During a conference meeting Eisenhower explained his domino theory. In which all the countries on the brink of communism were dominos in a line, if you push the first one over the rest will surly fall fairly quickly. Even with the U.S. By its side the French were unable to retake Vietnam, they were overran at Dien Bien Phu. The country of Vietnam was split into two, the people who believed communism and the ones who did not. The Geneva Accords was a temporary divide of the north and south until the election of Ho Chi Minh or Ngo Dinh Diem.
How accurate is it to say that Eisenhower and Kennedy must share responsibility for the escalation of US involvement in south-east Asia in the years 1954-63? Throughout their history the Vietnamese people suffered foreign interference and conquest. This began with the early French interest in the 17th century and by the late 19th century France had conquered Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, which were collectively known as French Indo-China. This French capture was highly supported by the US government. Harry Truman is an important figure in relation to Vietnam as it was him who made the decision to oppose communism throughout the world.
Therfreo he ordered immediatiely to have bombing raids agisnt military installations in North Vietnam and ordered his troops to land. However, the enemy matched every incrase in Amreican firepower with more men and more wiliness in the art of guerilla warfare. The South Vietnamese had become spectators in this war and incraisgly became Americanized. The corrupt government succeeded ecahc otheri n Siagon, but American still had fiath in calling them a democratic ally and the spokesperson in Wahsington defeded this axction as America’s commitment to the treayt pledges to resist communist encroachment. The Gulf of Tonkkin Resoultion gave U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson authorization, without a formal declaration of war by Congress, for the use of military forces in Southeast Asia.
Then Vietnam splits at the 17th parallel, France leaves and the U.S stays, JFK sends troops, LBJ then escalates war after JFK assassination, on July 1964 LBJ approved to attack on North Vietnam coast. On august 2, 1964, North Vietnam retailed and attacked U.S Maddox in the gulf of Tonkin. President Johnson then tells congress to pass the gulf of Tonkin resolution. It gave him the authorization to use military forces and send more troops. But it was not a declaration of war.
One group of people felt that there were good ideas for getting involved in the conflict, however they thought it would be a useless battle with too much burden on the economy. The other group of people thought the United States had to get involved in Vietnam and that we needed to stay until we got the job done. The United States finally started pulling the troops out in the early 1970’s. Student unrest was a key aspect of the Vietnam War. Student activists brought about antiwar ideals and protested their opposition to the war.
The French and the Dutch however still wanted to keep their colonies, including Vietnam which was a colony of the French, which caused dilemma for United States policy makers. The US felt the focus should be on stopping the spread of communism instead of worrying about colonies. Because the Dutch and French were focused on
(b) How far was President Kennedy determined to use military forces in South Vietnam in order to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia? There is two sides to each argument in this answer one side will show how determined Kennedy was to using military force and the other side would be to show how he tried to use other options. Firstly I am going to describe how I think that Kennedy was determined or willing to use military force. Firstly he started out by carrying on Eisenhower’s plans for guerrilla warfare by training the South Vietnamese army and giving them supplies and equipment to try and fight the war like that instead of using American troops even though he criticised Eisenhower’s soft defence against communism but still carried on with some of his plans. After the failure of that he introduced things such as the strategic hamlets (Agrovilles) which were villages that were surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by troops, to isolate National Liberation Front (NFL) guerrillas from political recruits and other responses.
President Lyndon Baines Johnson, on March 31, 1968 said, “There is a division in the American house now. There is divisiveness among us all tonight.” Very much like the American Civil War, the Vietnam War dichotomized this country. Opposing views about the Vietnam War and the pro war movement began to develop at the beginning of the United States’ involvement in the war. To some, the war was a way to stop the growth of communism. To others, it was a fight that did not concern this country.
AP US History The XYZ Affair The XYZ affair was a major political incident that almost led to a war between the United States and France. President Adams sent three ambassadors who were confronted by informal diplomats of the French Foreign Minister who demanded a bribe and a loan. When the word of the event became public the American people were angry. They demanded war with France but both Adams and the French minister ceased from declaring an official war, but a Quasi War did take place for two years. Since the 1789 French Revolution, relations between the French Republic and the United States have been tense.
The Vietminh fought for their freedom. As the Vietminh began to defeat the French, the French did not prevent the communist North Vietnamese from reaching South Vietnam. (use source #1) According to the “Statement Issued by the White House”, the President assigned an ambassador to Vietnam “to coordinate the operations of all US agencies in that country. “Since the conclusion of hostilities in Indochina, the US Government has been particularly concerned over developments in Vietnam.” Even as early as 1954, before the Vietnam war had began, the US was concerned about what was happening. The US saw that the situation in Vietnam was something that needed to be flagged and