What came out of the post war era was a generation of suspicion and mistrust called the Cold War. This was a stalemate war between the US and USSR, or the global East and West. Both sides were sceptical of the other and the threat of war made society at the time harsh. There were many causes for the cold war; however the main beginnings were in the immediate aftermath of World War Two. The world was left in a bipolar power struggle between the two main superpowers, America and the Soviet Union.
One key reason why the US became progressively involved in Vietnam was the fear of the Domino theory. The Domino theory was arguably the most significant cause for the escalation of US support in the Vietnam War. The Americans feared that if they left the corrupt South Vietnamese government alone, the whole country would collapse to communism and ultimately spread to neighboring countries such as Laos and Cambodia. The most important reason as to why the United States became increasingly involved in Vietnam was the long-term effect of the Domino Theory. The Domino Theory was the belief that once one country had fallen to communism, its neighbors would do the same.
After the well known Bay of Pigs fiasco, he felt he was advised that he needed a foreign policy success. The arena in which he was to succeed was to be Vietnam. President Kennedy wanted to be strong in Vietnam, to show off America's power. The president's role in the Vietnam War remains the most controversial aspect of his public
How the Vietnam War started The Vietnam War was the longest and most unpopular war in the American history. It was also the only war that the U.S. lost. The whole war for Vietnam was for independence, but for the U.S. it was about stopping communism, and so the war itself started due to the two rival governments, the French occupation, and the interruption of foreign powers. A conflict was sparked by the two rival governments that were present in Vietnam. One government was led by a communist leader, Ho Chi Minh, who wanted to unite the country and help spread communism.
But United States leaders had other concerns. No sooner had World War II ended, then a "Cold War," between the forces of democracy and communism began (Schomp The Vietnam War 5). Long years of fighting had devastated the democratic nations of Western Europe, which left the communist Soviet Union as the dominant power in Europe and Asia (Schomp The Vietnam War 5). The Soviet Union had already over run most of Eastern Europe; now they seemed determined to spread communism all around the globe (Schomp The Vietnam War 5). To help counter that threat Truman started secretly sending money as well as supplies to help back the French forces against Ho Chi Minh's forces (Schomp The Vietnam War 5).
By 1968, however, over half a million US soldiers and marines were fighting in the jungles of South Vietnam and there had been thousands of US casualties. The Vietnam War turned into a major American defeat and helped change US policy in containing Communism. The United States entered the war to stop the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia. American leaders feared that Communist forces would gain control of Vietnam. After that, nation after nation might fall to Communism.
Jozeph Kaddissi EN 102 Composition 2 (1:15-2:30) 21 February 2011 Vietnam War: The Fight against Social Injustice The war in Vietnam occurred at a period when the United States perceived communism as a serious threat to democracy, capitalism, American peace of society, and the civilized world. During this period, the USSR and the United States were deeply engrossed in the cold war. The war in Vietnam is only one among the many proxy wars between the communist countries led by the USSR and the capitalistic countries led by the United States. The communist North Vietnam had embarked on a war campaign against the south. Motivated by the need to deter the spread of communist ideology, America felt obligated to intervene to preserve the sovereignty of South Vietnam and possibly to end any further communist incursions in the north.
To what extent was the Vietnam part of the Cold War? | | | | | | | | The Vietnam War can be seen to be part of the Cold War due to the Americans acting upon their policy of containment and their fear of the Domino Theory. This idea relates to many events in the Cold War. For example the Korean War, where the Americans became involved due to their fear of the Domino Theory, as communism had already spread in China and Indo-China, and now the Soviet-occupied North Korea had attacked the South. The US felt they had no other choice but to act on their policy of containment and fear of the Domino Theory.
Discuss the Impact of the Cold War on Australian Society in the 1950’s and 1960’s During the Cold War Era, Australian society was profoundly affected due to our involvement as a loyal ally to both America and Great Britain. As a result, a fear of communism in and around Australia developed and lead to a lot of tension around the country. As countries in both Europe and Asia were taken over by communist powers, the threat of communism became a genuine fear within Australian society. Many Australians were concerned that with communism spreading rapidly throughout the world, it would not be long before Australia would undergo the same fate. As if to reinforce the fear of communism, two spies working on behalf of the Soviet Embassy were discovered in an event known as the Petrov Affair and reignited the fear of communism which became stronger than ever before.
The biggest fear of all growing and developed countries in the 20th century was the spread of communism. Communism is like a disease that spreads and kills all successful economies in its path. For the United States, communism was at its greatest threat potential during the time period between the end of the Second World War in 1945 up until the Vietnam war in 1970. However, the United States was successful in denying the threat of communism dispersion within America. From 1945 at the Yalta Conference, up until the end of the Vietnam war in 1970, the initial goal of United States foreign policy was to deny the spread of communism.