Hillstrom K., Hillstrom L.C. Vietnam war. Almanac

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Viet Minh: Communist-led nationalist group that worked to

gain Vietnam’s independence from French colonial

rule.

Vietnamization: A policy proposed by President Richard

Nixon that involved returning responsibility for the

war to the South Vietnamese. It was intended to allow

the United States to reduce its military involvement

without allowing the country to fall to communism.

Watergate: A political scandal that forced U.S. President

Richard Nixon to resign from office in 1974. In June

1972, Republican agents associated with Nixon’s

reelection campaign broke into the Democratic cam-

paign headquarters in the Watergate Hotel in Wash-

ington, D.C., to gather secret information. Nixon and

several members of his administration attempted to

cover up the burglary.

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he following research and activity ideas are intended to

offer suggestions for complementing social studies and his-

tory curricula, to trigger additional ideas for enhancing learn-

ing, and to suggest cross-disciplinary projects for library and

classroom use.

Immediately after World War II, U.S. President Harry S. Tru-

man had to decide whether to support Vietnam’s bid

for independence or France’s efforts to resume its colo-

nial power over Indochina. Divide the class into three

groups. One group will present the position of Ho Chi

Minh and the Vietnamese nationalists. The second

group will present the position of the French govern-

ment. The third group, representing President Truman

and his advisors, will listen to the arguments and make

a decision.

Ngo Dinh Diem, whose government ruled South Vietnam

from 1954 to 1963, was widely viewed as brutal and

corrupt. He refused to follow any of the democratic

principles that Americans value. So how did the

United States end up supporting Diem? Write a report

xxxv

Research and Activity Ideas

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tracing the early history of U.S. involvement in Viet-

nam. Be sure to discuss the Domino Theory and Amer-

ican fears that arose during the Cold War. Did the

United States have other options besides supporting

Diem? What would have happened in South Vietnam

if the United States had not become involved?

Pretend that you are a 19-year-old American man in 1967.

You have just received your draft notice and expect

to be sent to Vietnam. What do you do? Your options

might include enlisting in the military, joining the

National Guard, trying to obtain a legal deferment,

filing for conscientious objector status, or fleeing to

Canada. Divide the class into groups based on which

option they chose. Have each group discuss how

their answer would change if they were: 1) an African

American follower of Martin Luther King, Jr.; 2) a

working-class man whose father had fought in World

War II; 3) a wealthy man who planned to attend law

school.

Imagine yourself as an American combat soldier in Vietnam.

Create a diary of your imaginary experiences as you

patrol the Vietnamese countryside, search a village for

evidence of Viet Cong activity, or prepare to return to

the United States.

When North Vietnam launched the Tet Offensive in 1968, it

marked a turning point in the Vietnam War. But histo-

rians continue to disagree about whether Tet should be

considered a victory or a defeat for the United States.

Divide the class into two teams and debate the impact

of the Tet Offensive. Be sure to consider the reaction of

the American public as well as what happened on the

battlefields of Vietnam.

American bombing campaigns took a terrible toll on the land

and people in both North and South Vietnam. Draw a

map of Vietnam and mark the regions that were most

affected by the American bombing, using different col-

ors for the various campaigns. Include the major cities

and transportation routes on your map. Where would

refugees from the heavily bombed areas likely go in

search of safety?

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Divide the class into several groups of three or four students.

Have each group present a skit about the experience of

an American veteran returning home from Vietnam.

One group might show the veteran’s reaction to an

antiwar demonstration, one might show his first meet-

ing with his family, and another might show him

struggling with physical or psychological wounds.

People continue to argue about why the United States lost the

Vietnam War. The following factors are commonly

cited as reasons for the American defeat: timid politi-

cal leadership; the antiwar movement and lack of pub-

lic support; media coverage of the war; flawed military

strategies; and North Vietnam’s dedication to its cause.

Assign members of the class to rank these factors in

order of importance and then support their rankings

orally.

