But one of the hardest battle’s for the US was to keep their own countries support. In this essay I will be exploring the main factors of the Vietnam war between 1960-1975, looking at how they changed before, during and after ORT. Before ORT took place the aims of the US Government were to stop communist taking over South Vietnam (SV). As they feared that the Domino Theory would affect countries who were still capitalist. The rise in communist countries was increasing as other countries close to each other would follow the same route as nearby countries.
The Vietnam War was completely different. The majority of the American people did not want to be involved in Vietnam and made it very clear to the entire nation. Without the support from the home front it is almost impossible to succeed. The American people were so passionate about maintaining peace for America that they actually caused chaos on American soil. The anti-war movements and protests reflected on the soldiers in Vietnam and led to the defeat of the US armed forces.
To go to war in Vietnam was a risk the US felt it had to take in order to contain Communism, thus securing its economic prosperity and worldwide dominance. Though US casualties were large and its psychological effects profound, the Vietnam War was an absolute necessity in order to maintain the greater interests of America for generations to come. Hoffman et al. Major Problems in American History Volume 2: Since 1865. Houghton Mifflin Company,
Charles de Gaulle said in 1961 "The more you become involved out there against Communism, the more the Communists will appear as champions of national independence… you will sink step by step into a bottomless military and political quagmire, however much you spend in men and money" Eisenhower had already begun the sinking process, and Kennedy would act as a catalyst for a further descent. I believe that Kennedy was the person mainly responsible for American involvement in Vietnam, for example he was responsible for increasing the number of ‘military
Section IV - International Studies in Peace and Conflict To what extent can it be argued that by the 1960s, Diem’s rule of South Vietnam had been successful?? By the 1960s Diem’s rule of South Vietnam was not successful. His policies were deeply unpopular, his regime was corrupt and based on a system of brutality, and nearly every sector of society opposed him. However, Diem was clearly successful in consolidating his rule and providing early stability to the regime when he first came to power in 1954. Ultimately, Diem was a failure as his rule determined that either Vietnam would become communist or face another war.
Fortunately, American forces were able to repel the NVA attack and inflict heavy losses on the viet-cong, but while also taking loses themselves. This tet offensive showed America that it was perhaps in a war that it was not bound to win. Due to the heavy losses of the NVA and viet-cong, President Nixon from 1969 to 1974 was able to begin troop withdrawal and the process of vietnamization. This process of vietnamization meant that there were huge American withdrawals from the north as well as a massive effort to train the south Vietnamese army so they could defend themselves. This whole process finally was at its end on April 29th 1975, with the famous televised withdrawal of the embassy marines form Saigon and the famous footage of helicopter being pushed over the side of a U.S. carrier to make room for
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
In a CBS special, Cronkite concluded, "To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past, to say we are mired in a bloody stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory conclusion" ( Hallin, 1986, p.170) This did not help increase the support for our troops in Vietnam. The overall support for the war was diminished by Cronkite's report. The negative coverage of the war influenced politicians, the public, and the American soldier. Concerned with losing support, politicians started to really get involved. The TeT offensive was a last ditch effort for the communists.
The Vietnam War Heather Cameron Axia College of the University of Phoenix The Vietnam War Every good American, before the war in Vietnam, held their political leaders and Congressmen in high regard. It was during the 1960's that this viewpoint began to change as the American death toll began to rise. One major viewpoint, eerily similar to today, was that though the intentions of entering into the conflict were good, the fact that it seemed to be a losing battle and the costs seemed to be too high; it was time to pull out of Vietnam. The other side of that coin was that there was a purpose for going into Vietnam and we should not leave until the job was done (Schulzinger, 1999). It had not been since the early 1940's that the
The Vietnam War affected millions of veterans and showed the United States that even though they had the most powerful and best military in the world they could still lose a war. Many veterans all across the United States came back from the war with hatred and psychological problems. America’s society had changed after the war, people were not willing to go to war any more and America as a society saw the tragedies that occurred in