The final declarations of the Geneva Conference, formally concluding the war between France and Viet Nam.
The American Response to the Geneva Declarations, 3 July 21, 1954
Secretary of State John Foster Dulles's official response to the Geneva Peace Accords.
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), September 8, 1954
Protocol to the SEATO Treaty.
President Eisenhower's Letter of Support to Ngo Dinh Diem, October 23, 1954
Eisenhower's offer of American aid to support Diem in "developing and maintaining a strong, viable state."
Law 10/59, May 6, 1959
Excerpts from Law 10/59, Diem's repressive legislation against suspected Communists.
Duong Loi Cach Nang Mien Nam [The Path of Revolution in the South], 1956
The southern Communists' statement of opposition to the U.S.-Diem regime and commitment to armed violence.
National Liberation Front (NLF)
Statement of the goals of the NLF, the united front that brought together Communists and non-Communists to liberate Viet Nam from foreign control.
Rusk-McNamara Report to Kennedy, November 11, 1961
Excerpts from the November 1961 "White Paper" advocating an increase in military, technical, and economic aid to South Viet Nam.
Phone Conversation between Ngo Dinh Diem and Henry Cabot Lodge, November 1,1963
Lodge's implied withdrawal of support for Diem's regime.
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, August 6-7, 1964
Excerpts from the Senate debate on the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, authorizing (with two dissenting votes) an escalation of U.S. involvement.
McGeorge Bundy Memo to President Johnson, February 7, 1965
Excerpts from Bundy's memo to Johnson, advocating "sustained reprisal against North Vietnam" in response to the NLF attack on two U.S. army installations.
Thu Vao Nam [Letters to the South], 1965
The Hanoi Politburo's letter to the Communist Party in the South, outlining the Party's commitment to a protracted war strategy.
National Security Action Memorandum Number 328, April 6,1965
Memo signed by McGeorge Bundy and addressed to the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, documenting Johnson's approval of a 20,000-man increase in U.S. military support for South Viet Nam.
Excerpts from Speech Given by President Johnson at Johns Hopkins University, April 7,1965
Johnson's justification of U.S. involvement in Viet Nam.
Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara's Memo to President Johnson, July 20, 1965
A summary of McNamara's memo advocating further increases in the number of combat troops committed to Viet Nam.
Democratic Republic of Vietnam Peace Proposal, June 26, 1971
Hanoi's peace proposal, presented at the Paris talks in 1971.
Peace Proposal of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Viet Nam, July 1, 1971
The Southern Communists' peace proposal, presented at the Paris talks in 1971.
President Nixon's Speech to the American Public, November 3, 1969
Nixon's "Vietnamization" plan.
President Nixon's Speech to the American Public, April 30, 1970
Nixon's justification of the offensive in Cambodia.
The Paris Accords, January 27, 1973
Excerpts from the Paris peace agreement, formally concluding the war between the United States and North Viet Nam.