The Vietnam war was between North Vietnamese versus the United States and the South Vietnamese army. The United States became involved in the Vietnam war because it believed that if all the country fell under the Communist government, Communism would spread throughout Southeast Asia and beyond. This belief was known as the “domino theory” . The US therefore supported the South Vietnamese because there beliefs where non-communism. The government they set up was failing so in 1965 the United States send in troops to prevent collapse of it.
1 The USA was deeply hostile towards the Soviet Union and fearing a spread of communism, adopted a policy of containment. 4 In Vietnam the target of containment was Ho Chi Minh and the Vietminh front he had created in 1941. Ho and his chief lieutenants were communists with long-standing connections to the Soviet Union. 5 Hoping to halt a takeover by the communist North Vietnamese (led by Ho Chi Minh) 6, US officials chose to support the anti-Communist prime minister of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem1,. As opposed to the other superpower, America got directly involved, sending not only financial aid1 but actively participating in the military effort.
Why Did USA Enter the Vietnam War? USA’s contention from the start for entering the Vietnam War was pretty simple, it was their domino theory which gave them an idea for participating in the Vietnamese war, which was also known as the Indochina war. The domino theory was a theory based from the 1950s to the 1980s which speculated that if one state in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect. The domino theory was used by successive United States administrations during the Cold War to justify the need for American intervention around the world. Before America joined the Vietnamese war, France invaded Vietnam and made Vietnam a colony.
For instance, the Cuban missile crises presented some problems for President Kennedy inside the U.S. government. Theorist say that some people inside the U.S. government and the U.S. military were pro war with the Soviet Union and felt that they missed out on an opportunity to go to war with the Soviet Union at the closing of WWII. The Former Soviet Union at that time had a lot of different views with the United States even though we were both considered allies during the war, so it is said that certain people felt that we, being the United States should have went ahead and fought them at the conclusion of WWII. The Cuban Missile crisis to some could have presented the perfect opportunity for the United States to declare war on the Former Soviet Union, some felt. It’s been said that some governmental and military figures felt that President Kennedy portrait America as being weak, by averting a war with the Soviet Union.
Many American citizens in 1959 viewed the Vietnam War as a righteous battle against communism, similar to the Iraq War today however now many view this war as a necessary battle against terrorism. Looking at America's overall goal in Vietnam, it is evident that we did not come close to keeping South Vietnam from collapsing, who fell to communist rule in 1975 (Frankum 210). America's involvement in the conflicts of Vietnam and Iraq were so discordant that our government, people, and military were constricted. Yet both wars were fought with the knowledge that America may change the invaded nation, which brings a precarious question; what makes the government believe that they have the right to go into a country and change it to the way they
In order for the world to be free, the Truman Administration suggested that Indochina no longer be communist. America getting involved into Indochina ran into its tradition of anticolonialism however, it ignored this somewhat to support France. After the French army won, America then wanted Indochina’s independence. America came up with “Operation Eggshell” in which France was urged to give Indochina independence while continuing the anticommunist war. By 1952, the National Security Council formalized the Domino Theory by describing a military attack on Indochina as being dangerous.
Kennedy tried to make huge tax cuts that Congress didn't approve of because that would lead to a very unbalanced federal budget. Even though Kennedy had helped James Meredith get into Ole Miss, he was not successful in helping every African American of this country. The Civil Rights Act, which was introduced in 1963, was not put into effect until after Kennedy had been assassinated. The war in Vietnam was in the stages of becoming a well-known war in the U.S. and Kennedy sent advisors. He wasn’t getting us into the war, directly, but he was getting us into the area, that ended up not being a great place for us to
After major losses by French forces in Vietnam, U.S. became involved in trying to ensure the success of the non-communist South Vietnamese government. American presidents believed in the domino theory, that if if one country in Asia fell to the communists, the others would also become communist. Thus the United States intervened actively in Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. 2. "How the U.S. Got
The War That Changed The Nation: The True Reflection The Vietnam War started on November 1, 1955 and ended on April 30, 1975 (Wikepedia 1). The cause of the war revolved around the simple belief help by America that communism was threatening to expand all over the South-East Asia region (Wikepedia 2). The North Vietnamese government and Viet Cong viewed the conflict as the colonial war, fought against France and the United States back them up, and later against Vietnam. However, the Case Church Amendment was passed in 1973. The capture of Saigon by the Vietnam People’s Army in April 1975 marked the end of the war (Wikepedia 3).
The French were not involved in this war but a played a role in how and why it started. After World War II the French had control of Vietnam, The French rule was harsh and once Ho Chi Minh came to rule he tried for independence from French and as this happened communism came about. The U.S.A was worried about the spread of communism in Asia and believed that they too should have a democratic government. What sparked the interest of the United States was the “Domino Theory” which meant that the goal of communism was