Dwight D. Eisenhower The Eisenhower administration ended the war in Korea and was the first main administration to get politically involved in Indochina. Eisenhower helped the French during the Indochina war and later supported the new South Vietnamese Government. Eisenhower modified the containment policy to have the domino theory and started a three decade long conflict which involved four presidencies and led to one of Americas most bloody and expensive wars.
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John F. KennedyPresident Kennedy started the physical escalation in Vietnam by sending war advisors and soldiers to help build and train the ARVN (Army of the republic of Vietnam) and gather military inteligence from the North Vietnamese and their Communist Allies. Under his short term Kennedy delt with both Vietnam and Cuba and sent first manned mission to the Moon and started talks about civil rights. President Kennedy died in 1963.
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Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Johnson succeeded President John F. Kennedy after his assignation. Johnson was a war hawk and supported a military cause in Vietnam. Johnson carried out Operation OPLAN-34 which did military actions such as gaining information and sabotaging enemy instillations. After his election in 1964, Johnson got plans ready for a military involvement in Vietnam. Johnson was given the perfect reason to start his military involvement in Vietnam. In 1964 Congress passed the Tonkin Resolution giving the president military control over operations in Indochina and to take any measures against North Vietnam. President Johnson started Operation Rolling Thunder over North Vietnam and NLF positions in South Vietnam in 1965. In 1965 the first US soldiers also arrived. President Johnson started the "war" without congress approval and led an unfavorable war. President Johnson did not run in the 1968 elections.
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Richard M. NixonPresident Nixon was elected in 1969 and succeeded the democratic President Johnson. Nixon focused on the withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam. Nixon ordered the bombing of Cambodia in 1971 which sparked massive amounts of protest in the US. President Nixon started secret negotiations in early 71 and with no affect started bombing Hanoi in the Christmas bombing of late 1972. With negotiations back on track the US got back POWs which marked the slow end of the Vietnam War. In 1973 the US finally settled a cease-fire and an "honorable withdrawal" form South Vietnam. The withdrawal was not enough time and 2 years later North Vietnam took over Saigon ending the Vietnam War. Nixon also opened up diplomatic connections with the People's republic of China and decreased tensions between the Soviet Union. President Nixon resigned in 1974 but was most likely going to be impeached later
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