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Vietnam declared independence
Vietnam declared its independence when Japan surrendered to the allies. -
French forces fell
On May 7, 1954, the French forces fell to the Vietminh. The defeat convinced the French to make peace and withdraw from Indochina. -
National Teach-In
In May 1965, 122 colleges held a “National Teach-In” by radio for more than 100,000 antiwar demonstrators. People opposed the war for different reasons. Some saw the conflict as a civil war in which the United States should not interfere. -
U.S enters the war
Johnson again expanded American involvement by ordering a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam. That same month, he sent the first U.S. combat troops into Vietnam. By the end of 1965, more than 180,000 U.S. combat troops were fighting in Vietnam. -
Tet Offensive
On January 30, 1968, during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, the Vietcong and North Vietnamese launched a massive surprise attack. guerrilla fighters attacked most American airbases in South Vietnam and most of the South’s major cities. -
massacrer in Hamlet of My Lai
they found that in 1968 an American platoon under the command of Lieutenant William Calley had massacred unarmed South Vietnamese civilians in the hamlet of My Lai -
season of violence in the U.S
The violence that seemed to plague the country in 1968 culminated with a chaotic and well-publicized clash between antiwar protesters and police at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Thousands of young activists surrounded the convention center to protest the war. -
national guard kills students
Ohio National Guard soldiers armed with tear gas and rifles fired on demonstrators at Kent State University, killing four students. Days later, police killed two student demonstrators at Jackson State College in Mississippi. -
26th Amendment
In 1971 the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, giving all citizens age 18 and older the right to vote in all state and federal elections. -
War Powers Act
The war also left a mark on national politics. Congress passed the War Powers Act as a way to reestablish some limits on executive power. -
Cambodia fell to communist
Cambodia fell under the control of the Communist group the Khmer Rouge. -
North Vietnamese captured South Vietnam’s capital
North Vietnamese captured Saigon, South Vietnam’s capital. They then renamed the city Ho Chi Minh City. Laos, another country in the region, was also greatly affected by the Vietnam War.