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.
In many ways Kennedy did increase US involvement in Vietnam to benefit and protect the south, one of the reasons being Kennedy’s awareness of the limitations and weaknesses of the South Vietnamese Army. The instability of a demoralised army would lead to further political problems and make it very difficult for the south to defend its self from the north. However the USA still needed to protect its own vital national interests. The spread of communism was still a growing concern and a massive threat to the USA which argues that the reason USA became involved with the south was to protect USA from the spread of communism rather than to help the people of South Vietnam. Kennedy and the USA was committed to containment meaning the US foreign policy was predicated by the commitment to protect freedom wherever it was under threat which was applied perfectly to South Vietnams situation.
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.
They feared that communism would spread and become popular in the US. Their greatest fear of all was that the Americans themselves would become communists. The US didn't like Castro for two reasons. First, Castro's relationship with Nikita Khrushchev was very positive which the Americans did not like. Second, Castro was a charismatic communist and the US government feared that communism would spread.
The communists always tried to suppress religions anyway possible and because of Ngo Dinh Diem being Catholic and in charge of South Vietnam at the start of the resistance to the North. They felt it was a smart move to wipe as many of them out as they could. The Vietcong and North Vietnamese also had the goal of causing “…an uproar in the world and in the US….” Due to its Vietnamese cultural, historical, and political heritage, Hue was a center of international attention. The communists’ occupation and massacres there served their intents of gaining superiority at the negotiations, and especially of threatening the American people, causing them to worry about their military relatives in Vietnam up to the point of urging the US government to promptly bring
Eisenhower’s administration was to a somewhat large extent successful in addressing Cold War fears after World War II through attempts at promoting capitalism and preventing the spread of communism. The end of the Second World War put many American citizens in fear. Some of the fears addressed by Eisenhower were mass hysteria, the Kremlins affect on our people, depression and keeping the economy up. (doc a) Communism was a huge fear at this time, and the secretary of state, John Dulles was able to help with this problem during Eisenhower’s presidency. His major concern was the spread of communism in America.
Many people ask the question, “Why did the U.S. even care about the Vietnam conflict, let alone fight a war there?” One Reason for U.S. involvement in the Vietnam conflict was that the U.S. feared the Domino Theory. The Domino Theory is where if one state falls to communism, then all the other states around it will fall into communism too. Because the U.S. feared this, they responded with containment. Containment means to keep communism from spreading to other countries. Another reason for U.S. involvement is imperialism, which was left over from WWI and WWII.
The conflicts between the North and the South Vietnam increased along with the Viet Cong rebels. The North Vietnam threatened South Vietnam that they will take over and make the communist. Even with the help of the United States, the South Vietnam wasn’t able to win. For both wars, the main reason for U.S. involvement was to follow the policy of United States that they will stop communist from spreading. There are many differences between the two wars.
The hawks and doves were complete opposites, the hawk’s argument concluded that America must win the war in Vietnam in order to contain communism in Southeast Asia and preserve the nation’s prestige (Davidson-Gienapp-Heyrman-Lytle-Stroff, 2005). The doves on the other hand wanted the conflict in Vietnam ended immediately and the troops returned home. The political and social outcomes facing the United States because of the conflict in Vietnam ranged from a growing distrust of the decisions being made by the political leaders to the ever increasing cost of the conflict in Vietnam. The growing distrust helped to fuel the student unrest because the younger generation decided to voice their opinions and take a stand for those
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.