AP World History 2012-2013
  • Unit 1
    • 1.1.3: Tools and Adaptation>
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis
    • 1.3.9 & 1.3.2: New Religions & Geographies of Early Civs.>
      • Early Religions>
        • AGMSPRITE Analysis
        • Works Cited
      • The Early Civilizations>
        • Case Study
        • AGMSPRITE Analysis
        • Works Cited
    • 1.1.2: Humans and Fire>
      • 1.1.4: Economic Structures>
        • Case Study
        • AGMSPRITE Analysis
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis
    • 1.3.6: Arts & Record Keeping>
      • Arts and Artisanship
      • Systems of Recordkeeping
      • Case Study: The Phoenician Alphabet
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis
    • 1.3.1-1.3.3: Early Culture & Systems of Rule>
      • Culture's Effects
      • Systems of Rule
      • Case Study: Hammurabi's Code
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis
    • 1.1-1.4 Early Human Innovation>
      • 1.1.1: Human Patterns of Migration>
        • Case Study
        • AGMSPRITE Analysis
    • 1.2.1-1.2.3: The Climate & The Neolithic Era>
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis
    • 1.2.5-1.2.6: Reliable Food Sources & Innovation>
      • Case Study - The Plow
      • Works Cited
    • 1.3.1-1.3.2: Pastoralists & Early Architecture>
      • Introduction
      • Monumental Architecture And Urban Planning
      • Pastoralist Weapon Dissemination And Transportation
      • Pastoralist Tools
      • Basic
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis
      • Works Cited
  • Unit 2
    • 2.2.5-2.2.7 Social Hierarchy and Gender Roles>
      • Gender Roles>
        • Case Study
        • AGMSPRITE Analysis
      • Social Hierarchies >
        • AGMSPRITE
    • 2.2.4 Cities>
      • Trade>
        • Trade AGMSPRITE
        • Trade Case Study
      • Religious Rituals>
        • Religious Rituals AGMSPRITE
        • Religious Rituals Case Study
      • Public Administration>
        • Public Administration AGMSPRITE
        • Public Administration Case Study
    • 2.2.2 Orchestration of the Persian and S. Asian Empires>
      • Persia>
        • Imperial Administration and Legal Systems
        • Military Power
        • Trade and Economic Integration and Regulation
        • AGMSPRITE Analysis
      • South Asia>
        • Imperial Administration and Legal Systems
        • Military Power
        • Trade and Economic Integration and Regulation
        • AGMSPRITE Analysis
    • 2.2.2 Orchestration of Rome and China>
      • China>
        • Imperial Administration
        • Military Power
        • Trade and Economics
        • AGMSPRITE Analysis
      • Rome>
        • Imperial Administration
        • Military Power
        • Trade and Economics
        • AGMSPRITE Analysis
    • 2.2.1: Growth of Empires & States>
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE
    • 2.1.6 Cultures Of Second Wave Civilizations>
      • Sculptures
      • Architecture
      • Literature
      • A.G.M.S.P.R.I.T.E
      • Sources
    • 2.1.1: Religions as a Bonding Force>
      • The Basic Gist
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis
      • Case Study
    • 2.1.4 Buddhism and Hinduism Impact on Gender Roles>
      • Buddhism
    • 2.1.2 The Emergence of Religions>
      • Christianity
      • Confucianism
      • Greco-Roman Philosophy
      • Daoism
      • AGMSPRITE
  • Unit 3
    • 3.1.1 Third Wave Global Trade Routes>
      • Basic Gist
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis
    • 3.1.2 The Impact of trade on emerging trading cities>
      • Basic Gist
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis
    • 3.1.3. Spread of Islam Through Afro-Eurasia>
      • Basic Gist
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE
    • 3.1.4 Inter-Regional Travelers >
      • The Basic Gist
      • Compare and Contrast
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis
    • 3.1.5. Cultural Interactions and Art>
      • The Basic Gist
      • Cultural Traditions AGMSPRITE
      • Art AGMSPRITE
      • Literature AGMSPRITE
      • Case Study
    • 3.1.6: The Impact of Newly Spread Technologies and Scientific Knowledge>
      • Basic Gist
      • Movement of Gunpowder from East to West
      • Movement of Printing from East to West
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis
    • 3.1.7 Inter-Regional Conflicts>
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis
  • Unit 4
    • 4.1.1. - Influence of Tools Upon Transoceanic Trade>
      • Basic Gist
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE
    • 4.1.2: Maritime Reconnaissance>
      • Basic Gist
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis
    • 4.1.3 World Economies>
      • Basic Gist
      • AGMSPRITE analysis
      • Case Study
    • 4.1.4 The Colossal Impact of the Colombian Exchange>
      • Basic Gist
      • Case Study on Sugar
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis of the East
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis of the West
    • 4.1.5 Government and the Arts>
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE
    • 4.2.3 Forced Migration of Africans Cause and Effect>
      • Basic Gist
      • Causes of the forced migration of Africans
      • Effects/Developments of the forced migration of Africans
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis
    • 4.3.2 Impact of Technology on state consolidation and imperial expansion>
      • Basic Gist
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE
  • Unit 5
    • 5.3.1 US and Latin American Revolutions >
      • Basic Gist
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE
    • 5.3.2b Hatian Revolution>
      • Basic Gist
      • AGMSPRITE
    • 5.3.2a: Causes and Effects of French Revolution>
      • Causes of the French Revolution
      • Effects of the French Revolution
      • AGMSPRITE
    • 5.3.2c Causes and Effects of the Mexican Revolution>
      • Basic Gist
      • Causes of the Mexican Revolution
      • Effects of the Mexican Revolution
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis
    • 5.3.3: The Winds of Change>
      • Case Study
      • The Conception of Nation-States
      • Nationalism on the Rise
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis
    • 5.3.4 Nationalism and Democracy >
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE
      • 5.3.5 Enlightenment and European Despots>
        • Basic Gist
  • Unit 6
    • War and Peace in a Global Context>
      • Big Gist>
        • WWI vs WWII
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE
    • Changing Economics>
      • Basic Gist
      • AGMSPRITE
      • Case Study
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE
    • Demographic and Environmental Changes>
      • Basic Gist
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE Analysis
    • 20th Century Globalization>
      • Basic Gist
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE
    • Effects of Revolutions on Women>
      • Basic Gist
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE
    • New Patterns of Nationalism >
      • Basic Gist
      • Independence of Vietnam Case Study
      • Effects of Communism Case Study
      • Chinese and Russian Revolutions
      • AGMSPRITE
    • Globalization of Science, technology and culture. >
      • Basic Gist
      • Case Study
      • AGMSPRITE
Basic Gist
Effects of Communism
Chinese/Russian Revolutions
AGMSPRITE

