...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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...interested. War movies don’t excite me that much, and I did not want to go out of the way to watch it. I’m not a violent person so watching this movie would be out of characteristic for me. However, when this research paper was assigned, it seemed to be destiny that I would finally watch this movie. I gave in, and decided this would be a great way to kill two birds with one stone- I would satisfy my friend, and be able to complete this assignment. Little did I know at the time, I was in for something truly special. While most men would be satisfied serving their team in war and returning home, the same could not be said for Benjamin Willard. After fighting in Vietnam, Willard found that he did not fit in back in America. He was miserable and desired to return to battle, so he did. A highly regarded man, Willard was given the task of finding and killing Walter E. Kurtz, a murderer who is stationed in Cambodia with the Montagnards, who view him as a god. To reach Kurtz, Willard joins the crew of a Navy river patrol boat who are to ferry him up a fictional river up to Cambodia. The boat’s crew consists of four men: Chief, Chef, Lance, and Clean. With help from Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore and the Ninth Air Cavalry, the men are able to make the trip successfully and continue further with their journey. Several memorable scenes occurred. The first occurred in the jungle where Chef began exploring to find mangos. The area is dense with trees and wilderness, and the crew did not...
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...Vietnam: The Effects on Americans Denise Eliason American History Professor Geisler September 19, 2013 Vietnam: The Effects on Americans The Vietnam War was not just the only battle lost by the United States, but also the longest battle. American responses to the war ranged from riots of those opposing the war to draft dodgers to those believing that in order to fight Communism, the war was inevitable. Over time, American responses regarding the war changed. How did these responses change? How did domestic political concerns shape the country’s response to the war? How did the war shape domestic politics in the 1960s and early 1970s? The War in Vietnam, from my own viewpoint along with other Americans, is difficult to understand. (ehistory.osu, 2013) To this day, people are trying to determine the reason behind United States involvement in a war that should have been fought by the people of North and South Vietnam. In an attempt to contain Communism and prevent the domino theory from taking place, the United States became involved under the assumption that South Vietnam was a true Democracy. Americans responded to the war in a positive manner because they were led to believe the cause was similar to efforts in South Korea. As time went on, American became divided in their opinions on the war which in turn caused wounds that have yet to be healed or may never be healed between some. When America declared her open involvement in 1964 after the Tonkin incident...
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...the Vietnam War critically impacted the results of the conflict as well as having a decisive impact upon the implementation of policies within the United States and the Soviet Union. Qiang Zhai’s, “Beijing and the Vietnam Peace Talks, 1965-68: New Evidence from Chinese Sources,” showed how the Communist Chinese desired to continue the war in Vietnam for ideological and imperial desires, thus rebuffing any peace overture made from Western powers. Mao Lin’s, “China and the Escalation of the Vietnam War: The First Years of the Johnson Administration”, stated that there clearly was a political struggle between the Soviet Union, Communist China, and the United States in Vietnam. Lin stated that Vietnam simply was another battlefield in the Cold War struggle. Melvyn P. Leffler stated the United States in Vietnam continued to fight to save face and credibility as defender of the free world. During the 1960’s Communist China perceived itself as the defender of national liberation movement, sent aid to the North Vietnamese, and refused to allow them to discuss peace with the United States. Additionally, Communist China wanted to gain influence within Southeast Asia and stamp out any influence from the Soviet Union in addition to the United States. Ideologically driven actions taken by Communist China in Vietnam when tied with events of the Sino-Soviet split had drastic implications upon actions that were taken by the United States in Vietnam. Finally, implications of the Vietnam War touched...
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...Assignment 1: The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy Annette Hickson Dr. John Cronin Strayer University POL300 – International Problems February 9, 2014 Introduction The Second World War forever changed how the United States viewed its role in foreign affairs. America understood it could no longer stand by and watch countries abroad occupy other nations without feeling any impact. In order to combat this threat, several presidents introduced ideologies to prevent the spread of communism and position America as a leader of the free world. America looked for ways to promote democracy around the world but it was met with opposition. The Soviet Union was not willing to conform to America’s way of life and this battle was the basis for the Cold War. The Sixties was an era in which the Freedom Movement gained momentum and Americans began to question whether or not the government was honest with the public (Schultz, 2012). Meanwhile, foreign policy would dominate as President Lyndon Johnson inherited the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. To better understand President Johnson’s ideals, this paper will summarize the situation that required U.S. diplomatic efforts during President Johnson’s time in office. Furthermore, President Johnson’s diplomatic doctrine will be analyzed with reference to specific actions and events. Finally, the effects of these diplomatic efforts for the U.S. and other countries will be described to assess its impact...
