Vietnam War | The 20th century | World history | Khan Academy

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Sal gives an overview of the Vietnam War. Created by Sal Khan.
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[@xuanbachchoco]

I think this video have losted an important event.Frech and Chinese signed agreement that French could colonized entire Vietnam in 1946. And after that, French was defeated by Viet Minh in Dien Bien Phu (1954) before Gieneve convention.

[@khanacademy]

@trexx32 We haven't removed any comments. They might have been made on a previous version of this video that has been removed. We only remove comments if they involve offensive language.

[@davecung]

Throughout the 1940s Ho Chi Minh and other Vietnamese leaders made repeated appeals to Truman and other American officials to help them gain independence from French colonial rule. These appeals were generally ignored.

[@anarky4321]

highly recommend 'The Vietnam War 2017' documentary as a starting point....you really need hours of documentary to explain this very interesting and long conflict

[@A--DuongDuyKhang]

that documentary is too biased, much sided with the USA

[@dinner4chiahao]

People today really don't know about the atrocities and war crimes committed by America during that time. It is heartbreaking what happened to the Vietnamese people.

[@anzuaoi9691]

“History is written by the victors” it’s truly upsetting that Americans will deny they committed such horrible atrocities because they’re the “land of the free”

[@9chrisbennett]

Hi Khan, I love your history videos. Could you make more? Some ideas are Roman Empire, Crusades, and Fall of Soviet Union. Thanks!

[@flamefusion8963]

9chrisbennett no

[@marsilss]

bro thanks for this

[@susankohistany]

this stuff is easy and i understand it easily but watching this is kind of like a polish to my memory,thanks

[@doral5046]

Sal, you made a mistake regarding Viet Minh. They were not all communists as you said but nationalists from different social classes. Viet Minh was a nationalist based organization. In 1941, when he created the organization, Ho Chi Minh downplayed communism as to assure the support of ALL nationalists in Vietnam, the working class, peasants , middle class and the nationalist rich class too. Nationalism, not communism united the Vietnamese against the French and that was how they defeated the French a Diem Biem Phu in 1954.

[@212jbh]

Awesome, glad history is getting tackled. Hope the statistics videos follow too!

[@Shiengss]

Thanks dude! You speak very fluently and understandable, and you tell us exact the things we need to know for the exam tomorrow. Greetings from the Netherlands :D

[@ponalvsiki2254]

Why do you learn vietnamese history, despite not being vietnamese ?

[@Shiengss]

Why ask me this after 9 years?

[@orangemoon2444]

@@Shiengss lmaof

[@davecung]

During World War II Ho Chi Minh helped to rescue downed American pilots and gathered intelligence on the Japanese for the American OSS. Ho worked closely with the American intelligence community during WWII and his views were well known to them. They knew that his primary concern was Vietnamese independence.

[@eMuleDownload]

Thanks for making this video downloadable Khan, makes watching this offline much easier on my tablet.

[@KeekaeDisho]

Hi Sal! What application are you using to write/illustrate in your videos? Thanks

[@Budrock44]

Yes you legend!! :D now i might pass my exam ;)

[@Caspianm2]

Hey Sal, is there any chance you could make some history videos on Japanese history? (Especially the samurai)

[@tito9090]

wow...thank you khanacademy.

[@hannalin6856]

Thank you so much for helping me learn more about what a war actually looks like.... I never heard of My Lai massacre before, and I hope we all learn more about wars and treat wars more seriously....

