Nationalism and Division in Vietnam

World War II interrupted France’s long colonial rule in Indochina, but France reoccupied the southern portion of Vietnam when the war ended. A bloody struggle began against the forces of Ho Chi Minh, the communist leader of North Vietnam. He appealed to nationalist feelings to unite the country under a single communist government.

France responded by attempting to reestablish its colonial rule, sparking a Vietnamese war of independence that lasted until 1954. The peace treaty split the country into North and South Vietnam, with elections planned for 1956 that would reunite the country. However, many in South Vietnam, along with the United States, opposed the Communists and feared Ho would win the election. No election took place.

War broke out between the communist North and the South. U.S. military troops supported the South. South Vietnamese who supported the Communists, known as Viet Cong, fought a guerrilla war against U.S. troops.

As the Vietnam War worsened, American military involvement and casualties grew. In response, the antiwar movement became more vocal. President Richard Nixon began to withdraw U.S. troops in 1971; the last troops left in 1975. North Vietnam quickly gained control of South Vietnam. It is estimated that the Vietnam War resulted in between one million and two million deaths, including about 58,000 Americans. It also destabilized Southeast Asia. Communists soon won control of Laos and Cambodia, but the spread of communism stopped there.

Beginning in the 1980s, Vietnam introduced some market-based economic reforms. In following years, Vietnam and the United States reestablished trade and diplomatic relations. (Connect: Write an outline connecting Vietnam’s fight for independence with the Vietnam War. See Topics 6.2 and 8.4.)