...The Vietnam War “Involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War” Aram Mebashar 1202122 January 24, 2015 International History of 20th Century and Beyond Instructor: Andrew Shaben 0 Involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War After the Second World War, fights, clashes, and conflicts had not finished around the world. The Soviet Union was communist and supporting other communist states. In the other hand, the United States was anti-communist and always supported countries, regions, and political parties fighting against communism. In Vietnam as other places a long war happened nearly a decade after the World War Two in 1954 between the North Vietnam communist regime with the support of China, Soviet Union, and other communist allies, against South Vietnam and its essential partner, the United States, also supported by other anti-communist allies. The war was long and costly for both sides, and it left many problems and disadvantages on the United States economy. This essay will argue the following three points, how the United States involved in the Vietnam War, the impact of the war especially on the United States with focus on economics, politics, and culture in both negative and positive aspects, and the US withdrawal of the war. Beginning with the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War. Firstly, there were many different reasons of the American involvement in the war, but the main reason was prevention of communism spread and expansion...
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...The Vietnam War caused a significant internal conflict for the U.S. Throughout this time, the American population would argue back and forth regarding the argument for and against participating in it, while others rejected it entirely. U.S involvement was eminent, however, because it was seen as a moral responsibility, and an act of interventionism. To begin, during the time of the Vietnam War, most politicians believed the war was necessary. However, President Eisenhower did not wish to send troops to Vietnam at first. He believed the U.S shouldn’t be involved heavily in an all-out war; yet, reluctantly, he sent troops in to aid the French. Later, while President Eisenhower was explaining the “Domino Theory Principle,” he talks about Communism...
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...First and foremost the Americans lost the Vietnam War. The Americans had loses all around the board from social to political, and monetary. The Vietnamese wanted to win the war and with a will there was a way. Its was already difficult with America being the invading force and the Vietnamese were having to fight on their own land. The American People were not willing to give the support and full commitment to win the war. The event that launched the United States in the the Vietnam War was the Gulf of Tonkin. Before the United States involvement in the war American ships were patrolling the area around North Vietnam. Then, North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked the USS Maddox, but the the attacks seem to allegation which created distrust...
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...The Vietnam War Vietnam had been under French rule during the 19th century. Japanese forces attacked Vietnam during WWII. Ho Chi Minh, political leader of Vietnam, formed the League for the Independence of Vietnam, also called the Viet Minh. After Japan’s defeat in 1945, they withdrew their forces from Vietnam. After the French Emperor Bao Dai took control, Ho’s Viet Minh forces, after seeing an opening to seize control, took over the northern part of Hanoi. Announced a Democratic Republic of Vietnam with Ho as the president. In 1949, the French wanted to reclaim control, so they decided to back Emperor Bao and placed the state of Vietnam. The Vietnam War was from (1954-1975) more than 20 years. The war also began when the Geneva conference split Vietnam along the 17th parallel. The war was mostly between South Vietnam with the help of the U.S., and North Vietnam....
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...The U.S involvement in the Vietnam War was so controversial that not only did it divide the social world but the political world as well. U.S intervention in Indochina began under Kennedy’s administration. Kennedy sought to view the war with cautious, careful to not Americanize the war. However, the transition of power to the Johnson administration would lead to the escalation of U.S involvement. Even with his reservations about the war, Johnson felt America had a promise to uphold. “ We have helped to build, and we have helped to defend...we have made a national pledge to help South Vietnam defend its independence” (165). Such reasoning evoked sympathy for the Vietnamese. The war would not be just about bloodshed but rather to help aid...
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...into the Vietnam conflicts. Eisenhower did not support the Geneva Accords signed by France and Vietnam in the summer of 1954. The Accord made the 17th parallel dividing the country of Vietnam to north and south section until two years when they would hold a free election for all of the country. Eisenhower and his secretary of state John Foster Dulles believed that the agreement gave the communist too much power in the north. Instead Eisenhower decided to create the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). This treaty’s purpose was to stop any more communist influence in Southeast Asia. Using the SEATO as a cover, Eisenhower started to help build a new nation in South Vietnam. In 1955 GVN was born, the government of the republic of Vietnam, the leader being Ngo Dinh Diem, after a landslide election. Soon after Diem claimed his country was under attack from communist. In 1957 the Vietnam War began. Diem imprisoned all those he viewed as being suspected communist and his people became outraged, administering protest and demonstrations. From 1956-1960, North Vietnam did all it could to put political pressure on Diem’s regime, gathering followers in the south to overthrow him. Since the false imprisonments it was not hard to rally rural areas in the south. This was how the National Liberation Front (NFL) was created. There are several main reasons for Eisenhower's increased involvement in Vietnam... . France threatened that, unless she received more support from the US, she would...
