...To what extent was America's involvement in the Vietnam Conflict the result of the wrong judgments of American policymakers? Abstract In this paper, I will discuss the policy of America during the Vietnam conflict and how this resulted in the unnecessary Vietnam War. I will discuss why the U.S. thought the domino theory would suit the American policies during this time period. Also, I will analyze why the domino effect was not suited well for America. America thought that if communism were to takeover Vietnam, then it would eventually leak out into the surrounding region. This was incorrect and in this paper, I will discuss why it was invalid information. This paper will also examine why American policymakers exaggerated the stakes of the Vietnam War and why this led to unnecessary involvement in the Vietnam conflict. Even as the US realized that the stakes had been exaggerated and that the domino theory was implausible, they continued their involvement in the war. As for sources, I will utilize the sources provided for us by the teacher. These sources are Chapter 10 from LeFeber and History in Dispute: Was US intervention in Vietnam justified? These sources will help me explain why the US’ tried to base their policies off of the domino theory and why this was not the best policy. Also, I will conduct my own research using the online database JSTOR. I will also utilize the Pentagon Papers, a source I found online. Together, all these sources will help me formulate and discuss...
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...The Causes of the Vietnam War The Vietnam War is now considered as one of the most distressing moments during the 20th Century. The Vietnam War was caused by many factors that contributed to the war in Vietnam during the years of 1959 to April 30, 1975. This war just prolonged the struggles between nationalist forces attempting to unify the country of Vietnam. Most of the factors that contribute to the war were the beliefs by a lot of people who wanted to prevent Vietnam of becoming an Independent Country. There are many people who suffered a lot due to this war going on and still due to this day people still picturing how they fought the war. What were the causes of the Vietnam War? Why did the United States become involved in this war? Why did the Vietnam War have such a huge impact both on the Vietnam and the United States? What was the impact that Ho Chi Minh had during the War? One of the most important features when describing the Vietnam War was why the United States became involved in the war, and their reasons for conflict amongst the Vietnamese in the North of the 17th Parallel. It is known that the US was involved for many reasons, particularly their belief in the Domino theory where if one country fell to Communism, the rest of South-East Asia would fall along with it. There are many other reasons why the United States became involved in this war. There are many reasons why the United States became involved was them being concerned with Vietnam and that would lead...
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...Task - How significant was the Domino Theory as a reason for US involvement in the conflicts in Vietnam? Involve- * Bibliography * 1 Primary source – 1950’s/1960 * 5 books – Secondary sources * Watch films, documentaries and videos. * Historians point of views(opinions) Geneva Agreement – election to be held in 1956 to reunify Vietnam but did not happen because Ngo Dinh Diem cancelled it because he knew he would not win it. If Ho chi Minh wins 1956 elections: * Vietnam will re-unify as a communist country * Other surrounding countries will follow – communism will spread ‘Domino Theory’ (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Bangladesh, and India. Geneva Agreement – election to be held in 1956 to reunify Vietnam but did not happen because Ngo Dinh Diem cancelled it because he knew he would not win it. If Ho chi Minh wins 1956 elections: * Vietnam will re-unify as a communist country * Other surrounding countries will follow – communism will spread ‘Domino Theory’ (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Bangladesh, and India. Communist Communist Vietnam was split into North and South in 1954 – Geneva agreement officially split into North led by Ho Chi Minh and South ruled by Ngo Dinh Diem. Vietnam was split into North and South in 1954 – Geneva agreement officially split into North led by Ho Chi Minh and South ruled by Ngo Dinh Diem. Capitalist Capitalist Primary Sources Finally, you have broader considerations...
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...into the Vietnam conflicts. Eisenhower did not support the Geneva Accords signed by France and Vietnam in the summer of 1954. The Accord made the 17th parallel dividing the country of Vietnam to north and south section until two years when they would hold a free election for all of the country. Eisenhower and his secretary of state John Foster Dulles believed that the agreement gave the communist too much power in the north. Instead Eisenhower decided to create the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). This treaty’s purpose was to stop any more communist influence in Southeast Asia. Using the SEATO as a cover, Eisenhower started to help build a new nation in South Vietnam. In 1955 GVN was born, the government of the republic of Vietnam, the leader being Ngo Dinh Diem, after a landslide election. Soon after Diem claimed his country was under attack from communist. In 1957 the Vietnam War began. Diem imprisoned all those he viewed as being suspected communist and his people became outraged, administering protest and demonstrations. From 1956-1960, North Vietnam did all it could to put political pressure on Diem’s regime, gathering followers in the south to overthrow him. Since the false imprisonments it was not hard to rally rural areas in the south. This was how the National Liberation Front (NFL) was created. There are several main reasons for Eisenhower's increased involvement in Vietnam... . France threatened that, unless she received more support from the US, she would...
