9781422285992

Roots of the Vietnam War

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During the Cold War, the Soviet Union and other communist countries like China wanted to spread this ideology throughout the world. Leaders in the United States saw communism as a threat to their way of life, and wanted to keep it from spreading. The were willing to send money, weapons, and even American soldiers to support governments that opposed the spread of communism, even when those governments were not democratic or treated their people poorly. One place where the strug- gle between communists and anticommunists played out was Vietnam. The Road to War in Vietnam The roots of the American war in Vietnam go back to the late 1940s, just after the end of World War II. At that time, this part of Southeast Asia was

a French colony known as Indochina. France had gained control over the region, which also included Laos and Cambodia, through a series of wars between 1859 to 1885. Vietnam itself was partitioned into three territories: Tonkin, Annam, and Cochin China. Tonkin and Annam were protec- torates. As such, they were admin- istered by local officials, who reported to French authorities. Cochin China was a colony, ruled directly by French officials. The Vietnamese people did not wish to live under the rule of a foreign power, and they soon began to resist French policies. In 1890, five years after France consolidated its colonies in French Indochina, a boy was born in the village of Hoang Tru in Nghe An

This map shows the colony of French Indochina, which included present-day Laos and Cambodia as well as the three territories that make up present- day Vietnam: Tonkin, Annam, and Cochin China.