1. US and USSR interests: The Cold War extended to all corners of the world with a proxy war on almost every continent. The South East Asian country Vietnam became a Cold War battleground for the Second Indochina war which involved both the US and Russia’s interests. It was, once again, the Capitalist struggle against Communism. The Vietnam War was a direct result of the USSR’s and China’s communist presence and pressure. It was part of the “Domino Effect”. The “Domino Effect” was a theory by US politicians that because of Russia and China’s pressure and power, all of Asia would follow suit in becoming communist one by one. Kennedy believed that if they could stop this from occurring in Vietnam, they would be able to stop all of Asia from turning to communism for they would have broken the chain(Staff). The USSR on the other hand was interested in this conflict for the communist government in the North was doing exactly what the Soviet Union and its leaders wanted: to spread communism throughout and to show the world how bad capitalism and democracy was.
2. Key Events and Terms:
Following the Geneva Accords in 1954 Vietnam split into two different countries, the North and South, with two different rulers, Ho Chi Minh and Ngo Dinh Diem. Ho Chi Minh consolidated his power up North after the Vietminh, the revolutionary group defeated the French in the first Indochina War. Diem was the South nationalist leader and had been elected by the French with much US support for he was
Mintz and McNeil of Digital History state that Vietnam, like Cambodia and Laos, was a French colony until it gained its independence after the First Indochina War. The Northern supporters and Southern dissenters of communism divided Vietnam during this time. The Geneva Accords, created after the war in 1954, required Vietnam to hold an election between the leaders of the North and South after two years. The US was afraid of what would follow if the North were to win, and decided to intervene in the hopes of stopping the spread of communism. With help from the US, South Vietnam avoided the agreement's orders and cancelled this election; power went to the South Vietnamese prime minister instead.
The Vietnam War was a contention amongst North and South Vietnam, however it had worldwide repercussions. The North was driven by a Communist and patriot administration that had battled against the Japanese in World War II and against French frontier run in the late 1940s. In 1954, it won control of North Vietnam when the French consented to a segment in the Geneva Accords. The South was driven by a non-Communist administration; after 1956, it was going by Ngo Dinh Diem. A Catholic, Diem was not able solidify his administer with a transcendently Buddhist populace. He administered with the support of a military provided and prepared by the United States and with generous U.S. monetary help. By the late 1950s, a Communist guerrilla constrain
As the cold war began, there was lingering tension between North and South Vietnam. Cambodia's military was not strong enough to survive on its own so Sihanouk (prince) decided to come into alliance with North Vietnam. In the US suspicions became high on the state of Cambodia and it was believed that the domino theory would come into effect. President Nixon met with the prince and the outcome of the meeting left the President wondering whether the prince was really in control or even taking control of his country. The domino effect was proven to be a true assumption when the country fell and other countries fell with them. The cause was the beginning of the war in 1947 when imperialist communist countries came to the higher power and overtook
There were several events that lead up to the Cold War. In 1943, the Greek communist is defeated. The Yalta Conference and Postdam Conference escalated tensions. Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech happened on March 5, 1946. Marshall's Plan happened in 1947-1951. Truman Doctrine happened March 12, 1947. In 1948 Communist takes over Czechoslovakia.
However despite this the Vietminh relentlessly used every resource at their disposal to conquer the hill. This was such a humiliating defeat for the French that it persuaded them to pull out of the war. The Geneva Agreement proposed that Vietnam would be split in two, and elections would be held every 2 years to determine who would run the country. But America failed to agree and refused to sign as it believed it was to the benefit of communism. Ngo Dinh Diem was the southern Vietnamese Prime minister, he and his government were supported by the Americans despite being extremely corrupt.