It took twenty years after the end of the Vietnam War for the

United States and Vietnam to resume full diplomatic

relations. Discuss the pros and cons of reestablishing

diplomatic ties from the perspective of a Vietnamese

government official, an American business leader, and

an American citizen whose son was classified as “miss-

ing in action” during the war.

As a class, create a list of the various ways that the Vietnam

War has affected the United States since 1975. Be sure

to consider both domestic issues and foreign policies.

How did the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Per-

sian Gulf War change the way Americans felt after Viet-

nam?

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he Asian nation of Vietnam has had a troubled past. In fact,

conquest and rebellion are the central themes of Vietnam’s

recorded history. In ancient times, the Vietnamese people

came under the control of China, the empire to their north.

Centuries of Chinese rule did a great deal to shape Vietnam’s

culture, language, and religion. But even though China had a

profound influence on the development of Vietnamese society,

it never managed to erase Vietnam’s unique sense of identity or

its desire for independence from foreign rule.

In the tenth century

A.D., Vietnam finally succeeded in

casting off Chinese rule. For most of the next 800 years a suc-

cession of Vietnamese emperors ruled the country. In the

1800s, however, Vietnam once again came under the control

of a foreign power. France, a European nation eager to build a

global empire, conquered Vietnam during the 1860s.

Over the next several decades, France became known

for its uncaring attitude toward the country’s indigenous

(native) people. “[France’s] rule was often incompetent, usu-

ally inconsistent, and regularly harsh,” writes Robert D.

Schulzinger in A Time for War. This treatment, combined with

Vietnam and

French Colonialism

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traditional Vietnamese resistance to foreign rule, eventually

created a strong movement to force France out of Vietnam.

Location and geography of Vietnam

The country of Vietnam is located along the eastern

coast of mainland Southeast Asia, on the eastern side of the

Indochina Peninsula. Its neighbor to the north is China, while

the nations on its western borders are Laos and Cambodia.

Vietnam’s eastern and southern boundaries extend to the

2Vietnam War: Almanac

Buddhism A religion based on the teach-

ings of Siddhartha Gautama (known as

the Buddha; c. 563–c. 483

B.C.), in

which followers seek moral purity and

spiritual enlightenment.

Colonialism A practice in which one coun-

try assumes political control over

another country. Most colonial powers

establish colonies in foreign lands in

order to take possession of valuable nat-

ural resources and increase their own

power. Historically, they showed little

concern for the rights and well-being of

the native people.

Communism A political system in which

the government controls all resources

and means of producing wealth. By

eliminating private property, this sys-

tem is designed to create an equal soci-

ety with no social classes. However,

Communist governments in practice

often limit personal freedom and rights.

Confucianism A belief system based on the

teachings of Confucius (551–479

C.)

that emphasizes morality, social relation-

ships, and respect for ancestors. The

major Confucian virtues include integrity,

loyalty, generosity, and politeness.

Indochina The name sometimes given to

the peninsula between India and China

in Southeast Asia. The term narrowly

refers to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam,

which were united under the name

French Indochina during the colonial

period, 1893–1954.

Nationalism A feeling of intense loyalty and

devotion to a country or homeland.

Some people argue that nationalism,

rather than communism, was the main

factor that caused the Viet Minh to fight

the French for control of Vietnam.

Viet Minh Communist-led nationalist

movement to gain Vietnam’s indepen-

dence from French colonial rule.

Words to Know

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South China Sea. The country is shaped

roughly like the letter “S” and covers

almost 130,000 square miles, making it

about the size of California.

Several geographic regions can

be found within Vietnam. The country’s

northern section is known for its annual

monsoon seasons, characterized by

great quantities of rainfall. The region is

dominated by the Red River delta, a

watershed that serves as a tremendously

fertile farming area. But the north also

supports a wide range of rainforest vege-

tation and wildlife, especially in the

mountainous interior. The central sec-

tion of Vietnam features the highest ele-

vations of the country. It consists mostly

of mountains and dense rainforest, and

has traditionally been the least popu-

lated area of the country. The most

famous region of Vietnam’s southland is

the fertile Mekong River delta. This low-

lying area, which has a tropical climate,

has historically supported a wide range

of farming practices.

