22.1 ROAD TO VIETNAM

COMMUNISM SPREADING• Vietnam was a French colony

• Ho Chi Minh was a local Communist leader who wanted Vietnam to be free

• Vietnam was taken over by the Japanese in WWII, French returned in 1945

• U.S. helped France try to beat Ho Chi Minh and his Vietminh army, but failed by 1954

• Vietnam was split into Communist north and democratic south

COMMUNISM SPREADING• Vietcong were Communist fighters in south

Vietnam

• Vietcong received supplies from the north via the Ho Chi Minh Trail

• The U.S.-supported southern govt. began harassing Buddhists and farmers

• This led to further attacks from the Vietcong

JOHNSON’S WAR• President Johnson didn’t want to seem

“weak on Communism”

• He almost seemed to be lookin’ for a fight• Already had plans to send troops to ‘Nam

• Kennedy may have been ready to back away from Vietnam…

JOHNSON’S WAR• August 1964, U.S.S. Maddox was attacked by

the North Vietnamese off their coast

• LBJ gave Congress Tonkin Gulf Resolution to vote on, it gave him the power to send in the military

• He didn’t tell them that the Maddox was basically spying on North Vietnam…

• Congress passed it almost unanimously

GULF OF TONKIN RESOLUTION

1. According to the Resolution itself, why was the Resolution created?

2. What does Congress give to the President (Johnson)?

3. When are these powers supposed to end?

4. (Toughy) What does the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution not include?