Independence of Vietnam 

By: Victor Hibbeln 
          Vietnam was a French colony from 1874 to 1954.  During World War Two, Japan was able to conquer much of Southeast Asia, thus Vietnam came under joint-colonial rule by Japan and France, with Japan holding more control than France. However, at the end of World War Two in 1945, the Japanese were forced to relinquish control of Vietnam and other occupied lands in Southeast Asia. Thus, this created a power vacuum in Vietnam. The French were slow to respond and due to the infrastructural damage they had sustained in World War Two, it made it difficult for them to mobilize the necessary troops to send over to Vietnam in order to remain in control. Because of this, Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese Communist Party were able to take control of Vietnam. When the French finally got troops to Vietnam, they were forced to use violence in an attempt to oust Ho Chi Minh and the VCP from the government.

          The first Indochina War began in 1946, with the Viet Minh, Ho Chi Minh’s followers and fighting force, used guerilla warfare against the French troops. Although the French only sustained about a third of the casualties the Viet Minh incurred, the Viet Minh were able to be victorious. The major and final turning point in the first Indochina War came in 1954 at the Siege of Dien Bien Phu. The French wanted to cut off the Viet Minh supply lines in Laos and in turn, draw the Viet Minh into a confrontation with the hopes of crippling them. However, the French were surrounded and the Viet Minh were able rain artillery fire down onto the French, causing a massive amount of French casualties and surrenders after a two month siege. After this decisive defeat of French forces, the French Prime Minister, Pierre Mendes France decided to pull out of Vietnam. This decision can be illustrated in a letter from the French to the United States’ Secretary of State John Dulles. In the letter, the French say, “Bidault closed by saying that for good or evil the fate of Southeast Asia now rested on Dien Bien Phu. He said that Geneva would be won or lost depending on outcome at Dien Bien Phu…” This quote shows that the French realize that if they lose this battle, the Geneva Convention will likely step in and end the war between the French and the Viet Minh. The letter then goes on to say, “He thanked the US for prompt action on airlift for French paratroops.” This illustrates that the French realize that they will be defeated, thus confirming that the French could not sustain a prolonged war due to the effects of the outcomes of World War Two on France. After the French defeat, the Geneva Convention stepped in and in 1954, dissolved the French Indochina colony and divided Vietnam into two independent halves along the 17th parallel. The North became Communist and was supported by the Soviet Union while the South became Democratic and was supported by the United States. The North was ruled by Ho Chi Minh and the South by Ngo Dinh Diem, who lost the support of the United States after his oppressive religious and political policies and was then assassinated during a military coup in 1963. After this, the United States stepped up its military intervention in Vietnam, in order to prevent South Vietnam from falling to the Communists.

