Miss S Jones – GCSE – Vietnam War - Homework
An Introduction to the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War began as a civil war between the Communist state of North Vietnam
and the non-Communist state of South Vietnam. The United States supported South
Vietnam out of fear that Communism would spread throughout Asia if the South fell.
North Vietnam wanted to unite with South Vietnam as a single communist country.
Communism is a political system in which all people are equal and no one can become
rich. America was opposed to communism, as it was the opposite of the capitalist,
democratic system of government used in America. Americans believed Communism would spread to other countries
in the region. This was known as the “domino theory,” since it imagined democratic governments in the region
falling one after another like dominoes. President Lyndon Johnson sent the first American combat troops to
Vietnam in 1965.
The U.S. had given South Vietnam financial and military support during the 1950’s and early 1960’s. But in August
1964, an American warship patrolling the North Vietnamese coast was allegedly fired on by Communist
troops. Although the incident might not actually have happened, President Lyndon B. Johnson quickly
passed a piece of legislation through Congress. Called the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, it gave the
President a blank check to send as many troops and resources to Vietnam as he wanted.
Johnson immediately began increasing the presence of U.S. forces in Vietnam. By the time he left office in 1968,
30,000 American soldiers had been killed there.
TASK 1
Match the terms below to their meanings and write them into your book:
Communism
A kind of warfare in which fighters harass the opposition with ambushes, raids and booby
traps
Lyndon Johnson
The part of Vietnam that was Communist
58,000
The part of Vietnam that was not Communist
North Vietnam
A political system in which no one owns any property and everyone is equal
South Vietnam
The number of American soldiers who died in the Vietnam War
Guerrilla
An American president at the time of the Vietnam War
TASK 2
Answer the following in full sentences:
a) How did the Vietnam War begin?
b) Why were Americans opposed to Communism?
c) What did they think would happen if Vietnam became Communist?
d) Describe the incident that led to the American president beginning the war.