Section 2

• Diems government

  • corrupt - (gave jobs to his family & US funding is embezzled)
  • Catholic- majority of Vietnam was Buddhist - banned flying buddhas flag on buddhas birthday
  • Vietcong started a guerrilla campaign against Diem
  • harsh - sent vietminh supporters to re-education camps and executed them
  • Gave peasants land to his friends- Ho chi minh carried out and reform
• Domino theory

  • US had a policy of containment
  • If one south asian country went communist the rest would follow
  • Eisenhower feared 1956 elections would vote in Ho chi minh
• How did Diem die?

  shot by ARVN troops with US suppport
• When did greater involvement under kennedy happen?

  1961-1963
• Reasons for the Strategic hamlet program

  • Vietcong fighters would attack ARVN and disappear into sympathetic villages
  • More security in the countryside
  • JFK wanted to be seen as anti-communist
• Strategic hamlet program

  • peasants were moved into fortified villages guarded by troops
  • peasants resented Diem
  • 3000 strategic hamlets built
  • many guards were secretly vietcong
• What year was the strategic hamlet program introduced?

  1962
• Impacts of the strategic hamlet program

  • Diems popularity decreased
  • Vietcong support increased
  • increased US military involvement in vietnam- kennedy sent more military support (No troops)
  • Kennedys presidency - 60000 guerilla groups and 170000 vietcong fighters
• When did greater involvement under Johnson happen?

  1963-1969
• What was the main reason for the USA's involvement in Vietnam?

  Containment of communism
• What did the policy of containment aim to achieve?

  Stopping the advance of communism
• Which country fell to communism in 1949?

  China
• What did President Johnson mean by not wanting Southeast Asia to go the way China went?

  He wanted to prevent communism's spread
• How was the domino theory related to the USA's involvement in Vietnam?

  It suggested that communism would spread
• What did Americans believe would happen if South Vietnam fell to communism?

  Other countries would follow like dominoes
• What analogy did President Johnson use to explain the domino theory?


  A bully coming into a garden
• What was the condition of the ARVN during the Vietnam War?

  They were weak and ill-equipped
• What did the American commander report about the ARVN in 1963?


  They were often killed asleep in positions
• How did Diem's appointment of military officers affect the ARVN?

  It was based on loyalty, not ability
• Why was it politically advantageous for American politicians to talk tough about communism?

  It was a vote winner
• What did John F. Kennedy promise during his 1960 election campaign?

  To continue tough anti-communist policies
• What incident in August 1964 escalated US involvement in Vietnam?


  The Gulf of Tonkin incident
• What happened during the Gulf of Tonkin incident?

  North Vietnamese ships attacked a US destroyer
• What was the outcome of the Gulf of Tonkin incident for President Johnson?

  He gained authority to use military force
• What did Congress pass as a result of the Gulf of Tonkin incident?

  The Tonkin Resolution
• What was the effect of the Tonkin Resolution?

  It gave Johnson power for military maneuvers
• How did the Gulf of Tonkin incident affect the 1964 election?


  Johnson won against Barry Goldwater
• What were the key reasons for the USA's involvement in Vietnam?

  • Containment of communism
  • Domino theory
  • Weakness of ARVN
  • American political climate
  • Gulf of Tonkin incident