          In 1964, the United States formally committed ground troops in order to aid South Vietnam. The main goal of the United States was to prevent North Vietnam from spreading Communism to the surrounding countries; for fear that once South Vietnam fell, the nations surrounding it would fall to Communism as well. The United States had been involved in the Vietnam War since 1954 by sending military advisors and members of the CIA into Vietnam to support the South Vietnamese in resisting the North. By 1964 though, the United States saw a need to formally send troops into Vietnam because of the coup that ended up killing Diem, since this threw South Vietnam into political chaos and allowed an opening for the Communists to take control of the government. Also, the Gulf of Tonkin incident provided an excuse to commit troops because it showed that the North Vietnamese were becoming increasingly aggressive and needed to be stopped. Nine years after formally committing ground troops to Vietnam, the United States pulled out with the help of the Paris Peace Agreement of 1973. However, the North did not abide by the agreement and invaded South Vietnam, ultimately defeating them in 1975. When the Vietnam War ended, the country was unified and the Vietnamese Communist Party took control of the government. While in control of the government, they cracked down on capitalistic practices and took state control of factories and farms, thus causing an economic collapse and inflation in the 1980s. Also, many of the South Vietnamese were unwillingly to become Communist and were sent to labor camps or executed. However, in 1986, the Sixth National Congress decided to privatize farms and factories while promoting foreign investment and deregulating the economy. This led to massive economic growth in a short period of time for Vietnam. Over time, the economic policies of Vietnam have become increasingly capitalist.

          When looking at the Vietnam independence movement, it is clear that it had global repercussions. Since France was ravaged by two world wars in 50 years, their infrastructure and economy was severely weakened. With a weakened economy came a smaller military since the government was putting its available funds towards rebuilding the economy and infrastructure of France. The picture to the right proves that France was badly damaged and needed a lot of time and money to rebuild its infrastructure, thus taking money away from the conflict in Vietnam. This downsized military meant that it was harder for France to effectively control their colonies since they had a small military force. Looking at the graph on the right, it can be seen that the French(orange) military spending decreased in approximately 1946, a year after World War 2 had ended. Also, the British(blue) military spending dropped as well, thus showing that not only was the military presence of France declining, but Britain's was also decreasing as well since they were spending less on their military in order to rebuild their countries. Even though France's spending increased a little 1951 due to Vietnam, it never returned to its peak, thus showing that France's military presence had declined. Overall, Europe's influence around the world drastically decreased because of the damage they had been dealt in the two world wars. This decrease in European influence was important because it marked the end of European colonialism around the world, thus spurring independence movements like Vietnam's. In fact, the whole of Europe had badly damaged infrastructures and economies, thus pulling the world economy as a whole down. It was not until the Marshall Plan the European economies rebounded. Even with the Marshall Plan, the French were wary to be dragged into yet another war after sustaining heavy casualties in the two world wars. For the French, they over extended their already depressed economy by trying to hang on to Vietnam. Also, by the 1950s, colonialism had begun to drop out of favor because it was no longer seen as being necessary to the host country’s economy. After World War Two the economies of European nations were able to sustain themselves and effectively get their needed resources legitimately, thus they no longer needed to exploit other countries through colonization for them. Ultimately, these things caused the United States to become involved in Vietnam because France could not keep its grip on it for the aforementioned reasons. Thus, it is clear that the independence movements, specifically in Vietnam, had global repercussions. 

Picture
Ho Chi Minh took advantage at of the power vacuum in Vietnam after World War 2

Picture
The French defeat at Dien Bien Phu was the decisive moment that allowed for the independence of Vietnam

Picture
The Geneva Convention split Vietnam in 1954, which proved to be only a temporary peace between the Communist North and Capitalist South

Picture
The US committed troops to Vietnam in order to stop the spread of Communism

Picture
The damage shown is evidence to the amount of work that France needed to do to rebuild, thus pulling money away from its military campaign in Vietnam

Picture
The decrease in French spending signaled the end of European colonial dominance around the world
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.