[@mssladyy031]

I think the North Vietnamese were kinda evil Because first of all, they "kinda" disagreed with the Geneva Peace Conference which was a conference in order to establish peace and end the Korean War and divide Vietnam into a communist state in the North and a democratic state in the South thus the names North Vietnam and South Vietnam Second of all, North Vietnam literally supported insurgencies in South Vietnam before the war even started, thus this resulted in plenty of killings started by the North Vietnamese. One being the Hue Massacre which I suggest you do research on to see how the North Vietnamese were evil Third of all, North Vietnam was literally an evil imperialist nation that wanted power and control over South Vietnam (Basically, they wanted South Vietnam to be united under their communist rule which I think is a little evil) Fourth of all, Before the United States even got into the war, a North Vietnamese military coup shot Ngo Dinh Diem, the final prime minister of South Vietnam. I see this as a ridiculous North Vietnamese attack And Fifth of all which has to be probably the darkest and dirtiest, the extreme war crimes that the North Vietnamese did! The North Vietnamese had conducted tens of thousands of murders and kidnappings and terrorists which were ordinary citizens, government officials, etc, Frequent mortaring of civilians in refugee camps, Placing of mines on highways frequented by villagers taking their goods to urban markets, thus also causing slaughters, The Dak Son Massacre which resulted in 144-252 deaths, The killing that the North Vietnamese Spring Offensive caused, and the abuse of American POV's The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese caused more than a hundred thousand deaths (Im not even exaggerating) I know North Vietnam wanted freedom but they did wrong actions in doing so Sorry for my poor grammar

[@partyvietnamcommunist4829]

@@mssladyy031 i see your point there but there is a good person there is a bad person from both side

[@shokino7291]

@@mssladyy031 Bro, south Vietnam is led by the US. That means that South Vietnam is a US powerhouse. Do you want the US to invade all of Vietnam???

[@tyguy0256]

SOOOOOOO HELPFUL!!!!

[@krazyknowles]

Hi, Sal. Can I request? Can you make a long video or combine multiple videos to one and arrange mutually exclusive timelines paralleled so we get to understand the whole world history in just one video? Because some of the incidents would be connected to each other and it is difficult already to align your history videos and mentally connect the dots. It would make things a lot easier for us or at least for me If I am not being too selfish, Thank you! And please keep uploading your videos......!

[@TheOscarSound]

thanks a lot :) very good explained :D

[@lclarsen]

"Every unit of brigade size has its My Lai hidden someplace," Col. Henderson, they just didn't have brave whistleblowers like Ron Ridenhour. KHAN, if you think My Lai was the worst you haven't heard of Operation Phoenix and the pure torture that was commonplace. Plus some SIX MILLION Indonchinese died in the war, but no one was around to photograph the aftermath of those burned and half-burned bodies left behind.

[@robertroselle9082]

Excellent point!

[@hannahg4422]

You guys have been so helpful during Covid. Thank you.

[@apacheravert8499]

Good job u helped me in unspeakable ways thanks so much .You are guys are amazing we'll done thanks you make it so much easier for me😀😉😎😍

[@2uentindward]

hats off too you.. good delivery

[@qwert173qwert]

AMAZING.

[@leonkenedy2988]

I cant believe that American actually massacre MY OWN TOWN. As a vietnamese I am digust. Rest in peace my innocent people.

[@ngotngotqua]

North or South?

[@filmcreations]

Its true that War is hell and madness; and madness is contagious. That situation involving the US troops was horrible and I'm sorry for the innocent that had to suffer especially at the hands of American troops who were brought up to respect non-combatants.

[@filmcreations]

Hoa Nguyen True, lets not forget the North Vietnamese "re-education" camps and atrocities they inflicted on Cambodia.

[@declangirouard9099]

As an American, I am truly sorry. I've doubted the validity of the "American soldiers good, all others bad" rhetoric for a while. I can't change the past, but I will do my best to stop it from happening again in the future.

[@kevindevlieger300]

I've been to the war museum in Ho Chi Minh yesterday. It was hearth breaking. The images off the genetic disorders caused by dioxin. These were one of the worst things I've seen. How are some people able to do these things goes beyond my understanding.

[@jstnp2891]

thank you for this lecture mr. khan.

[@claws811]

thank you for this

[@davecung]

In 1963, Hồ corresponded with South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem in the hope of achieving a negotiated peace.[35] This correspondence was a factor in the U.S. decision to tacitly support a coup against Diem later that year.[35]

[@isaackagan9662]

Great Video!