Vietnam’s northern Red River

delta and its southern Mekong delta are

connected by the Chaîne Annamatique,

a mountain range that runs from north

to south along Vietnam’s western

boundary with Laos and Cambodia.

This rugged chain of mountains guards

Vietnam’s western border all the way

from China down through the nation’s

midsection before fading into the foothills north of the city of

Saigon (modern-day Ho Chi Minh City). Over the centuries,

these mountains isolated Vietnam from nations to the west,

like India. But the Chaîne Annamatique did not protect the

country from peoples of the north, like the Chinese. In fact,

the mountains seemed to channel Chinese armies, religions,

political systems, and other aspects of Chinese culture down

into Vietnam over the years.

Vietnam and French Colonialism 3

Vietnam and surrounding

countries.

Map by XNR Productions, Inc.

Reproduced by permission

of Gale Group.

Gulf of

Tonkin

Hainan

Gulf of

Thailand

SOUTH

CHINA

SEA

Mekong

Delta

CHINA

LAOS

C AMBODIA

VIETNAM

Nha Trang

Cam Ranh

Bien Hoa

Ho Chi Minh City

Vung Tau

Bac Lieu

Qui Nhon

Quang

Ngai

Da Nang

Thanh Hoa

Hong Gai

Thai Nguyen

Vinh

Dong Hoi

Hanoi

Cam Pha

Lao Cai

Hue

Rach Gia

Can Tho

Long Xuyen

My Tho

Buon Me Thuot

Da Lat

Nam Dinh

05025 100 miles

Pleiku

VWAlm 001-090 7/30/03 3:04 PM Page 3

Rebellion against

Chinese rule

Legends say that the region that

eventually became northern Vietnam

was governed in ancient times by a

series of hereditary leaders known as

the Hung Kings (hereditary means that

rule was passed down within a family).

These ancient rulers were believed to be

indigenous, or native, to the area. Viet-

nam’s recorded history, however, did

not begin until 208 B.C

., when an out-

law Chinese general named Trieu Da

(also known as Chao T’o) took over an

area of northern Vietnam known as Au

Lac. About 100 years later, in 111

B.C.,

the region was conquered by China and

absorbed into the powerful Han

Dynasty (a dynasty is a family that

maintains rule over a period of many

generations; members of the Han

Dynasty ruled from 206

B.C. to A.D. 220).

It remained a pro-vince (a territory gov-

erned by another country) of China for

most of the next thousand years, even

though the Vietnamese made periodic

attempts to break free from Chinese

control.

The Vietnamese people battled

China with great determination for

centuries. But China’s superior military

power enabled it to stamp out the

uprisings and maintain control of Viet-

nam and much of the rest of

Indochina. During this thousand-year

period of Chinese rule, Vietnamese civilization was strongly

influenced by China’s social customs and values. For example,

China introduced Confucianism to Vietnam during its reign.

Confucianism is a system of thought and belief based on the

teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius, who lived

during the sixth century

B.C. This philosophy, which empha-

sizes ancestor worship and family relations, became an impor-

4Vietnam War: Almanac

People to Know

Bao Dai (1913–) Vietnamese political

leader who served as emperor and

head of state under French colonial

rule, 1926–1945 and 1949–1955.

Ho Chi Minh (1890–1969) Vietnamese

Communist leader who led Viet Minh

forces in opposing French rule and

became the first president of North

Vietnam in 1954. He also led the

North during the Vietnam War until

his death.

Napoleon III (1808–1873) Emperor of

France during the beginning of its

colonial rule over Vietnam.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)

Served three terms in office as the

32nd president of the United States,

from 1933 until his death in 1945.

Led the United States through the

Great Depression (1929–34) and

World War II (1939–45).

Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) Served as

the 33rd president of the United

States, 1945–53. Did not oppose

France reclaiming control over Viet-

nam after World War II (1939–45).

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tant aspect of Vietnamese culture,

although Buddhism remained the

region’s dominant religion. “Histori-

ans dwell on China’s military aggres-

sion, [but] it was its cultural aggression

that had the most profound effect on

the evolution of Vietnamese social and

political institutions,” writes Harry

Summers Jr. in Historical Atlas of the

Vietnam War. “Chinese culture shaped

Vietnamese language, writing, reli-

gion, and views on the role and struc-

ture of government.”

Vietnam’s steady resistance to

Chinese rule also played a part in the

development of its national identity.

“China failed to assimilate [absorb] the

Vietnamese, who retained their ethnic

singularity despite their receptivity

[positive attitude] to Chinese innova-

tions,” remarks Stanley Karnow in Viet-

nam: A History. “Over the centuries,

they would repeatedly challenge Chi-

nese domination. And that hostility

entered their historic consciousness.”

An independent kingdom

China’s control over Vietnam came to an end in the

tenth century A.D., when its Tang Dynasty (618–907) col-

lapsed. The Vietnamese leader Ngo Quyen (c. 897–944) took

advantage of the political problems in China to create a new

Vietnamese kingdom that he called Nam Viet. Over the next

five centuries, the nation of Nam Viet thrived. Guided by

monarchs (rulers) of the Ly Dynasty (1009–1225) and the

Tran Dynasty (1225–1400), the Vietnamese kingdom

expanded its land holdings throughout Indochina by invad-

ing other nations. They also fended off repeated threats from

Mongol armies during the thirteenth century. The Mongols

were a nomadic people from central Asia who conquered

much of Asia and eastern Europe during the thirteenth and

fourteenth centuries.

Vietnam and French Colonialism 5

Confucius (551–479 B.C.).

Reproduced by permission

of Archive Photos.

VWAlm 001-090 7/30/03 3:04 PM Page 5

Early in the fifteenth century, however, Vietnamese

self-rule came to a crashing halt. Members of China’s power-

ful Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) seized control of Vietnam

and instituted an extremely harsh rule. For example, they

forced the Vietnamese people to worship Chinese gods and

to speak Chinese, and they seized vast quantities of gold,

spices, rare woods, and other natural resources for shipment

to Chinese ports. “The rule of the Ming was probably worse

than anything Vietnam had ever experienced,” comments

historian Joseph Buttinger in The Smaller Dragon: A Political

History of Vietnam. “The country was bled white [robbed of

its most valuable resources]. Battalions of forced laborers

were sent into mines, forests, and to the bottom of the sea to

extract Vietnam’s natural wealth for China.” But China’s

leadership was unable to keep its grip on the Vietnamese. In

1428, a rebellion led by a wealthy landowner named Le Loi

(ruled 1428–1443) finally forced China to recognize Viet-

nam’s independence.

After securing Vietnamese independence, Le Loi estab-

lished the new capital in Hanoi and launched a dynasty—

known as the Le Dynasty—that endured for the next 400

years. During this period, effective leaders like Le Thanh Tong

(ruled 1460–1497) strengthened Vietnam’s social and eco-

nomic foundations. They also expanded the nation’s borders

by taking control of the Mekong River delta and the Ca Mau

Peninsula (the southernmost regions of modern Vietnam).

Only the central highlands, inhabited by non-Vietnamese

tribal peoples, remained largely unsettled.

Vietnam and European colonialism

The Vietnamese people first made contact with Europe

in the sixteenth century, when Portuguese merchants and

Christian missionaries from several countries landed on their

shores. During this period, European fleets were sailing all

around the world in search of wealth and people to convert to

Christianity. The various European nations (primarily Portu-

gal, Spain, England, France, and the Netherlands) were

engaged in fierce competition with one another for economic

and political superiority. They saw Vietnam and many other

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