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...The Causes of the Vietnam War The Vietnam War is now considered as one of the most distressing moments during the 20th Century. The Vietnam War was caused by many factors that contributed to the war in Vietnam during the years of 1959 to April 30, 1975. This war just prolonged the struggles between nationalist forces attempting to unify the country of Vietnam. Most of the factors that contribute to the war were the beliefs by a lot of people who wanted to prevent Vietnam of becoming an Independent Country. There are many people who suffered a lot due to this war going on and still due to this day people still picturing how they fought the war. What were the causes of the Vietnam War? Why did the United States become involved in this war? Why did the Vietnam War have such a huge impact both on the Vietnam and the United States? What was the impact that Ho Chi Minh had during the War? One of the most important features when describing the Vietnam War was why the United States became involved in the war, and their reasons for conflict amongst the Vietnamese in the North of the 17th Parallel. It is known that the US was involved for many reasons, particularly their belief in the Domino theory where if one country fell to Communism, the rest of South-East Asia would fall along with it. There are many other reasons why the United States became involved in this war. There are many reasons why the United States became involved was them being concerned with Vietnam and that would lead...
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...Kaur Mrs. Dibble CP English / 3rd 5/3/12 Vietnam War Vietnam War primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. The war began soon after the Geneva Conference conditionally divided (1954) Vietnam at 17° N lat. into the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). It escalated from a Vietnamese civil war into a limited international conflict in which the United States was deeply involved, and did not end, despite peace agreements in 1973, until North Vietnam's successful offensive in 1975 resulted in South Vietnam's collapse and the unification of Vietnam by the North. What was it really like to be a soldier in the Vietnam War? The only real way to know was to be there, but the second-best way to find out is to read the stories of men and women who served in the Vietnam War. “On Monday morning, the 15th of November, he died in my arms of tow bullets wounds in the chest. He said, “Ken I can’t breathe.” There was nothing I could do (Bagby, 637).” The author of “Dear Folks”, Kenneth is describing how his best friend died in his long arms, and he could not do anything to save him. “We were crossing………………………………………………….. During the short span of the Vietnamese war, 2.5 million people died, and millions more displaced. The American people wanted nothing to do with the Vietnam War. Having witnessed the unthinkable acts of violence...
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...In 1964, the United States of America became involved in the Vietnam war in order to prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. In If I Die In A Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home, author, Tim O’Brien writes his experiences within the Vietnam war and his aspects of it. If If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home, author Tim O'Brien describes the events of the Vietnam War as evil and unfair through depictions of his morals, how the war was inhumane and the soldier's experiences in throughout war. Author O’Brien lays out his beliefs on the war as wrong and evil describing it as the result in people dying. O’Brien was drafted into becoming a soldier by the US military. He also saw the was as unfair because of the way...
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...largest anti-war protest in America’s history against the Vietnam war shows just how powerful people’s voices can be. The anti-war movement that occurred during the Vietnam War rose up out of the shadows that they were previously covered by in 1964-65, mainly because of Operation Rolling Thunder, otherwise known as the bombing campaign of North Vietnam. When news of this broke out in the States,anti-war protests and riots began popping up all over the nation. The most well-known protest took place on October 21, 1967 in front of the Lincoln Memorial and involved at least 100,000 demonstrators. Once the veterans had returned home from the war, they were treated as if they were lower than dirt by anti-war leaders. The Washington protest, followed by many more lesser known demonstrations, has wedged its way into U.S history and has left a large effect on the remaining time that the Vietnam war lasted (USHistory.org)....
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...course of World War I and World War II, The Vietnam War, The Korean War, and policies brought fourth during The Wars’ on Terrorism (Iraq and Afghanistan) we will illustrate the setbacks and failures of each while drawing significant relations between all. Before discussion the different American Foreign Policies we must understand what a Foreign Policy is and how it may affect us. By definition “foreign policy- a policy pursued by a nation in its dealings with other nations, designed to achieve national objectives.” (foreign policy, n.d.). The intentions of the American Foreign Policies are put in place to protect not only American business world but the globalization of the free market, although at time the American Policies are called into question with tremendous criticism, they are intended to protect the American people from the capable harm of other nations. “Global public opinion is not a new concern for U.S. foreign policy. Woodrow Wilson often referred to it, even stating that it "ultimately governs the world" (cited in Ninkovich 1999, 67).” (Goldsmith, B.E, Horiuchi, Y., Inoguchi, T., Jun., 2005) By assuming this role of the protector of all, the American Government felt they must adopt the “intervention role” thus policing the world. America had engrossed itself in the world’s problems while trying to force its political ideology throughout the different nations all the while trying to maintain a neutral stance. However while the United States maintained an intervention...