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...interpretation that the main reason America began and continued its involvement in Vietnam was to defend democracy All of the sources provide differing interpretations for the reasons for America’s involvement in Vietnam. Sources A and D provide evidence that supports the interpretation that America’s involvement in Vietnam was to ‘defend democracy’ while sources B and C provide evidence that refute it. Source A shows a letter from the formidable source of President Dwight Eisenhower to Diem the President of South Vietnam at the time. The letter shows Eisenhower expresses his support and his concerns for the new South Vietnamese government. The letter mentions the US sending aid to Diem and emphasises their support for the relocation of Vietnamese people away from places ‘ruled by a communist ideology they hate’. Source A emits the idea the US began its involvement in Vietnam for quite noble causes such like the aiding the protection Vietnamese to rescue them from a communist regime they despise. The letter portrays the US supporting Diem out of the goodness of their hearts shown in the final sentence: ‘I am glad that the United States is able to assist this humanitarian effort’ as far as this letter is concerned it would appear that US just wants to help a struggling democracy with no apparent benefits towards them .Eisenhower was a firm believer in ‘Domino theory’ and thought it as vital to prevent Vietnam from becoming yet another Asian communist state and to halt the spread...
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...became more and more drawn in to the conflict in Vietnam. Eisenhower was immediately put under pressure not to lose Vietnam to communism in the same way that Truman was perceived to have lost China before him - the American fear of a communist conspiracy was a major factor in the country’s continual support for the containment of it in Asia, regardless of the costs. Other factors that lead to an increase in American involvement in South East Asia included their support of the French in Indo-China until 1954, their response to the Geneva Accords 1954 and the formation of SEATO also in 1954. Arguably the most important reason for the US becoming increasingly involved in South-East Asia during the ‘50s was the perceived threat that communism posed. There was a widespread fear in America that there was a global threat of communism, which would destroy capitalist American values, being orchestrated from Moscow. This fear was worsened by the 12 year long conflict in Malaya between Britain and communist forces which started in 1948. This anti-communist sentiment was collated into the “Domino Theory” which suggested if one nation fell to communism, others would follow – Vice President Nixon visited Vietnam in 1953 and announced in a national TV broadcast upon his return that “If Indo-China goes under communist domination the whole of South East Asia will be threatened”, thus confirming the public’s fears and compelling greater US involvement in South East Asia in order to prevent this...
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...To what extent was America's involvement in the Vietnam Conflict the result of the wrong judgments of American policymakers? Abstract In this paper, I will discuss the policy of America during the Vietnam conflict and how this resulted in the unnecessary Vietnam War. I will discuss why the U.S. thought the domino theory would suit the American policies during this time period. Also, I will analyze why the domino effect was not suited well for America. America thought that if communism were to takeover Vietnam, then it would eventually leak out into the surrounding region. This was incorrect and in this paper, I will discuss why it was invalid information. This paper will also examine why American policymakers exaggerated the stakes of the Vietnam War and why this led to unnecessary involvement in the Vietnam conflict. Even as the US realized that the stakes had been exaggerated and that the domino theory was implausible, they continued their involvement in the war. As for sources, I will utilize the sources provided for us by the teacher. These sources are Chapter 10 from LeFeber and History in Dispute: Was US intervention in Vietnam justified? These sources will help me explain why the US’ tried to base their policies off of the domino theory and why this was not the best policy. Also, I will conduct my own research using the online database JSTOR. I will also utilize the Pentagon Papers, a source I found online. Together, all these sources will help me formulate and discuss...
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...The USA increasingly became involved in the conflict in Vietnam after 1949. There are several reasons to explain this involvement and furthermore, these reasons will change between 1949 and Johnson’s deployment of troops in 1965. The fundamental reason to explain US involvement in Vietnam throughout this time period is the belief that communism was a threat to the capitalist state of America. President Truman was an anti-Communist and he has introduced the Truman Doctrine, a pledge to remove communism from Europe and aiming to stop communism from spreading any further. Kennan outlined Soviet belief and practice and proposed the policy of containment. With the Soviet’s domination of Eastern Europe in the Cold War such as setting up ‘buffer states’ in Poland, Romania etc. , the set up of Cominform and the blockade of Berlin to abandon control of West Germany. It was showing a major threat to the US. This fear of the threat posed by communism was exacerbated by the events of 1949 when China became a Communist state and the USSR exploded its first own nuclear bomb that the USA was no longer the only nuclear power. These two events prompted the USA to reconsider their policy towards containing communism. US policy now had to be more globally and militarily prepared to stop communism from spreading in Asia countries and even the world. This meant that the growing strength of the Vietminh in North Vietnam could not be ignored as it was believed that if one country fell to communism...
