Crucible Of War Country Analysis

Hess argues that the threat of the USSR and Communism “left the US no choice but to stand up to the challenge posed by Vietnam”. Direct confrontation was impossible as the USSR was a nuclear power, therefore the only choice available was “a policy of containment”; previous success in Korea gives validity to this view. Hess states Vietnam was the centre of the “Domino Theory”, that a communist Vietnam “would inexorably lead to the collapse of other non-communist states”. All communist states were believed to be puppets of the USSR so an increase in Soviet allies would tip the global power balance against the US.

First, communication – the French influence is readily observable in the Vietnamese communication patterns and use of language (Lewis, R. D.). “Facial expression is much more evident than in [other countries], and some body languages reminiscent of the French is to be seen. Emotional factors can be used in argument. Good education and a high rate of literacy lends people confidence in communication. The literary tradition is strong particularly in poetry (Lewis, R. D.).” Next, behavior at meetings and negotiations – “in essence the style is a combination of French rationality and Vietnamese tenacity. Though basically courteous, negotiations are cautious and give little away. Bureaucracy is, however, still tortuous and corrupt, according to most standards (Lewis, R. D.).” Third, the French introduced many materialistic things such as “Western values of individual freedom and sexual quality, which undermined the traditional Vietnamese social system. In urban areas, Western patterns of social behavior became increasingly common, especially among educated and wealthy Vietnamese attended French schools, read French books, replaced traditional attire with Western-style clothing, and drank French wines instead of the traditional wine distilled from rice. Adolescents began to resist the tradition of arranged marriages, and women chafed under social mores that demanded obedience

Anderson, Fred. 2000. Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1756. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Pp. 746

The political instability in Vietnam from 1950 to 1975 between the communist North Vietnam and anti-communist South Vietnam during the Cold War era has led to the United States’ inevitable intervention in Vietnam. The main motivators for the United States’ incremental decision to intervene and commitment in Vietnam can be viewed as an accumulation of socio-political, political and economic catalysts. In recognition that there were many other factors that may have contributed to the U.S’s involvement in the conflict in Vietnam, this essay will largely focus on these three factors. As the cold war resonates, the American’s crusade was propelled by the fears of the domino theory and perception of Communist threat and expansion affected the

President Dwight Eisenhower conditionally pledged to support South Vietnam’s new nation in 1955. In the time period between 1955-1961 the United States pumped seven billion dollars in aid so that Vietnam would not “go over quickly” like a “row of dominoes” (McNamara 31). In the next 6 years Vietnam would cost America billions of dollars, thousands of lives, and the disaffection of much of the United States public. Yet in the end, South Vietnam would fall to the North less than 2 years after the United States military involvement ceased.

The Vietnam War put a strain on America’s economy. Kennedy and Johnson’s policy was of gradual escalation. Unfortunately, this caused for increasing investment in the war. Johnson tried to approach these problems with programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, as a part of a larger plan called the Great Society. It was a “war against poverty”. However, as the war raged on, more and more money and lives went into Vietnam, and the ‘Great Society’ was not a priority. Many people such as George McGovern criticized the massive deficit spending on the war (Doc H). This eventually turned into both an economic recession and inflation, which became known as ‘stagflation’ (stagnation and inflation). Nixon, the president succeeding Johnson, would attempt to alleviate the situation by freezing prices and wages temporarily. In the aftermath, many people have realized that the way we approached Vietnam was not right. Robert F. Kennedy tells that the reason that there has not been yet a solution to Vietnam is not because of lack of manpower, but because the way we sought to alleviate the problem was by manpower. (Doc E).

     Vietnam has a very rich and cultural diverse background dating all the way back to 1066 when William the Conqueror invaded and paved the way for English colonization.

