The Gulf of Tonkin was known as the USS Maddox incident. It happened on August 2, 1964. It was the international confrontation that led to the United States engaging more directly in the Vietnam War. The original American report blamed North Vietnam for both incidents. It became very controversial with widespread claim that either one or both incidents were false. While performing a signal intelligence patrol as part of the DESOTO operations, they were pursued by three North Vietnamese Navy torpedo boats. Maddox fired three warning shots. The Maddox expended over 280 3-inch and 5-inch shells in a sea battle. Soon after the North Vietnamese boats then attacked. They attacked with their torpedoes boats and lots of machine gun fire.
“In August of 1964, in response to the American and GVN espionage along its coast, the DRV launched a local and controlled attack against C. Turner Joy and the U.S.S. Maddox , two American ships on call in the Gulf of Tonkin” (Brigham 2). This resulted in the United States government giving Lyndon Johnson the ability to make war under the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. President Johnson then gave orders to perform air raids on Northern Vietnam pushing the United States further into the war. Compared to 1962 when only 9,000 soldiers supported the South Vietnamese, by June 1965 82,000 soldiers occupied the country. The number only continued to rise exponentially, and by 1966 370,000 soldiers had been sent in to prop their South Vietnam allies. President Richard Nixon withdrew American soldiers from Vietnam and as part of the “vietnamization” of the war. Over and 60,000 American soldiers had been lost in a war to preserve the status quo, not to win.
The Gulf of Tonkin incident was a series of reported confrontations between the USS Maddox on August 2nd and August 4th, 1964. The second of the two confrontations, on August 4th, was later proven to have never happened, and the legitimacy of the first confrontation on August 2nd is in question. The USS Maddox reported that on August 2nd, while patrolling in international waters, it was attacked by three North Vietnamese Torpedo Boats. President Johnson went on live television on August 4th saying that the USS Maddox and the USS Turner Joy were attacked again by Vietnamese boats. He used these attacks as reason to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that granted him the use of conventional military force in Southeast Asia without a formal
The Vietnam War began in 1954 after years of conflict stretching back to the 1940s between the communist regime of North Vietnam and South Vietnam. North Vietnam was attempting to make South Vietnam a communist country; since we are a democracy, the United States opposes the views of communist countries, and because we feared the spread of communism the United States became involved as an ally of South Vietnam. The war ended in 1975, resulting in disastrous effects on Vietnam and America. The assertion of the United States in this war rose controversy among Americans, and I disagree with our involvement in the Vietnam War because of the United States’ reasons to fight.
The Battle of New Orleans is claimed to be most outstanding United States victory of the War of 1812. Even though the Battle of New Orleans took place after the Treaty of Ghent, which was signed by both British and American men to declare the War of 1812 over, it was actually the last event of the War of 1812. British began planning an attack right after against the Americans with hopes as one last attempt to overthrow Americans before the treaty was finalized and after the Americans heard a word of planned attack they began defensive preparation. The Battle of New Orleans was an American victory which was led by President Andrew Jackson against the British which was led by General Packenham.
In 1961 the worst war ever fought by America had just started. The Vietnamese of the north also known as the Viet Cong had invaded the south to take control of the entire country. America and other democratic countries felt the spread of communism to this country would be a stepping-stone for other communistic countries around the world, also known as the Domino Effect. America, as cocky as they were, invaded Vietnam to help the southern Vietnamese. Although America is one of the most powerful countries in the world, it extremely underestimated the dedication of their enemy. Backed by China and the USSR, the Viet Cong were a determined and very tough enemy. The Vietnam War as a whole was a terrible act by the US government. Vietnam was
Shankman discusses the view of the war, and the sinking of the Maine, from the perspective of the Methodist church. Throughout the church there was varying opinions of the explosion and the war itself. Some people believed that the war would be necessary, while others believed there was no need for a war. IN an editorial from a New York Methodist newspaper in April 1898: "Should we now go to war," insisted the Syracuse Northern Christian Advocate, "our cause will be just, and Methodism will be ready to do its full duty. Every Methodist preacher will be a recruiting officer” (Shankman, 1973). However, in the south, the Southern Christian Advocate pushed for people to help send aid to the Cubans that are refugees and on the island; some groups even set up soup kitchens and churches donated some money as charity. These opinions helped spread the divide after the attack on the Maine:
The War of 1812 was a war fought between the United States and Great Britain. Participants in the War of 1812 also included Canada, Ireland, and Native Americans. Most Native Americans sided with the British, believing that if the British won the war, that Americans would stop expanding west and encroaching on Native American land. Two brothers, Tecumseh and Tenskatawa, also known as the Prophet, fought for the British and lead Native Americans into battle. The majority of the world viewed this war, not as a separate war, but as continuing conflict of the Napoleonic Wars. The United States viewed the War of 1812 as a second war with the British and a repeated fight for independence. The fronts, on which the war was raged, included battles at
These disrespectful and unjust actions of the British are not only what caused the war, but they are also the reason the War of 1812 is accurately able to be described as the United States Second War for Independence. This second war of independence was not to fight to get independence but to prove they could successfully be autonomous and defend themselves. The United States did this by fighting the British with no outside help, even the Native Americans fought with Britain and Canada. In the beginning this seemed like it would be a good idea even though American militias were not prepared; however, it was a rocky start for the armies. The navy had been successful which was a major victory since Britain at the time had the largest naval power in the world.
