Name:____________________________
Date:____________________________
Note Outline on “Wars in Korea and Vietnam”
1) What were the origins of the wars in Korea and Vietnam? Why can we describe these as “Cold War” conflicts?
2) How did Korea end up divided in 1945? Which powers supported the regimes in the north and south?
3) What were the ROK and DPRK? Who were their respective leaders and which countries backed their regimes?
4) When and why did North Korean troops attack South Korea? Describe the U.S. response.
5) Why were the Communists able to advance so quickly into South Korea? Where did the U.S. and ROK forces
establish a defensive perimeter under the direction of which officer? How were they able to hold on?
6) Why did MacArthur plan a landing at Incheon? What was so dangerous about it? When and why did it succeed?
7) When did U.S. troops capture the North Korean capital of Pyongyang? How far north did US troops reach? Why
did President Truman call a conference with General MacArthur?
8) When and why did Chinese troops enter the war? What was the effect on the UN soldiers?
9) Who was appointed to take over from MacArthur? How did the conflict end? Who suffered the most deaths in
the Korean War?
10) Why did the U.S. become involved in the conflict in Vietnam? Who was Ho Chi Minh and why did he begin a
guerilla war against the French?
11) When did the Vietminh’s war of independence begin? What tactics did they employ?
12) How were the Vietminh able to defeat the French? Where, when and how was Vietnam partitioned?
13) What was the “Domino Theory”? How did Eisenhower support the government of South Vietnam?
14) Which U.S. president made the fatal commitment of U.S. troops to Vietnam? Why did he do this?
15) Why was President Diem increasingly unpopular? What happened to him?
16) Describe the Tonkin Gulf Resolution and its result.
17) How many troops were serving in Vietnam by 1968? What difficulties did they face?
18) Why was the Tet Offensive so shocking to many Americans? What was the result of this offensive?
19) Which events heightened the anti-war movement in the U.S.?
20) What was the purpose of Nixon’s “Vietnamization” program of 1969? How did the war end?
20) Describe the effect of the war on Vietnam and Cambodia.