The Vietnam War gradually began in 1954 and finally ended in 1975, two years after Nixon ordered the withdrawal of American troops.
The French had colonized Vietnam since 1887. Like Korea, Vietnam was also invaded by the Japanese during World War 2. After their defeat, the Japanese withdrew from Vietnam. The Soviet Union occupied the northern part of the country while America occupied the South.
Ho Chi Minh, the communist political leader, quickly gained power in North Vietnam, while the French-backed Bao Dai moved to the South. The two sides signed an agreement in Geneva, which divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel, with Ho Chi Minh in control of the North and Bao in control of the South.
Despite the agreement, armed Vietnamese communists, known as the Viet Cong, began attacks in the South.
America was deeply concerned about the spread of communism, believing that if one Southeast Asian country fell to communism, the others would quickly follow. Therefore, under the administrations of Kennedy and Johnson, America sent more troops to support South Vietnam in defending itself from Viet Cong attacks.
In August 1964, North Vietnamese forces attacked two American ships in the Gulf of Tonkin, and America responded by bombing North Vietnam and sending more troops there.
Unlike the Korean War, which received significant media coverage in America, the Vietnam War was captured more by photojournalists. The new American military draft required sending more young people to military service, and the war intensified.
Protests against the war began in America, which pressured President Johnson to start peace talks to end the war.
After the 1968 election, President Nixon took over the peace negotiations and began focusing on "Vietnamization," which meant withdrawing American troops and providing South Vietnam with the resources needed to continue the war without American involvement.
In January 1973, peace negotiations between America and North Vietnam concluded with America's complete withdrawal from the war.
Two years later, South Vietnam fell to North Vietnam, and Vietnam was unified under communist rule. As a result of the war, there were nearly two million Vietnamese casualties and approximately 60,000 American casualties.