At the same time they tried to create a strong non-communist South Vietnam under the leadership of Diem. By the late 1950s, the communist rebels in South Vietnam declared a revolutionary struggle against Diem, so as to reunify Vietnam under communist rule. In turn, by the 1960s the USA became more and more alarmed at this prospect, leading to further intervention in Vietnam to stop this. When Kennedy was inaugurated he inherited many crises around the globe, the most pertinent was the loss of Cuba. After the well known Bay of Pigs fiasco, he felt he was advised that he needed a foreign policy success.
During 1957 and 1965 they have some problems with the government and North Vietnam send their troops to fight against the government. After this the war started. The North Vietnam has the support of other communist countries for example the USSR and the South Vietnam have the support of the US, this because the US was anti-communist. The US sent equipment and troops to South Vietnam, because they were going to help them win this war against the communism. When the war started many American people was against it and want this to end son as possible.
One government was led by a communist leader, Ho Chi Minh, who wanted to unite the country and help spread communism. His military forces were referred to as the Viet Minh. The second government was led by Ho Chi Minh's democratic rival, Bao Dai. He was placed there by the French, who at the time occupied Vietnam, to help stop communism. Public support was gained by the Viet Minh when they fought off the French.
Question B – Why did the USA become increasingly involved in Vietnam between 1964 and 1968? The USA became increasingly involved in the Vietnam War between 1964 and 1968 for a number of different reasons. After Kennedys reign of presidency, Lyndon Johnson took hold of a difficult situation in Vietnam. The South Vietnamese government was very corrupt, the Viet Cong were making large gains in rural areas of South Vietnam and guerilla tactics were proving very hard to combat. One key reason why the US became progressively involved in Vietnam was the fear of the Domino theory.
He created the Vietcong, and soon he followers began to grow and grow. Ho Chi Minh was the leader from the North of Vietnam, although using vicious methods, majority of the Vietnamese people agreed with him and his views for Vietnam to be an independent state- to be left alone by larger countries, such as France (twice) and China, who had already tried to dominate over them but alas had lost. But America persisted to assist the South, due to President Truman, helping the French, which he believed it was their duty so that ‘Indochina does not go behind the Iron Curtain’ (Vice President Nixon). Soon, the Vietcong were faced by a greater threat- America. A great force, with riches, soldiers and weapons pumping all these good into South Vietnam, however; Khrushchev (Russian leader) aided the nationalist turned communist North.
The crime rate in the United States soured during the Vietnam War with numerous street protests. Although the decision to engage in the Vietnam War had some merits, the approach taken by Johnson was not ideal. He focused his attention on the war at the expense of domestic welfare. Nevertheless, Johnson still enjoyed substantial support by some Americans. Some people believed that the Vietnam conflict was a threat to global peace.
Vietnam War Carrie E. Christ (McManus) DeVry University Contemporary History Professor Jones Fall 2013 Vietnam War Thesis The Vietnam War is significant to American History because the United States participated in this war, as allies, with South Vietnamese, against North Vietnam and their southern allies, the Viet Cong. This war began because of a dispute that began in 1954, and was the cause of over three million deaths, half of which were Vietnamese civilians, and included the deaths of 58,000 Americans (A&E History). American citizens, divided on their thoughts in regards to support of this war, did not give the respect, nor honor to the veterans that they deserved, many of them shamed. The government, whom gave resolution to enact the war, did not provide support for the wounded veterans, and many suffered physical, emotional, as well as psychological injuries. Many Vietnam Veterans still suffer today because of this war; many whom have never spoke about it since returning to America.
There were a variety of factors that influenced President Johnson’s decision to send ground troops into Vietnam in 1965. At the heart of this decision was the reality that South Vietnam’s regime was unraveling both politically and militarily, and thus the presence of U.S. Troops in Vietnam to protect against the spread of communist influence was essential. Additionally, most of President Johnson’s advisors favored U.S. military escalation in Vietnam for reasons of both national welfare and individual political preservation. Related to this aspect was the preoccupation of U.S. political elites with the reputation of America as a respected world power.
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).
In comparing the seventies era with the present ; I have come to recognize similarities between events of today and the proceedings that occurred almost 40 years ago, both having impacted our nation . The Vietnam War, like the Iraq war, dragged on longer than expected. Because of this, the people within our country became polarized with extreme positions that ultimately divided our national focus. During the 2000‘s, many U.S. citizens expressed their opposition to the war in Iraq. Likewise this sentiment was shared by many politicians and political activist during the Vietnam War era, like the presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy and singer/songwriter John Dylan.