levo

The USA, 1954–75: Conflict at Home and Abroad

Reasons for US involvement in the conflict in Vietnam, 1954–63

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 3

Overview

The French defeat and the Geneva division of 1954, the domino theory, the cancelled election of 1956, Eisenhower's aid, Diem's unpopular and repressive government, Kennedy's advisers, the Strategic Hamlet Program and its failure, and Diem's overthrow in 1963.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

How did French rule in Vietnam come to an end in 1954?

Key term

What was the domino theory?

Key term

What support did Eisenhower give South Vietnam?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    How did French rule in Vietnam come to an end in 1954?

    Model answer

    The French army was defeated at Dien Bien Phu, and the Geneva agreement then divided the country temporarily at the 17th parallel.

  2. 2

    What was the domino theory?

    Model answer

    The belief that if one country in South East Asia fell to communism its neighbours would topple one after another, so the line had to be held in Vietnam.

  3. 3

    Why was the election promised for 1956 never held?

    Model answer

    Diem refused it and Eisenhower backed him, because both expected Ho Chi Minh to win easily and hand the whole country to the communists.

  4. 4

    What support did Eisenhower give South Vietnam?

    Model answer

    Large sums of aid, weapons and equipment, and military advisers to train its army.

  5. 5

    Why was Diem’s government so unpopular with ordinary South Vietnamese?

    Model answer

    It was corrupt and run by his own family, it favoured Catholics in a mainly Buddhist country, and it took land from peasants and returned it to landlords.

  6. 6

    How did Diem treat his opponents?

    Model answer

    He jailed and executed critics, closed newspapers and crushed Buddhist protest, which drove many people towards the communists.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

See a huge jump in your memorisation

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88
British America, 1713–83: Empire and Revolution
Conflict in the Middle East, 1945–95
Crime and Punishment in Britain, c1000–present

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

£6.6 , fixed in 1921.
billionmillionthousand

Blank Blitz consolidates the facts

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AThe huge loss of life left England short of workers.
BForeign craftsmen and labourers were wanted.
CCompetition for work also bred resentment.

Build It trains answer structure

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Strategy means the plan for a whole campaign.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in The USA, 1954–75: Conflict at Home and Abroad, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.