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...The USA increasingly became involved in the conflict in Vietnam after 1949. There are several reasons to explain this involvement and furthermore, these reasons will change between 1949 and Johnson’s deployment of troops in 1965. The fundamental reason to explain US involvement in Vietnam throughout this time period is the belief that communism was a threat to the capitalist state of America. President Truman was an anti-Communist and he has introduced the Truman Doctrine, a pledge to remove communism from Europe and aiming to stop communism from spreading any further. Kennan outlined Soviet belief and practice and proposed the policy of containment. With the Soviet’s domination of Eastern Europe in the Cold War such as setting up ‘buffer states’ in Poland, Romania etc. , the set up of Cominform and the blockade of Berlin to abandon control of West Germany. It was showing a major threat to the US. This fear of the threat posed by communism was exacerbated by the events of 1949 when China became a Communist state and the USSR exploded its first own nuclear bomb that the USA was no longer the only nuclear power. These two events prompted the USA to reconsider their policy towards containing communism. US policy now had to be more globally and militarily prepared to stop communism from spreading in Asia countries and even the world. This meant that the growing strength of the Vietminh in North Vietnam could not be ignored as it was believed that if one country fell to communism...
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...American Foreign Policy Leading to the Vietnam War American involvement in the Vietnam War is one of the most controversial issues in our history. However, the United States foreign policies had been dictating our involvement in Vietnam long before the initial deployment of troops into Vietnam. The fear of communism and developments of the policy of containment and the domino theory set the stage for the eventual escalation of the Vietnam Conflict into a war which would claim the lives of thousands of Americans. United States' involvement in Vietnam began as early as World War II, when American forces of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor of the CIA, parachuted into the mountains in the northern region of Vietnam. Led by Major Allison Thomas, their mission, "Deer," was to rendezvous with and train a small group of Vietnamese soldiers that were fighting Japanese occupation troops, and were rescuing downed pilots, this group of Vietnamese were known as the Vietminh. This group of Vietnamese soldiers would soon be the communist leaders of North Vietnam, however, at the time American forces were not concerned that Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap were communists because America was still allied with the Soviet Union, a communist state, at that point during World War II (Westheider 2). The Vietminh under leadership of Ho Chi Minh and with training from American OSS forces were simultaneously fighting the Japanese, while at the same time gaining more political...
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...North Vietnam, and Southern Vietnam’s Ngo Dinh Diem, who had a more Republican view. Shortly after the Korean War, America saw another communist threat that could lead to the impression of Communism being able to easily rise across Asia, otherwise known as the Domino Theory. Soon, war broke out between the North and South Vietnamese which would lead to...
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...There were many reasons that contributed to Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. These consisted of a fear of communism, the need to support the USA and other allies and the views of Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies. While none of these had a great enough influence themselves, the combination of multiple factors were what brought about Australia’s association with the Vietnam War. The most prominent reason for Australian involvement in the Vietnam War was the country’s fear of communism. This was most clearly demonstrated through the use of effective and persuasive propaganda that depicted communism as a disease, or leaders such as Stalin as a spider with a web capturing the countries falling prey to communism. This government propaganda was helpful in gaining support for the war by the Australian public who learned to fear communism themselves. Australia was also opposed to the idea of the country falling to communism because of what it would bring. It would mean totalitarian rule, in which the country would come under the rule of a dictator, freedom of assembly, media and speech would be revoked and censored and the social classes would be obliterated. This would mean people were no longer able to work for their money or own a business, which consequently could bring about uprisings and protests as people struggle to grasp their new ways of equality. The increase in rules and regulations would come as a rude shock to the Australian public who had lived in a democratic...
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...interpretation that the main reason America began and continued its involvement in Vietnam was to defend democracy All of the sources provide differing interpretations for the reasons for America’s involvement in Vietnam. Sources A and D provide evidence that supports the interpretation that America’s involvement in Vietnam was to ‘defend democracy’ while sources B and C provide evidence that refute it. Source A shows a letter from the formidable source of President Dwight Eisenhower to Diem the President of South Vietnam at the time. The letter shows Eisenhower expresses his support and his concerns for the new South Vietnamese government. The letter mentions the US sending aid to Diem and emphasises their support for the relocation of Vietnamese people away from places ‘ruled by a communist ideology they hate’. Source A emits the idea the US began its involvement in Vietnam for quite noble causes such like the aiding the protection Vietnamese to rescue them from a communist regime they despise. The letter portrays the US supporting Diem out of the goodness of their hearts shown in the final sentence: ‘I am glad that the United States is able to assist this humanitarian effort’ as far as this letter is concerned it would appear that US just wants to help a struggling democracy with no apparent benefits towards them .Eisenhower was a firm believer in ‘Domino theory’ and thought it as vital to prevent Vietnam from becoming yet another Asian communist state and to halt the spread...
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...mid 1900’s. In Asia, China had a communist government and it spread to Vietnam in 1975 because of the domino theory. The domino theory is the theory that a political event in one country will cause similar events in neighboring countries. Indo-China consisted of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. These countries were in jeopardy of falling to communism because of their location and the domino effect. The U.S. tried to contain communism in Europe and after 45 years, they ended up containing it. They contained it by keeping communism in one country and not letting it spread. It makes it easier to contain if it is in one country. Communism spread to Asia and the U.S. has to be try and contain...
