Vietnamese to support Communists. So they supported a coup and Diem was overthrown and assassinated JFK assassinated only weeks later LBJ inherited the problem in Vietnam.

Analysis Answer the two questions at the bottom of the page