[@MrFinnfolk]

I was not a member of the river boat in this documentary but I am proud to mention that I was an shipmate of Dick Godbehere's earlier in Korea.

[@KevinLanguasco]

IB History HL paper 1 and paper 2 in a few hours. And I'm here watching Sal's videos for studying :)

[@thidinhnguyen04]

Thank you

[@PeaceLoveFairytales]

im going to start cursing. you are soooo smart. before i thought you could only do math and science. you are sooo incredible.

[@aronbalk]

what's that program u using.... btw great video!

[@roamdhong]

What is a good interactive activity I can do with my AP world history students regarding the vietnam war? Something that can get them engaged with each other for 20-25 minutes

[@happybabe95]

Thats good (Y) I did the Vietnam, i thought the questions were alright seeing as I was expecting to go in and completely fail that exam XD

[@AAShadowGamer]

Could you possibly do an additional video - showing the factors which caused Americans to protest against the Vietnam War which US troops were fighting?!

[@deadman12078]

Recap. Thank you.

[@omggbon3041]

k so uhm we watched this in school for a writing assessment of Vietnam war and i wasn't paying attention so here i am now

[@jonnabuddy1363]

Hey Khan I just wanted to give you some pointers on how to make your videos better not that they are bad but do you think you can write much better? I am having trouble understanding some words that you have written.

[@Enderwiggan1]

Wow that was very interesting - reading "Chickenhawk" at the moment and am super interested in Nam

[@fromtheend4253]

---wow---

[@melissadittmer5347]

The Vietnam War: Longest war in the history of the USA. Part of the cold war, a struggle against communism and its expansion 1954: Vietnam was split into two zones at the Geneva Conference - North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam):Communist State, led by Ho Chi Minh - South Vietnam: First President= Ngo Dinh Diem Mid 1955: - Diem initiated a campaign, denouncing communism (People suspected of communist activities would be severely punished.) - His regime was not very popular amongst the people, lost a significant portion of South Vietnam to the Communists. Late 1956: - Guerrilla campaign (National Liberation Front/ The Viet Cong) arose in South Vietnam - Used armed propaganda to fight their battles (as directed by Ho Chi Minh) - Used this to try and unite Vietnam under communist rule End of 1950: - US started to train forces in the South in an effort to limit the expansion of Communism into neighboring countries - A coup was being discussed to overthrow Diem 2 November 1963: - Diem was executed during the coup, without the permission of the US - His Death destabilized the political climate in the south, causing any of the following governments to topple quickly. August 1964: - 2 alleged attacks of US warships was reported of North Vietnam’s coast - This allowed US to be more involved in the conflict - The number of US troops deployed rose to 16, 500 from 2000 only a few years earlier 2 March 1965- 2 November 1968: Operation Rolling Thunder - A series of aerial bombing attacks commenced by US and Vietnamese forces against North Vietnam March 1965: - The US ground war began with support of the American public - Marines were sent to the South for a defensive mission - They experienced great losses over the following months, causing the morale to drop 22 December 1967: - The US decided to intervene further - The President Lyndon Johnson and his administration tried to spin the war and its progress in the American media through highlighting stories that showed the war’s progression - Made the media and the public mistrustful of the government 31 January 1968: - Viet Congs made a surprise attack on the South Vietnamese and Americans - Fight lasted for months, killed President Johnson’s chances of re-election - 30,000 American lives were lost fighting in Vietnam by the time he left office 1969: - President Richard Nixon entered office - He withdrew troops - Put in place a policy called Vietnamization - US public support plummeted further amidst more attacks 1972: - Peace protests were commonplace in US - The Vietnam war became a central issue in the year’s presidential campaigns 23 January 1973: - Nixon negotiated an agreement ending American involvement in the war upon his re-election - Fighting between Vietnamese states continued 30 April 1975: - Saigon was taken (South Capital of Vietnam), signalling the end of the war - Communist governments took over Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos

[@tas991000]

Melissa Dittmer we never use phrases like "Saigon was taken", we just say "the country was again united" in Vietnam because they put an emphasis on the country, you know. What do you think about that? I truly am asking.

