The incident was falsely reported to the US public as a show of communist aggression. At the beginning of Johnson’s term, the Gulf of Tonkin incident happened, a confrontation between North Vietnam and the US in the waters of Gulf of Tonkin. Just three weeks later, Kennedy himself was assassinated.ĭuring his campaign for the presidency, Johnson pledged not to send American troops to Vietnam, but this quickly changed after he was elected. In November 1963, Diem was assassinated in a coup by Vietnamese generals. Discontented with Diem, people started to turn to the Viet Cong, the southern communist army. He had already been perceived as unfair and corrupt. In this program, countryside peasants were relocated to limit communist influence amongst the rural population.įailure of the program contributed to general disillusionment with Diem. In 1962, Diem implemented a ‘Strategic Hamlet Program’ with US support. Kennedy continued Eisenhower’s policy of supporting Diem. He was known to give preferential treatment to Catholics and discriminate against Buddhists.įollowing Eisenhower, Kennedy was also a believer in the domino effect, and that communism needed to be contained. He believed the spread of communism was a threat to the USA and hence supported Ngo Dinh Diem, who was the anti-communist leader of South Vietnam, and sent military advisors to Vietnam to help build up Diem’s army.ĭiem was unpopular amongst many as he was a devout Catholic leading a majority Buddhist population.
The Vietnam War (1955–1975) spanned the rules of five American presidents.Įisenhower was the first American President to get involved in the war.
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