Changes

=== A. Vietnam ===

=== A. Vietnam ===

Americans feared a “domino effect” of communism for good reason.  Imagine a row of dominoes, what happens when one falls into another, and then into another, and so on.  Each falling domino can knock over the one next to it.  Americans starting with President Dwight Eisenhower feared that effect when communism took over a nation:  all nearby nations could next fall to the same communism.

Americans feared a “domino effect” of communism for good reason.  Imagine a row of dominoes, what happens when one falls into another, and then into another, and so on.  Each falling domino can knock over the one next to it.  Americans starting with President Dwight Eisenhower feared that effect when communism took over a nation:  all nearby nations could be the next to fall to that same communism.

Southeast Asia has a large population, and after World War II the region was vulnerable to a spread of communism from the Soviet Union and China.  An independence movement beginning in the 1930s caused the French to leave, and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh was a nationalist who received aid from the communists.  The French imposed a death sentence on Ho Chi Minh, but he fled to avoid it.  When he returned in 1941, he founded “Vietminh”, with the name reflecting that he intended to rule as a dictator.  Japan interrupted his plan by taking control of the region during World War II, but in 1945 the Vietminh defeated the Japanese.  That demonstrated how tough the Vietnamese fighters were, as not even China could beat the Japanese.  Ho Chi Minh then declared the independence of a new Democratic Republic of Vietnam, a huge communist country that has 84 million people today.

Southeast Asia has a large population, and after World War II the region was vulnerable to a spread of communism from the Soviet Union and China.  An independence movement beginning in the 1930s caused the French to leave, and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh was a nationalist who received aid from the communists.  The French imposed a death sentence on Ho Chi Minh; however, he fled to avoid this sentence.  When he returned in 1941, he founded “Vietminh”, with the name reflecting that he intended to rule as a dictator.  Japan interrupted his plan by taking control of the region during World War II, but in 1945 the Vietminh defeated the Japanese.  That demonstrated how tough the Vietnamese fighters were, as not even China could beat the Japanese.  Ho Chi Minh then declared the independence of a new Democratic Republic of Vietnam, a huge communist country that has 84 million people today.

The French tried unsuccessfully to regain control of Vietnam after World War II.  In 1954 the communist Vietnamese nationalists defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu, and the French surrendered to Ho Chi Minh.  The French then agreed to divide Vietnam at the 17th parallel<ref>The term “parallel” in the context of geography means the same as “degrees of latitude.”</ref> as part of the Geneva Conference.  North Vietnam would be communist under Ho Chi Minh, while South Vietnam would be free under Ngo Dinh Diem.

The French tried unsuccessfully to regain control of Vietnam after World War II.  In 1954, the communist Vietnamese nationalists defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu and the French surrendered to Ho Chi Minh.  The French then agreed to divide Vietnam at the 17th parallel.<ref>The term “parallel” in terms of geography means the same as “degrees of latitude.”</ref> as part of the Geneva Conference.  North Vietnam would be communist under Ho Chi Minh, while South Vietnam would be free under Ngo Dinh Diem.

Ho Chi Minh was popular in both North and South Vietnam, and gave away land to people to boost his popularity.  Ngo Dinh Diem was unpopular, and the United States feared that an election in the South might choose Ho Chi Minh’s communists.  So elections were postponed, but the conditions worsened.  The Vietcong, who were communist guerrillas in the South, formed and began causing problems in the early 1960s.  In 1963, South Vietnamese generals who enjoyed United States support took over South Vietnam and assassinated Ngo Dinh Diem.

Ho Chi Minh was popular in both North and South Vietnam, and gave away land to people to boost his popularity.  Ngo Dinh Diem was unpopular, and the United States feared that an election in the South might choose Ho Chi Minh’s communists.  So elections were postponed, but the conditions worsened.  The Vietcong, who were communist guerrillas in the South, formed and began causing problems in the early 1960s.  In 1963, South Vietnamese generals who enjoyed United States support took over South Vietnam and assassinated Ngo Dinh Diem.