Unit 1: The Origins of US Involvement in Vietnam (111 BC-1954)
Unit Overview:
This unit spans the years 111 BC to 1954. The Vietnamese have been fighting for independence for a long time. The Chinese Empire annexed Vietnam in 100 BC and the Vietnamese rebelled repeatedly until they were able to kick the Chinese out in 1000 AD. Once the French came, the Vietnamese fought them, and then the Japanese and finally the Americans. The first few lessons of this unit describe the early history of the Vietnamese through the French Occupation. The later lessons describe the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union, and how the fall of Korea and China to Communism would eventually draw America into Vietnam's long war for independence.
Unit Essay: Opposing Viewpoints on the Cold War
Opposing Viewpoints on the Cold War
In order to understand the Vietnam War, it is important to look at it in context of the events of the time it occurred in. Vietnam was a conflict that occurred during the Cold War, a 45-year confrontation between Capitalist and Democratic nations against Communist nations. During this conflict, in practicing the Truman Doctrine the US sought to "contain" communism and was constantly worried about the expansion of this system. At the same time, as the nations of Europe were trying to recover from WWII, Vietnamese nationalists like Ho Chi Minh saw this time as the best time to try for national independence from Vietnam's former colonial masters. While the US saw communism as a system that needed to be contained and prevented, the North Vietnamese viewed communism as a vehicle they could use to attain their independence. Based on your knowledge of the Cold War and the Vietnamese nationalist movement from this unit, analyze the Communist Victory in the Chinese Civil War, The Korean War, and the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu to write an essay explaining how the opposing viewpoints of the US and the North Vietnamese led to US involvement in the conflict in Vietnam.
In order to help you structure your essay, describe these three key events of the Cold War from both the American and Vietnamese viewpoints and analyze how the differing perspectives on these events could lead to conflict between the two nations.
Helpful links:
Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War
US involvement in the Korean War
French defeat in 1954 in Vietnam
Unit Videos:
Vietnam, a Televised History Part 1 (59:50)
Vietnam, a Televised History Part 2 (55:10)
Unit Lectures:
Vietnam Era Unit 1 Essay Class
French Imperialism in 19th Century (43:56)
Unit Study Guides:
Unit 1 has 3 quizzes. You can access the quiz study guides by clicking the links below. The documents linked here are Google Docs. To print our download, select "file", "download as" and choose either Word, Open Office Document, or whatever format suits you.
It takes 5-10 minutes each lesson to fill out a quiz study guide, and these will definitely help you to perform well on the quizzes. If you do all three quiz study guides you will also be well-prepared for the test. Since these study guides give you what is important in each lesson, think of them as notes and fill them out as you go.
To watch a short video on how to use these study guides click this link: How to Use Study Guides: Vietnam History
Key Terms:
For this project you must define the terms listed below and explain each term's significance to the unit/era being studied. Your definition should be 2-3 sentences long and may be copied and pasted from a source like Wikipedia, but the significance of the term must be in your own words and based on your own understanding. To fill out a term's significance, ask yourself, "Why is this item included in my study of this unit? Why is this term in a history book?" The answer to this question is your term's significance.
Unit 1 Key Terms:
The Long Telegram
Korean War
French Indochina
Iron Curtain
Chinese Civil War
Vo Nguyen Giap
Truman Doctrine
Domino Theory
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Warsaw Pact
Ho Chi Minh
Geneva Conference of 1954
Marshall Plan
Vietminh
Bao Dai
Below is an example of a key term done with the proper format:
William the Conqueror: William I (c. 1028[2] – 9 September 1087), also known as William the Conqueror (Guillaume le Conquérant), was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II. Before his conquest of England, he was known as William the Bastard because of the illegitimacy of his birth.To press his claim to the English crown, William invaded England in 1066, leading an army of Normans, Bretons, Flemings, and Frenchmen (from Paris andÎle-de-France) to victory over the English forces of King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings, and suppressed subsequent English revolts in what has become known as the Norman Conquest.[3] (I copied and pasted this definition from Wikipedia)
Significance: William the Conqueror is significant because his conquest of England created the first nation state in Europe. His rearrangement of English feudal territories to give himself dramatically more power than the the barons and nobles around him caused him to be the most powerful monarch in Europe and eventually led to the rise of other nation states over the next few centuries. (These are my words based on my knowledge of English and European history.)
Japanese troops leaving Vietnam at end of WWII, to be replaced by French troops.
French POW's captured at Dien Bien Phu, 1954.