The Cold War era proxy war known as the Vietnam War wrecked global havoc during 1955-1975. Although the destruction on the ground occurred in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, the bloodshed of the war was just one part of a much larger worldwide communism versus capitalism battle headed by the United States and the Soviet Union. For the U.S., diplomatic and military policies had never before been so tightly intertwined with domestic policies. The war in Vietnam had such an impact on the home front in America that the term, “The Vietnam Syndrome” is still repeated to this day. The war, which is sometimes seen as a part of the larger anti-communist policy of ‘containment’, is largely to blame for the near destruction of three presidencies, as well as causing numerous political and social divides, a detrimental effect on the U.S. economy, and a credibility gap that caused distrust between government and the people. The focus on the war meant that many domestic issues such as the civil rights movement, the war on poverty, and Johnson’s ideology of the ‘Great Society’, were neglected by the government and therefore limited in their progress. The overall domestic impact of the war in Vietnam was largely negative and extremely divisive.

Caitlin Nguyen February 10, 2015 Block - 8 Cause-and-Effect Essay Thunderous clamor erupted between a domineering, communistic state and a placid, democratic country. Infatuated with the idea of dominance, North Vietnam was determined to apprehend a vulnerable South Vietnam. Frightened by how bona fide the "domino theory" proposed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower was, the United States intervened in 1965 to assist the forlorn county. Together, they toiled diligently to contain the spread of communism through eight brutal years against the well-equipped Viet Cong. Feeble and flooded with casualty rates at approximately 58,000 American soldiers, the US resorted to the Paris Peace Accords with North Vietnam. As a part of

The one thing I found to be interesting in this weeks reading is how the Vietnam War affected the American economy. The war diverted money from domestic programs and was an end to Johnson’s Great Society. It contributed to the ongoing economic crisis. It is interesting that after the work put into the Great Society, yet the Vietnam War was the sounding bell for its death. An increasingly unfavorable balance of trade, related in part to spending for the war abroad, contributed to an international monetary crisis leading to Nixon having to deal with the economic problems of the war. This is related to the Great Society reforms that helped to provide some equality. It did not achieve any success during 1960 – 1974; it, in fact, caused the programs

Cole Kelly US history research paper rough 11-1-14 Why were we not more successful in Vietnam? The Vietnam war was a controversial war that began November 1955 and lasted until April 1975. It was a war between communism and capital democracy, and a civil war in the eyes of the Vietnamese. The United States acted as a self proclaimed protector of democracy and did all in its power to prevent the communist unification of Vietnam.

For centuries Vietnam had been under Chinese rule. The Vietnamese people were an oppressed society and were exploited by the Chinese. Forced labour was brought upon the Vietnamese people, and there were many tyrannical Chinese governers along with constant demands of tribute for the Chinese rulers. There had been many revolts by

From the 1880s until World War II, France governed Vietnam as part of French Indochina, which also included Cambodia and Laos. The country was under the formal control of an emperor, Bao Dai. From 1946 until 1954, the Vietnamese struggled for their independence from France during the first Indochina War. At the end of this war, the country was temporarily divided into North and South Vietnam. North Vietnam came under the control of the Vietnamese Communists who had opposed France and aimed for a unified Vietnam under Communist rule. Vietnamese who had collaborated with the French controlled the South.

The history of recent years in the Indochina conflict has been an eventful one. It will exhibit to the eyes of the future student some of the most remarkable instances of a ruthlessness and indifference to common humanity. Moreover, it will, I believe, demonstrate that North Vietnam has, for a long time, steadily pursued a communist regime which was deliberately designed to produce a subjugation of other countries by the threat of communism.

The United States intervention in Vietnam is seen by the world as America’s greatest loss and longest war. Before the start of the war in Vietnam, the thought of the United States losing this war was unheard of because America was technologically superior, no country in south East Asia could contend with them. Lyndon B. Johnson announced that he would not be the president to allow South East Asia to go Communist . Why the United States lost the war has been a huge debate since the end of the war, because there were so many factors affecting why they lost; the war was a loss politically, after losing support from not only the American public but also the South Vietnamese and losing a political mandate for the war by 1973, when the last