AP US History in 1 Minute Daily: Causes of the Vietnam War (Day 259/309)

Hey APUSHers, let’s chat about the Causes of the Vietnam War as part of my series- APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!

 A propaganda painting with the National Flag of France and Nguyen Dynasty's Standard, Hanoi - 1942: “Greater France is closely linked to peace,” said the Marshal, “like the peasants with their land.”. Wikimedia Commons

The initial causes of the Vietnam War were deeply influenced by Vietnam's colonial history and the shifting global attitudes toward colonization after World War II. 

Partition of Indochina following the Geneva Accords, Wikimedia Commons

After World War II, Vietnam had become divided by the Geneva Accords in 1954, with the French still attempting to maintain South Vietnam as a colony. While the U.S. vocally advocated for decolonization and self-determination for former colonies, they feared the spread of communism in the region.

Domino Theory, History Guild

Fear of the “domino theory,” where the fall of one Southeast Asian nation to communism would lead to the collapse of others, drove U.S. policymakers to support South Vietnam, and thus French colonization, against communist insurgency. 

Captured French POWs from Dien Bien Phu, Wikimedia Commons

However, when North Vietnamese Nationalists led by Ho Chi Minh defeated the French colonial forces at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, marking the end of French colonialism in Vietnam, the U.S. only became more committed to fighting against the communist nationalists.

The U.S. became increasingly involved in Indochina when North Vietnamese nationalists sought to overthrow French colonization and unify the region under communism.

Join me tomorrow as I explain the Intensification of the Vietnam War in the next APUSH in 1 Minute Daily