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...head: VIETNAM Vietnam: Its Impact and Lessons Learned . Prof. Carol Scott Contemporary International Problems – POL300 March 14, 2010 Vietnam: Its Impact and Lessons Learned Introduction The Vietnam War, also known as the Vietnam Conflict and the Second Indochina War to most was considered brutal and unwarranted; it did not accomplish anything and caused a massive death toll. This war was fought between the communist North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. Communist North Vietnam was supported by its communist allies while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and the other nations that were against communist. This was a war fought with the use of guerrilla warfare on hostile soil with an enemy, known as the Viet Cong. Guerrilla warfare is combat in which a small group of combatants use mobile military tactics in the form of ambushes and raids to combat a larger and less mobile formal army. The Viet Cong used anything at their disposal to stop the United States from changing their way of life/religion. The Viet Cong was a lightly armed South Vietnamese communist controlled coalition. This made it impossible for anyone to benefit from an invasion of this country. The warfare used played a major role in the outcome of this war. The United States entered the war to prevent the takeover of South Vietnam and the spread of communism in that area. The impact has placed a tremendous hardship on the returning soldiers and the United State...
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...Vietnam War Vietnam had been part of a French colony in Indochina. French Indochina was established when France took control of northern Vietnam following their victory over China.1 The northern part of Vietnam was controlled by Ho Chi Minh and his communist Viet Minh party.2 The Vietcong was a political organization and army in South Vietnam that fought the U.S and South Vietnamese governments during the Vietnam War. ith the W Cold War intensifying, the United States hardened its policies against any allies of the Soviet Union, and by 1955 Presidentwight D. Eisenhower D had pledged his firm support to Diem and South Vietnam.3 John F. Kennedy sent a group to south vietnam and advised a build up of American military. U.S politicians believed in the domino theory which is the belief that if one country fell to communism, its neighbours would follow.4 The U.S was depending on this theory and by the time the military grew. The U.S was trying to get rid of communism and with this the U.S and other countries took part in forming the SEATO ( Southeast Asia Treaty Organization). The purpose of SEATO was to prevent communism from gaining ground in the region.5 The USS Maddox was a destroyer ship and in August 1964, MADDOX was one of the leading actors in the Tonkin Incident that eventually lead to the Vietnam War.6 The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed by congress to promote the maintenance of peace and security in southeast asia...
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...Assignment #4 Vietnam Introduction Rules of engagement (ROE) “are a device used by a commander to set forth the parameters of when, how, for what duration and magnitude and geographical location, and against what targets our forces can employ force, generally deadly force … in a theater of operations. …” (Bolgiano, 2008). The ROE have been used in conventional wars fought throughout history. The United States of America used the ROE as tool to guide their soldiers in accomplishing their mission during the Vietnam War. Unfortunately the ideology of a limited war, placed limits on exactly what could be done and how it could be done throughout all levels of the chain of command. For the purpose of this paper the chain of command includes: the individual soldiers in the field, battalion commanders, division commanders, General William Westmoreland, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and President Johnson. Soldiers in the Field Soldiers sent to Vietnam to fight in the war consisted mostly of draft calls and enlistments. The soldiers lacked sufficient training and had an insufficient amount of ammunition. Also, “other combat units arrived under strength and without all of their weapons, equipment, or supplies” (Moss, 2010, p. 166). The ideology of limited war had limited the resources for the soldiers already creating issues for U.S. forces at the beginning of the war. The ROE created a conventional style of war in which North Vietnam and the Vietminh did not reciprocate...
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...Significant events World War II through the 1970’s Assignment 3 “World War II through the 1970’s” Tim Truster Professor Michael Curran 26 August, 2012 Abstract My history assignment 3 “World War II through the 1970’s” will identify two major historical turning points during this period and what impact they had on current society, economy, politics, and culture. It will also explain two reasons Americans in the late 1930’s wanted to stay out of the European conflict that became World War II. I will explain the role women played to help win World War II. I will describe two civil rights breakthroughs after World War II that moved the cause of African-Americans forward. An explanation to why the Vietnam War brought political awareness to a new generation of young Americans. Finally two programs under President Johnson’s “Great Society” agenda that are still with us today will be discussed. Two historical turning points during the period of World War II through the 1970’s I will discuss in my paper will be the ending of World War II by defeating Japan and the Civil Rights movement. World War II itself was a major turning point in history. In 1945, Japan was lightly defended against the American attack; huge firebombing of Japanese cities went unanswered. America estimated that an invasion of the Japanese home islands would cost 50,000 American casualties in the first phase of the attack. The battles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa demonstrated the extent to which Japanese...
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...the text, but also a social commentary of what was occurring at the time. During this period, the Vietnam War was being fought and the United States thought that if Vietnam were to become a communist country, all of Asia would soon follow. The movie was a manifestation of the terror that was sweeping across the nation as people were uncertain whether or not they would wake up tomorrow and see that they are under the control of the Soviet Union. The film illustrates what was happening at the time, and what would happen if the USSR had won the war and the world had fallen under the rule of communism. In Brave New World, everyone had a function from the Epsilons to the Alphas. This is similar to how in a communist system, everyone has a role and serves a purpose, and if this service were not to be met, then those in power would take...
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