Harry Truman is an important figure in relation to Vietnam as it was him who made the decision to oppose communism throughout the world. In relation to US support for France, the Truman administration concluded that the French were invaluable allies against Communism in both Indochina and Europe, and therefore deserving of American assistance. However, many articulate Vietnamese were unhappy with French rule, which resulted in a small Vietnamese nationalist group in espouse of Communism grown up in exile under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. Consequently, Truman offered $10 million to support the French military effort, and established a US Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) in Saigon. This assistance then increased, as by the end of the year, the US had given France $100 million, along with aircraft, patrol boats, napalm bombs and ground combat machinery.
I disagree with the statement “ Increased militarism was the main cause of the second world war.” Due to the fact that it was one of the many reasons why the second world war started. I think that Appeasement was the main cause of the start of the second world war. Firstly , Britain and France followed the policy of appeasement. Appeasement was by chamberlain to satisfy Hitler’s demands. This gave Hitler confidence that Britain and France would not stop him when he invaded other countries.
Beginning in the 1950s, maintaining a non-Communist South Vietnam became crucial in American efforts to contain communism. What was the nation's justification for its actions in South Vietnam in the 1950s and its determination to abide by the outcome of free elections there only if those elections yielded a non-Communist leader? For a long time the United States were in fear of the threat of communism stemming from a direct attack and the aspect of the Cold War, played a vital role in the fears. In the beginning the Vietnam War was first thought to be just another Cold War between northern and southern Vietnam. While the United States was nervous of Communism consuming the entire globe.
It could also be argued that Truman continued to be involved due to the domestic opinion on communism at the time. The fear of communism was strong in the USA, due to China’s fall to communism; it could be asserted that it was a wakeup call for the president. Truman was slated for his lack of involvement in preventing the spread; as a result the Red Scare and McCarthyism emerged. Truman feared that he may lose elections as many of the population believed he was soft on communism, so he became increasingly involved to show that US was a defender of democracy and capitalism, attempting to ‘keep communism at bay’. The end of WW2 saw the USSR rearm and get nuclear weapons; there was also talk of communism seeking to expand.
The USA and their involvement in Vietnam. The USA used money to control the spread of communism into Vietnam after French forces were struggling in Vietnam and France had just been involved with the Second World War so they were struggling so to stop Vietnam turning communist, they give France $500 million dollars a year to help them with the war effort. This was so that Vietnam didn’t turn communist like many of the surrounding countries. If this had happened then America would have been in a very difficult position. Americas politics, America used Diem as a way to stop to spread of communism in Vietnam, they supported him in becoming Vietnams first president and to set up an Anti-Communist government at the same time, this was another way for the us government to stop the spread of communism the American government also stopped a Vietnam vote for either capitalism of communism America when to extreme measures to stop this from happening.
One of the main reason's why Eisenhower decided to increase the involvement of the US in South east Asia was because France was threatening that if he did not send more troops to support the French in Dien Bien then French troops would pull out of indo china. If the French were to pull out of indo china, this would have resulted in the loss of a crucial ally in fighting communism for the US, and so this was one of the main reasons why Eisenhower increase US involvement in south east Asia in the years 1954-1963. However Kennedy holds far more responsibility for the escalation of the US involvement in South east Asia, as even though Eisenhower increased the number of US personnel in south east Asia, Kennedy dramatically increase the number, as in December 1962 there were 11,300 US military personnel stationed in south Vietnam. The aim of
While the sale of the territory by Spain back to France in 1800 went largely unnoticed, fear of an eventual French invasion spread nationwide when, in 1801, Napoleon sent a military force to secure New Orleans. Southerners feared that Napoleon would free all the slaves in Louisiana, which could trigger slave uprisings elsewhere. [8] Though Jefferson urged moderation, Federalists sought to use this against Jefferson and called for hostilities against France. Undercutting them, Jefferson took up the banner and threatened an alliance with Britain, although relations were uneasy in that direction. [8] In 1801 Jefferson supported France in its plan to take back Saint-Domingue, then under control of Toussaint Louverture after a slave rebellion.
To avoid war in the years 1935 to 1938, Britain and France turned a blind eye to small acts of aggression and expansion, the United States went along with this policy. Even though Roosevelt knew of the threat the Fascist proposed he was still worried about the majority of the isolationist throughout the country. Testing the waters in 1937 he spoke about the democracies teaming up and trying to “quarantine” the problem. The public did not take to well on this idea, and he quickly dropped the subject. Even though that speech failed Roosevelt somehow managed to argue for neutrality but at the same time convince Congress to start building up the arms and increase the military and naval budget by nearly two-thirds in 1938.
The Vietnam War or Vietnam conflict to some was perhaps one of the most intriguing conflicts in the history of modern America. Some suggest it was justified in stopping the spread of communism, while others feel that it was a waste of American lives that encourage an age of civil rebellion. To first understand the war one must first understand, the history leading up to the conflict. Prior to Americas involvement in the war in 1960 the French occupied what was then called indo-china up until 1954. In 1950 communist nations such as china recognized the Vietminh state, which in turn gave support to the viet-cong.
The Economic Impact Impact on Conflicts on U.S. Economy The United States wanted to stop communism from spreading and believing it had the sole responsibility for global peace the United States decided to get involve with Vietnam War by supporting France. This involvement began an economic myth that some believe created a strong impact on the economy of the United States. In 1953 the United States gave the French Union Forces 385 million in aid and in 1954 the U.S. Appropriated 400 million for the French, these additional funds were apart from the regular Indochinese military assistance program for weapons and equipment during that time. Furthermore the United States transport planes from the U.S. Air Force transported French troops from France to Indochina during an emergency in 1954. Under the Military Assistance