[@LindaTran88]

hoa hoang why did they have to change the name Saigon to HCMC? Why did it have to be under communist rule and have basic human rights taken away? Think about what happened to the Vietnamese people when the countries unified.

[@robertroselle9082]

Why ls the fact that the elections called for according to the peace agreement of 1954 were not held and frequently not mentioned deemed to be unimportant. Could it be that it was a well known fact that Ho Chi Minh would win. This is why fighting started again and the NLF prevailed.

[@colourinmyrainbow]

@@robertroselle9082 Indeed! Diem was not the democratic kind and knew HCM would win, so elections did not take place... The 1954 agreement was called a "Peace" Agreement but was nothing of the sort... it led to the escalation of tensions... IMO the partition should NEVER have happened... for me, it feels like a betrayal of Ho Chi Minh's ambitions for a united country... but he was small fry and the western powers intervened...

[@robertroselle9082]

@@colourinmyrainbow You are correct Ms Verschoyle, which shows how completely disingenuous the the U.S. was/is when it comes to policy and foreign relations!

[@billygolfus]

Really good and clear. I lived through it and this helped me put it in context and understand where things I heard about fit. Excellent work. Billy G

[@TheChemicalSid]

you should try and include more figures in the video, that way you get a strong feeling of the reality of the war, like how in the operation "rolling thunder" the US used more bombs on Vietnam then they did in WW2. For the Tet offensive, "36 of the 44 provincial capitals, and 64 of the 242 district towns" and that is in reference to the Viet Cong . Just a suggestion for improving on the already amazing videos you make! Keep up the good work! :)

[@Morkindie]

Thank you, Kahn. To many people, this subject is still taboo.

[@KHgoalkeeper21]

u make my summer more fun when there's nothing else to do. its like watching the discovery channel

[@masterchief9064]

Hey sal can you do a video on pol pot and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia?

[@sinduda]

Korea next? that war always baffled me.. anyway thanks for your videos!

[@HotPepperLala]

@2ndHAC What about ancient history? It's even more fantastic!

[@davecung]

On February 16th, 1945 Ho Chi Minh wrote a letter to President Truman asking for American assistance in gaining Vietnamese freedom. The letter closed with the remarks: The letter was not declassified until 1972

[@ReaderFlutist96]

This video is my history homework... sit back, listen and eat.

[@TheStupidestGenius]

Oh yeah, well remembered.

[@MO7dt]

yeah edexcel and it went quite well thanks, although i spent ages revising vietnam but ended up answering a question on korea lol, how was yours?

[@fromtheend4253]

-👉🍆👈-

[@amiraboodi2075]

Remarkable and kind and warm 🥵 voice ❤

[@psychG]

We actually touched on this subject today in class! It was so fascinating and I wanted to learn more, so when I saw this video show up in the subscription box I nearly fangirl squealed.

[@jagkool7960]

ew

[@SundulAhmed1]

The Gulf of Tonkin resolution actually did NOT officially engage US in war. Congress only gave a "blank check" to Johnson to financially aid the war, but they DID NOT officially declare us to be in war. This is a very common multiple choice question. other than that, great video Salman. you are the reason I passed this test :o)

[@tortillaandbeans]

This is way more interesting then watching a documentary!

[@christophermarlar4595]

I am the Lorax, speaker of the trees, for some strange reason their speaking Vietnamese.

[@ReaderFlutist96]

What program does he use?

[@magnetman333]

Really really helpful iv researched so much about this damn war and in all the txt books and Internet pages nearly non of this information was there!!!! And btw after coming back from 2 months in Laos it's pronounced Lao not Laos infect if you go to Laos and call it Laos it's considered an insult by the locals!