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...One Million Dead for Naught The involvement of U.S. military forces in the Vietnam Conflict was neither justifiable nor demonstrative of sound judgment by the American government. Many books, magazines, and other forms of commentary on the Vietnam War have surfaced in the half century since the war’s end. Historian and author Stanley Karnow suggests that such publications generally attempt to make sense of the horrific “war that nobody won” (Karnow 9). It is a subject that will continue endlessly to divide historians and others as they attempt to draw lessons from the conflict that might then be used to justify, condemn, or promote America’s involvement in modern day Vietnams. Because of the magnitude of complexities surrounding the war, some may find it difficult to formulate an unwavering opinion about the war’s causes and effects. According to Robert McNamara, who served as Secretary of Defense for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, mankind has often struggled to find solutions to even simple problems related to the unification of values and ideologies spanning diverse cultures (McNamara 323). In order to fairly judge why the American government put our troops in the jungles, swamps, and fields of Vietnam, one might first closely examine why our government claims to have committed our troops to Vietnam. One of the reasons most adamantly advanced by our government to justify a full scale assault on the Vietcong of North Vietnam was an incident that is said to have occurred...
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...Impact of US Foreign Policy on the Vietnam War The Vietnam War is one of the most talked about wars in history. It began in 1959 and did not end until 1975. These years saw protests, conflicts, casualties, and confusion for the United States, as well as the terms of three presidents: John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon. When U.S. involvement in the war began under Kennedy, it was originally put out as a plan for the United States to only aid the South Vietnamese, but, after his assassination, Johnson was put in charge. The path that the war took under Johnson was filled with controversy and large numbers of casualties. When Johnson did not run for a second term, Nixon was left in charge to ultimately turn things around. Soon, all of the American troops were removed from Vietnam, and the war slowly began to come to a close. But what was it about Nixon’s foreign policy that was so much more successful than Johnson’s? Was Nixon’s policy more closely related to Kennedy’s successful strategy than Johnson’s was, and, if so, why didn’t Johnson do a better job modeling his policy after Kennedy? These are all questions that political scientists still look at today as a way to solve the many questions that are still being posed about the war. I have looked deeply into these questions, and found answers through researching the history of Vietnam as well as the three presidents. As I read about each event that unfolded, it became clear to me why there were such...
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...became more and more drawn in to the conflict in Vietnam. Eisenhower was immediately put under pressure not to lose Vietnam to communism in the same way that Truman was perceived to have lost China before him - the American fear of a communist conspiracy was a major factor in the country’s continual support for the containment of it in Asia, regardless of the costs. Other factors that lead to an increase in American involvement in South East Asia included their support of the French in Indo-China until 1954, their response to the Geneva Accords 1954 and the formation of SEATO also in 1954. Arguably the most important reason for the US becoming increasingly involved in South-East Asia during the ‘50s was the perceived threat that communism posed. There was a widespread fear in America that there was a global threat of communism, which would destroy capitalist American values, being orchestrated from Moscow. This fear was worsened by the 12 year long conflict in Malaya between Britain and communist forces which started in 1948. This anti-communist sentiment was collated into the “Domino Theory” which suggested if one nation fell to communism, others would follow – Vice President Nixon visited Vietnam in 1953 and announced in a national TV broadcast upon his return that “If Indo-China goes under communist domination the whole of South East Asia will be threatened”, thus confirming the public’s fears and compelling greater US involvement in South East Asia in order to prevent this...
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...Although it seemed as though opposition to the Vietnam War reached an all time high during the Nixon administration, the conflict had lasted nearly two decades, from the early 1950s until the early 1970s. Four presidents-- Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard M. Nixon-- made a series of misinformed decisions regarding America’s presence in Vietnam, resulting in nearly 60,000 deaths. Thus, what began as an attempt to contain the spread of Soviet communism in the Cold War era would cast a shadow over the United States for decades to come. Between 1954 and 1973, the US took a misguided approach to resolving the conflict in Vietnam, which included the initial support of South Vietnam, the Gulf of Tonkin incident...
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...both Kennedy and Johnson unable to avoid increasing involvement in Vietnam? The United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War proved to be the most controversial episode in American history. There are many influences why the USA stayed so closely involved with Vietnam, including strategic hamlets, secretaries and personal beliefs. In the election campaign of 1960 Kennedy promoted himself as being tough on communism. He supported the Truman Doctrine, and believed in the ‘domino theory’, the idea that communism would inevitably spread from North Vietnam to Laos and Cambodia. His slogan was “Vietnam is the place”, which helped him gain support. Kennedy's failures at the Vienna summit in 1961, and the Bay of Pigs fiasco in Cuba, forced him to stiffen his position on Vietnam, not wanting to lose American citizens support. There was the curse of appeasement, as Eisenhower had not done enough during his time as President. Kennedy needed to prove himself as he was a democrat. The last democrat who was President lost the Korea War. He also had a fear of attack because of this by the republicans, as US citizens thought he was soft on communism. He was seen as a friend of Vietnam. In 1961, Robert McNamara was the Secretary of Defence as was known as a “Hawk”. This meant he was for the war and for military solutions. He was a close confidant with both Kennedy and Johnson, and strongly believed in the USA’s commitment to South Vietnam. He was a liberal intellectual who wanted freedom. However...
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