In 1812, The U.S. declared war on Great Britain. However, was this war really a necessary war? I believe this war was not necessary for three reasons. The first reason the war was not necessary was because the British did not want war with the U.S.. The British were already in a war with France and this wasn't a fair war for them.The second reason the war of 1812 wasn't justifiable was because the British were even willing to stop interfering with American Wars so the war wouldnt start. They sent a message to America saying they would stop interfering with American shipping, but sadly it arrived after the declaration of war. One of the reasons America declared war was because of the BRitish impressment of American ships and sailors.The third
Throughout the Revolutionary War, there were many battles that occurred that are not remembered today. The reasons for this are plentiful, examples include minor battles, unimportant skirmishes, or travesties of war. However, some battles are forgotten intentionally, like times whenever something embarrassing happened to a soldier, or to an entire side. This case of embarrassing defeat is exactly what happened at Fort Galphin or, as the British called it, Fort Dreadnought, in Beech Island, SC on May 21st, 1781.
Lyndon Johnson and the Tonkin Gulf Resolution The official rhetoric of Lyndon Johnson’s administration portrayed the Gulf of Tonkin incident as an unprovoked and malicious attack on U.S. ships by the armed forces of North Vietnam, as a result of which the President needed the power to deal militarily with the North Vietnamese. The Gulf of Tonkin incident explicitly encompasses military actions on August 2, and alleged actions on August 4, 1964, between North Vietnamese torpedo patrol boats and United States destroyers and aircraft off the coast of North Vietnam. President Johnson and many top administration officials declared that the United States was innocent of any aggressive offensive maneuvers against the North
Vietnam was a country divided into two by communism in the North and capitalism in the South. The Vietnam War, fought between the years 1959 and 1975, was, in essence, a struggle by nationalists in the north to unify the nation under a communist government. This was a long standing conflict between the two sides that had been occurring for years. It wasn’t until 1959 when the USA, stepped in, on the side of southern Vietnamese, to stop the spread of communism. It was a war that did not capture the hearts and minds of the American people as it was viewed as a war that the US army couldn’t win and so the government lost the peoples support for the war. This ultimately led to the withdrawal of the US army from Vietnam. Some people, like
The United States issued the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964. It said that Congress empowered the President, as Command in Chief, "to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the U.S. and to prevent further aggression." Most importantly, the memorandum gave the President the permission to retaliate North Vietnam's threats to international peace, as the attacks were reason enough for further American involvement in Vietnam, as well as an escalation of military forces.
The Gulf War started on 1991 with massive air and missile attacks in Iraq and Kuwait. The Gulf War started because Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ordered an invasion and occupation of neighboring Kuwait on earlies 1990. However, Arab powers such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt called on the United States and other Western nations to intervene. Then, Hussein defied United Nations Security Council demands to withdraw from Kuwait by mid-January 1991, and that’s when the Gulf War began. The war started with a massive U.S. led air offensive known as Operation Desert Storm. On the day 42 of the Gulf War there were relentless attacks by the allied coalition in the air and on the ground. Although Russia did not commit troops, it joined the United States in condemning Iraq, its long-time client state (Office of the Historian).Afterwards, it was on February 28 that U.S. President George H.W. Bush declared a cease-fire, by that time, most Iraqi forces in Kuwait had either surrendered or fled.
In 1965, the United States of America officially enter the war against North Vietnam. After the Gulf of Tonkin incident where North Vietnamese attacked two U.S. ships on August 2nd and 4th, 1964, this event was a chance for U.S. President Lyndon Johnson to give authority for U.S. to enter war in Vietnam. United State involvement in Vietnam War was an approach to seize the communist aggression. A campaign authorized by President Johnson called “Operation Rolling Thunder” which started on February 24th, 1965 is a series of extensive bombing directed towards the North Vietnamese predicted to be eight weeks long until the North Vietnamese surrender to U.S. power. However, this campaign lasted two years longer than expected.