[@davecung]

Due to the fact that Ho had tried every conceivable way to cooperate with both the French and Americans in gaining Vietnamese independence, and all of those efforts had been fruitless, Ho turned to the Communists for help.

[@heroicpower3479]

@Laika24102007 I agree, but can you explain when did he become a communist?

[@theaurorawitch]

dude! THAN YOOOUUUU!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D

[@ruby2thursday]

for future ref: My Lai is pronounced "Mee lie"

[@oldmanjenkins100]

It would be cool if you did some bids on electronics

[@MO7dt]

what software or programme are you using in your videos?

[@fromtheend4253]

- 👉🍆👈-

[@vybui9828]

9:54 You did say North Vietnam not North Korea 😃

[@davecung]

In 2005, an internal National Security Agency historical study was declassified; it concluded[7] that the Maddox had engaged the North Vietnamese Navy on August 2, but that there may not have been any North Vietnamese Naval vessels present during the incident of August 4.

[@davecung]

We ask what has been graciously granted to the Philippines. Like the Philippines our goal is full independence and full cooperation with the UNITED STATES. We will do our best to make this independence and cooperation profitable to the whole world. I am dear Mr. PRESIDENT, Respectfully Yours, Ho Chi Minh

[@laxuanlong]

interesting quetion: how did North Vn petrol boats attack USS Madoxx cuz they didnt have enough fuel? Except Madoxx was attacker.

[@noxure]

I've been at the DMZ in central Vietnam last years. Not the happiest day of my life. You forgot to mention the horrible consequences of the chemical weapons the US used; ie Agent Orange. Also, in the first Indochinese war, the French attempted a surprise attack on North-East Vietnam from Laos. But Ho Chi Mins army saw it coming, quickly supplied the north and counter-ambushed the French battalion at Bien Dien Phu. That blow made France give up and lead to the end of the first war.

[@happybabe95]

haha great to know i wasn't the only one! how did the exam go? are you edexcel?

[@gpsvn]

I’d like to help with the pronunciations here. Khan Academy did it well, except these names. Ngo Dinh Diem: No Dinh Ziem (not Diem) Nguyen Cao Ky: Nguyen Cao Kee My Lai: Mee Lai

[@dacerrohith7423]

Can u please do a video on nigeria

[@MO7dt]

haha yes thats exactly what im doing, no sleep tonight! this is my 3rd time doing this exam lol, good luck!

[@fromtheend4253]

---I hope you Passed!---

[@MO7dt]

yeah

[@davecung]

"We of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations who participated in the decisions on Vietnam acted according to what we thought were the principles and traditions of this nation. We made our decisions in light of those values. Yet we were wrong, terribly wrong. We owe it to future generations to explain why."

[@PeverinaAlpina]

Thank you, I like your videos, they're very helpful and you have a good-to-understand pronunciation. Greetings from Italy

[@June28July]

15:11 No, it was the other way around. South falling to the North...

[@BoornIdentity]

@trexx32 I agree, but when you look at the amount of deaths suffered on the American side?

[@magnetman333]

Infact*

[@Valizat]

Sal, I love you.

[@keisi2009]

@rinwhr I think he's going to do those which are relevant to US history first. Maybe Japan is next. :)

[@floyd617]

okay how do you know so much about almost every subject?

[@danieltondorf-dick4275]

Presidents now say, "I'll listen to the advice of generals on the ground" because Johnson and to a lesser extent Nixon micromanaged how the war was fought from Washington, DC, instead of allowing the generals to fight the war in Vietnam.

[@happybabe95]

Anyone else here cramming before their History AS exam tomorrow?

[@lyubenlaskin850]

The lack of domino effect isn't quite true though, Cambodia and Laos did become communist right along with Vietnam after the US left.

[@Rainbowhippow]

Once having learned enough about the Vietnam war, this is indeed the type of tones that one typically arrives at lol.

[@lilyalan8522]

Lol I was scrolling through those comment that are 9 - 10 years ago, and just saw this one that was 5 hours ago, nice.

