the war started in 1775 at the battles of Lexington and Concord between colonial militia (private solders) and British professional soldiers
"Paul Revere's Ride" announced the arrival of British troops
the first major battle was at Boston (the failed British naval "siege of Boston") in 1775
George Washington commanded the American forces
the battle set Washington's general strategy of maintaining defensive positions and not directly attacking the stronger British army and navy
as the War went on, Washington adopted the strategy of "strategic retreat" = to attack, then move back to avoid being hit back
this was especially important at Valley Forge, where Washington kept his army away from the British and spent the winter training them and keeping up troop morale (positive fighting spirit)
the 1777 Battle of Saratoga marked an important victory for American forces over the British in Saratoga, New York (Washington was not the American commander there)
having shown that the Americans could defeat a part of the British army (which surrendered at Saratoga)
the French agreed to get involved in the War and started sending materials and, later, a larger fleet of ships
in 1781, with help from the French fleet, Washington defeated the main British army at the Battle of Yorktown in Virginia
the British surrendered and the war effectively ended
in 1783, the now independent United States signed a peace agreement with the British in the Treaty of Versailles
as part of the treaty, the U.S. took all British lands between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River
US moves to support South Vietnam from communist expansion
international deal is made to divide Vietnam between Russian-supported communist North Vietnam and US-supported dictatorship in South Vietnam
1963
US special forces sent to Vietnam
President Kennedy increases US military presence in order to support South Vietnam from North Vietnamese attacks and South Vietnamese communist rebellion ("Vietcong")
1964
US sends military forces to Vietnam to directly fight the North Vietnamese and "Vietcong"
major, direct involvement by US military
1968
Anti-war protests grow in US
Major North Vietnamese offensive fails but shows that North Vietnam is not giving up
American public lose support ofr Johnson's policies in Vietnam and the Vietnam War, generaly
in 1968 alone, over 15,000 Americans were killed in action in Vietnam
1969
Richard Nixon becomes President
Nixon promises Americans that he will win the war and leave
"Vietnamization" policy of moving responsibility for the war from the American troops to South Vietnam
Nixon bombs North Vietnam and military supply routes from North to South Vietnam in neighboring countries of Laos and Cambodia
1970
Protests grow across US
especially on college campuses after the "draft" was revised to include college students
the "draft" is forced military services ("inscription")
prior to 1970, the draft exempted (cleared) people in college
when the draft rules were changed to allow college students to be drafted, major protests broke out
1970
Kent State protest
major protest at Kent State University in Ohio
the Ohio National Guard opposed protesters and shot at protesters, killing 4
1972
Nixon's bombing campaign brings Vietnam to peace talks
via massive bombing campaigns, Nixon forced the North Vietnamese to negotiate an end to the war
Nixon also "opened" diplomatic relations wth the communist Chinese, which put pressure on the North Vietnamese and their Russian supporters to negotiate with the US
1975
Collapse of South Vietnam and North Vietnam takeover
following President Nixon's resignation due to the Watergate scandal, the US Congress banned American support of Sout Vietnam
with the US military gone, the North Vietnamese easily defeated the South Vietnamese and turned the entire country into a communist regime
President Johnson, 1963-1969
launched direct American involvement in Vietnam in the 1964 "Gulf of Tonkin" incident
oversaw "escalation" of US involvement in Vietnam war
President Nixon, 1969-1974
elected in 1968 with goal to "win then end" the Vietnam War
this meant "Vietnamization"
= moving responsibility for the war to the Vietnamese people
supporting them without having to be there directly
1970 changes in the draft rules
Nixon took away the education exemption from the draft
which meant that college students were eligible for the draft
this led to huge increase in protests
including the Kent State shooting
a protest at Kent State University in Ohio
Ohio National Guardsman shot at protesters and killed 4
