S. Vietnam Economy

US Creates list of importers - 1.4million invested ; - includes there own internal consumer products. - this is designed to keep inflation down

Ngo Dinh Diem Admin 1959-1963

- Land Reform : gives land back to wealthy landowners rather than rural population pushing Diem's admin, farther from popularity in base village population. - Defense minister- Brother, Ngo Dinh Can - Minister of Culture and Religion : Brother Ngo Dinh Thuc - Diem Admin believes in personalism - Personalism= an intellectual stance that emphasizes the importance of human persons. - Imposes policy not by popular decree but by elite understanding of situations. - 1956, Makes mistake of demolishing the self rule in the villages. - mass dissension followed - Despite situation unraveling on the ground the American public that knew of Vietnam still supported Diem's pro-Catholic puppet Gov. -1959 *Law 1059*In May 1959, Diem passed Law 10/59, establishing military tribunals to search out Communists in South Vietnam, whom he derisively referred to as Viet Cong. These tribunals were unconcerned with justice, and Law 10/59 was brutal in its application. - Minorities and anyone outwardly disapproving of the Diem regime were heavily discriminated against. - *natives Vietnamese* ---------Jarni ---------Rhade ---------Banai- 210,000 vietnamese settled upon the land these peoples were forcibly removed from. Most of them Catholics from N. Vietnam favored by Diem regime. Many took arms against S. Vietnamese Gov as a result. -*Agroville Program* -Introduced by President Diem in 1959, the Agroville scheme was a forerunner of the Strategic Hamlet Program that forcibly relocated peasants into fortified villages ("agrovilles"). - The program was suspended in August 1960 due to peasant hostility. * 1960 Caravelle Conference* -the Caravelle Manifesto, also referred to as the Manifesto of the Eighteen, was written in April 1960 as a public critique of the South Vietnamese government under President Ngô Đình Diệm. -The "manifesto" of grievances included the Diệm regime's restrictions on freedom and pushed for reforms in the country. -Its eighteen signatories were all old-time anti-communist politicians, leaders of the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo sects, the Đại Việt and the Việt Quốc parties, and dissenting Catholic groups. -The name of the manifest is derived from the fact that the document's contents were presented at a press conference held at the Caravelle Hotel in downtown Saigon, Vietnam. *1962 offensive* --- ARVN takes offensive *Helicopters* become Symbol of Vietnam War machine ---New technology hailed as key weapon of the war for US and S. Vietnamese army. --- V.C. quickly adopt to counter Helicopter weaknesses ------ The Helicopter is loud, and often followed a formulaic timing that eliminated the element of surprise and fell victim to ambush by the V.C. who would wait for the vehicle to land and overwhlm their enemy. * Strategic Hamlet program* --- Founded by Thompson, used with success in Malaysia. --- like a weaponized Agroville program, created forced relocation, and resentment of the peasantry. --- The Hamlets were to me fortified, but often because the Diem gov. did not want to arm any vietnamese that were not ARVN, often did not receive arms. *The differences of Malaysia to Vietnam* ---No rice shortage in Vietnam to use as besiege tactic as in Malaysia --- Vietnam had no ethnic difference so as to differentiate friend from foe.

Ngo Dinh Nhu

Brother of Diem, c

US & Vietnamese Special Forces

*Montagnards* -The Montagnards are most covered in English-language scholarship for their participation in the Vietnam War, where they were heavily recruited by South Vietnam due to their antipathy to the strong centralized state offered by North Vietnam as well as communism's hostility toward religion, as the Montagnards were Christian at a much higher proportion than that of the Viet people.

Can Lao

----- Dominates politics in S Vietnam ----utilizes "Re-education" camps for dissenters. Bureau of Vietnamese Investigation sends 20,00 communist and non-communists will be placed in camps. Nhu controlled the secretive Can Lao as a privatized army.

Madam Nhu

Nhu's wife - Outraged citizens and imposed catholic puritanism on the majority buddhist country. - dismantled Saigon nightlife on principle of morality. - Made wild claims to have the spirit of the trung sisters within her. - the wildly unpopular Madam Nhu, was an embarrassment to Diem, none the less he stood by silently out of respect for his family, as is a major theme in Vietnamese cultural identity.

Group 559

..., Group 559 was a transportation and logistical unit of the People's Army of Vietnam that was subordinate to the Rear Services General Directorate. - Group 559 was established on 19 May 1959 in order to move troops, weapons, and material (by sea and land) from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) to the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) and to build and maintain support facilities en route. - The troop consisted with two transportation battalions.

S. Vietnam

1960- S.Vietnamese opposition to Diem Gov begins -1960 Dương Văn Dương* - Surrounded Palace leading a siege to GOv. Radio station -*Nguyen Khanh* , South Vietnamese General , Escapes siege and flees to south were he rallies support , returns and ends the siege. Diem Brothers believed the Americans staged the Coup or atleast aided it and never truly trusted the Americans again.

US administration 1960-63

Eisenhower Admin not fully focused on Vietnam due to cold war escalating in Europe and Russia. *Laos- 1961* Kennedy was advised under Chester Bowles and Harriman that military intervention in Laos in 1961 would be disastrous. This would be compounded by the pr humiliation at the hands of Nikita Khrushchev, who publicly made Kennedy look weak to Anti-communism. Kennedy believed that South Vietnam was key to restraining communism in Southeast Asia. 1962 Kennedy asked Rostow to go to Vietnam for "fact-finding tour" the first of many. Rostow and Taylor, found situation in Vietnam to be Grimm they advocated to continue to add to MAC-V Taylor suggested armor and weapons to be sent as aid 8000 men to Vietnam requested after fact-finding to bolster US -South Vietnamese Trust Kennedy approved everything but the 8,000 ground troops. *1961-Taylor and Rostow return from Fact finding mission* - Recommendations ------- Increase in weapons and material ------- Taylor requests 8,000 troops in addition ---Purpose: to show US commitment. --- More involvement overall * Boles & Harriman * ---wanted negotiated settlement. --- Viewed Vietnam as ultimately impossible JFK- rejected negotiated settlement plan in lieu of looking weak given events in Europe regarding Russia, China, and communism in general (political re-election). Agrees to increase advisors. 1962-1963- 3,000 to 11,000 to 16,000.

NLF (National Liberation Front)

- national liberation front communist made in response to Diem - Committed to reform - Nationalist effort to overthrow Diem - Accepted all classes, religions, and creeds. - promised jobs, and land reform - Appealed to many - core was communist hold outs - Villagers were growing constituency - Promised land reform to Counter Diem's disastrous land reform policy.