INTRODUCTION: This unit is based on the five fateful decisions that impacted the United States and it's involvement in Vietnam.  The body of this unit is based on a curriculum guide written by Louise A. Oliveira and Natalie Robinson called "Fateful Decisions 1945-1972: The United States' Vietnam Policies in Five Presidential Administrations."  It was sponsored by Women for a Non-Nuclear Future Education Fund and Exeter-West Greenwich Regional High School and made possible by an Educational Grant from the Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities. 

Each administration presided over one of the five fateful decisions.  This unit will describe the decision in depth and how it played into Vietnam as a key component to the Cold War.  

The first decision that was made during the Truman Administration will be the focal point for the purpose of this teaching module.