Transcript History of French Indochina

HISTORY OF FRENCH
INDOCHINA
French Colonialism 1800s - 1941
•
Imperialism
•
The most active of the
imperial nations were located
in Europe, and the forty
years preceding the First
World War were the years of
Europe’s world supremacy.
•
Simply defined as the
government of one people by
another. (The rich over the
poor, the powerful over the
weak).
•
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 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 campaign anticommunist 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 1954, Eisenhower continued to support
the French military campaign.
• By 1954, the United States was paying roughly ¾ of
France’s war costs.
Eisenhower
•
•
•
•
The French were defeated
at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.
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.
Ike cont.
•
Peace talks to end the conflict
were held in Geneva,
Switzerland. The Geneva
Accords:
1. Divided Vietnam along the
17th parallel into North and
South. As well as
recognizing Cambodia’s
independence.
2. 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.
Ike cont.
•
•
•
•
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.
Ike cont.
• In the South, the United States helped Ngo Dinh
Diem.
• With American aid he staged a fraudulent election
in the South that gave him 98% of the vote.
• In violation of the Geneva Accords, Diem called
off national elections.
• From 1955-1961, the Diem government received
more than $1 billion in aid. American advisers
organized and trained Diem’s army.
JFK
• 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.
JFK
• 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.
JFK
• 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—Nov. 1,
1963.
• JFK assassinated only
weeks later. LBJ
inherited the problem in
Vietnam.