[@Trippsy05]

@@lilyalan8522 same

[@trong-tinnguyen1962]

Chronological. Points of reperage either by year since, by main events, by main incidences. Per hour? The questions per minute? Per seconds? En matiere criminelle et en matiere de preuves. With dates. Either approximately. List.

[@HotPepperLala]

Lol North Korea and North Vietnam What part of the world will you do next Sal? Can you go east? Talk about History in Japan, China, and India, they have a huge amount of history

[@09GTAplayer]

You should do a small piece about china's invasion of vietnam in I think 1979 a fews years afters the Americans and other allies left.

[@BoornIdentity]

@trexx32 What are you talking about?

[@MrPniyo]

The Domino Theory came about because some people in the US government thought they could suppress the North Vn. by using air power and legitimize US military presence in South Vn. In 1954 after the Vietminh defeated the French the US stepped in and divided Vietnam into two . The evidence lies on the Naval bases and air strips in Vietnam as well as in Thailand.... Da Nang (Vietnam), Sattahip (Thailand), these two Naval bases were just built right before the incident in the gulf of Tonkin and there were two other air bases in Udon and Ubon (Thailand) which were just a few miles west of Mekong River. Thailand was also the reason why Cambodia had to have a military coup to be an US Ally.

[@Imadisneydonk]

OMG ... Those images ... this is the first time in my life that I am truly ashamed to be an American. I would have never thought that OUR TROUPS could have it in them to do that. An entire town murdered in cold blood, but what just about made me wretch were the images of the innocent children. WHY oh WHY in the name of GOD could our troups do that. To all the Vietnemese people if any see and read this, my heart cries for you and as an American ... I am sorry this happened ... I am deeply and TRULY sorry.

[@cassiehanson4087]

Definately NOT saying that the american soldiers were right in killing innocent people, but most likey they were suffering from PTS because of the horrendous guerilla tactics used on them, and PTS causes dillusions. (the psychological explaination which by no means justifies their actions)

[@joshluu7356]

Wellllll

[@T0rnado1412]

***** you seem like a really angry guy. Vietnam was under the influence of China for thousands of years, Ho Chi Minh has nothing to do with it.

[@matthewpavlik222]

Legitimate question, how is it possible to feel sorry for something that you never lived through that never affects you or affects anyone who you know? I can understand sympathy or even empathy but sorrow?

[@flamefusion8963]

Imadisneydonk I am an American. I am not sorry as I am not responsible.

[@sashi2984]

Nguyễn Cao Kỳ died months after you posted this on July 23, 2011.

[@mechanicalorchards3961]

I've heard that the tet offensive was also jarring because it was done on a vietnam holiday, and there was an agreed ceasefire(?) not sure but I've heard here-say about that.

[@trantrungnam612]

Tet mean Lunar New Year in Vietnamese. They were expected a cease fire because it's a holiday and we're letting their guard down at that moment. Agreed or not, the Tet Offensive was a large military operation that the U.S and South Vietnam didn't expect the North and Viet Cong could pull off.

[@inouelenhatduy]

tet = new year = they think we Vietnamese or north Vietnam or viet cong not going to do anything during that time cause busy party or visit family vv + they think Vietnamese is weak and nearly destroy and cant plan that huge attack and let the guard down

[@CoolDude911]

The y thought about the TET offensive very tactically. They made the USA think they were attacking a northern base and drew out troops there. The USA had less feet on the ground since they thought that since TET was a holiday there would be no fighting so some soldiers took leave. The USA panics and sends a lot of soldiers to the north but then they start getting attacked everywhere. This is classical guerilla warfare.

[@johnwagner7617]

Thank you for your help in understanding this time.

[@fraditoto]

the my lai massacre was in response to the Tet offensive ?

[@suntanbabybree]

your videos saved my ass (: I had to do reports for school due the next day i was looking into wars and these videos are the easiest to understand. Thank you