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...both Kennedy and Johnson unable to avoid increasing involvement in Vietnam? The United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War proved to be the most controversial episode in American history. There are many influences why the USA stayed so closely involved with Vietnam, including strategic hamlets, secretaries and personal beliefs. In the election campaign of 1960 Kennedy promoted himself as being tough on communism. He supported the Truman Doctrine, and believed in the ‘domino theory’, the idea that communism would inevitably spread from North Vietnam to Laos and Cambodia. His slogan was “Vietnam is the place”, which helped him gain support. Kennedy's failures at the Vienna summit in 1961, and the Bay of Pigs fiasco in Cuba, forced him to stiffen his position on Vietnam, not wanting to lose American citizens support. There was the curse of appeasement, as Eisenhower had not done enough during his time as President. Kennedy needed to prove himself as he was a democrat. The last democrat who was President lost the Korea War. He also had a fear of attack because of this by the republicans, as US citizens thought he was soft on communism. He was seen as a friend of Vietnam. In 1961, Robert McNamara was the Secretary of Defence as was known as a “Hawk”. This meant he was for the war and for military solutions. He was a close confidant with both Kennedy and Johnson, and strongly believed in the USA’s commitment to South Vietnam. He was a liberal intellectual who wanted freedom. However...
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...There were many reasons that contributed to Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. These consisted of a fear of communism, the need to support the USA and other allies and the views of Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies. While none of these had a great enough influence themselves, the combination of multiple factors were what brought about Australia’s association with the Vietnam War. The most prominent reason for Australian involvement in the Vietnam War was the country’s fear of communism. This was most clearly demonstrated through the use of effective and persuasive propaganda that depicted communism as a disease, or leaders such as Stalin as a spider with a web capturing the countries falling prey to communism. This government propaganda was helpful in gaining support for the war by the Australian public who learned to fear communism themselves. Australia was also opposed to the idea of the country falling to communism because of what it would bring. It would mean totalitarian rule, in which the country would come under the rule of a dictator, freedom of assembly, media and speech would be revoked and censored and the social classes would be obliterated. This would mean people were no longer able to work for their money or own a business, which consequently could bring about uprisings and protests as people struggle to grasp their new ways of equality. The increase in rules and regulations would come as a rude shock to the Australian public who had lived in a democratic...
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...France pulled out of Vietnam the U.S felt like they had to take action in order to prevent South Vietnam from falling into Communism. Starting in 1955-56 the U.S started to send military advisors to assist the South Vietnamese army. The U.S was worried that Ho Chi Minh, leader of the North Vietnamese Communists would try to unify Vietnam under Communist rule. At this time president Truman viewed Communism as the greatest post-war threat and was worried about the spread of communism in Vietnam. Truman believed that the U.S should be world police and prevent the spread of communism. As the U.S tried to fight against the spread of communism the power of Communist rebels in South Vietnam kept increasing. As a result president Truman felt obligated to send more and more military advisors until finally in 1965 Truman sent a large number of American combat troops into Vietnam to prop-up South Vietnam. This war was obviously between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the United States of America and other anti-communist countries. The United States played a big role taking the side of the South Vietnamese army but failed to have the support of the American people. The involvement of the United States into the Vietnam War was obviously not justified for many reason which I will talk about in the following. Since the American people didn’t support the U.S getting involved in war with communist North Vietnam it clearly went against...
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...American Foreign Policy Leading to the Vietnam War American involvement in the Vietnam War is one of the most controversial issues in our history. However, the United States foreign policies had been dictating our involvement in Vietnam long before the initial deployment of troops into Vietnam. The fear of communism and developments of the policy of containment and the domino theory set the stage for the eventual escalation of the Vietnam Conflict into a war which would claim the lives of thousands of Americans. United States' involvement in Vietnam began as early as World War II, when American forces of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor of the CIA, parachuted into the mountains in the northern region of Vietnam. Led by Major Allison Thomas, their mission, "Deer," was to rendezvous with and train a small group of Vietnamese soldiers that were fighting Japanese occupation troops, and were rescuing downed pilots, this group of Vietnamese were known as the Vietminh. This group of Vietnamese soldiers would soon be the communist leaders of North Vietnam, however, at the time American forces were not concerned that Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap were communists because America was still allied with the Soviet Union, a communist state, at that point during World War II (Westheider 2). The Vietminh under leadership of Ho Chi Minh and with training from American OSS forces were simultaneously fighting the Japanese, while at the same time gaining more political...
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...regards to Vietnam under Kennedy's presidency, there are many arguments both for and against the idea of commitment trap, Kennedy certainly escalated military involvement in Vietnam but did he have a choice? Or had his predecessors committed him in Vietnam long before he came into the Whitehouse? There is no doubt that Johnson was the one who fully placed ground troops in Vietnam in '65 and created his legacy of 'Johnson's war', but did any of the previous presidents give him any other option except to stay? Also, was there any evidence of any moments when they could've pulled out? The commitment trap theory is widely acknowledged, with regards to Vietnam, by historians as it explains many of the extreme actions that were undertaken during this period. It is also used in arguments supporting USA's decisions in Vietnam, because these decisions were only made because they HAD to be made, the predecessing presidents gave them no choice. However, was commitment trap the only reason Kennedy stayed in Vietnam? One of the first Presidents that could be argued to have influenced the refusal to withdraw from Vietnam was Truman and, particularly, his foreign policy. Truman's foreign policy states that 'we [USA] will give help to any free peoples suffering from Communism' this policy was an embedded thought in any successing President's mind, if they wanted to keep America an Anti-Communist country. Truman, implementing his policy, initiated the connection between Vietnam and the USA...
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