The war was fought between North Vietnam (supported by the Soviet Union, China and other regions that loved communists), and the government of South Vietnam (supported by the United States, Philippines, and other communist regions).The Viet Cong fought a rebel war against anti-communist forces in the region. From 1955, the U.S started to support South Vietnam in the war against the Communist side, North Vietnam (getting help mainly from China). The Chinese sent military help to Indochina France. So they can succeed in their goal of spreading communism around the world. The leader of the south was called Saigon. The US army left Vietnam on the 15th of August 1975. So the North Vietnam side captured Saigon in April 1975. So it was the end of the war in the year 1975. The two sides became rejoined a year
The Cold War was a very important time in the history of the United States. It was a war between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R or otherwise known as the Soviet Union. This was was a fight between capitalism and communism. There were many deaths in crises that were caused by the Cold War. Some of these crises include the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Hungary, and the Berlin Wall. Like all wars go, there are many consequences and sometimes tragic things that can happen to the countries that are participating in the war. Economies could collapse and then after the war one country could just be stuck in a large hole of debt. Some of the areas that were affected by the war were social, economic, domestic or political, and international/
After years of funding the French. In 1954 Geneva Peace Accords would officially establish two separate governments within Vietnam; as the world saw the fall of French prominence in Vietnam. The country was officially split into two separate governments at the 17th parallel. The people of Vietnam were given 300 days to decide where they would reside. Diem would become the Prime Minister of South Vietnam, and would eventually take rule as a dictator he would crushing his political
The Vietnam conflict began long before the U.S. became directly involved. Indochina, which includes Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, was under French colonial rule. The Vietnam communist-nationalist, also known as the Vietminh, fought for their freedom from the French. The French were being slaughtered, and were doing little to keep the communist North Vietnamese out of South Vietnam. The U.S. sent financial aid to France to help them eliminate the communist threat. At the Geneva Conference in 1954, the major powers tried to come to an agreement on Indochina. There would be a temporary division on the 17th parallel in Vietnam. The Vietminh would control North Vietnam, and South Vietnam would be ruled under the emperor Bao Dai. There was to be an election held in two years to set up the permanent
The United States became involved with Vietnam after World War II because of the tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union had occupied almost all of Eastern Europe, and they set up communist-ran governments to further separate themselves from the capitalistic values of the West. The U.S.’s policies in containment led them to take action against the spread of communism. The U.S. articulated the Domino Theory, which states that if one nation became communist then their neighbor would also become communist, and so would that neighbor’s neighbor and so forth. The U.S.
Viet Nam Doc Lap Dong Minh Hoi, also known as the Viet Minh, a previous political party transformed into a guerilla force led by a devoted Communist, Ho Chi Minh. Minh’s ultimate goal was for Vietnam to gain independence from European ruling – the French and to be free from Vietnam’s enemy, Japan. By July 1954, the Geneva Agreement was signed granting Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam their independence The Geneva Agreement created a demarcation line at the 17th parallel temporarily separating the military of the French and the Viet Minh between the French and Vietnam, and excluded United States. The Soviet Union and Communist China violated the agreement by providing Ho Chi Minh with more weapons and equipment. Minh was relentless in his motivation to dethrone the government leader, Diem, in the South. Political leader of South Vietnam, Ngo Din Diem faced multiple oppositions from the Soviet Union and the communist regime, but Diem was fully supported by the U.S. Military Advisers.
The Cold War’s major belief was communism, which simplify was the belief that property is publicly owned, everyone worked and is paid according to their needs and work ethic. The U.S. strongly disapproved of this belief system and is the major reason The USSR and the U.S. went to war. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a short lived dispute between the USSR, Cuba, and the U.S. over ballistic missiles. The Iron curtain was basically the imaginary line that dived the communist countries and none communist countries. The Vietnam War was the conflict between North and South Vietnam. South Vietnam was supported by the U.S., while the North was supported by The USSR. South Vietnam wanted to bring the countries into communism, while South Vietnam wanted a democratic.
This began the conflict procedures involving the French and Viet Minh known as the First Indochina War. Fought mainly in northern Vietnam, this conflict ended when the French were defeated decisively at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. War was finally settled by the Geneva Accords of 1954, which temporarily divided country section in parallel with the 17 with Minh Nam in control in the north and the non-communist state to be formed in the South under the leadership of Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem. This division was to last until 1956, when national elections will be held to decide the future of the
The cold war started quickly after World War 2 ended. The soviet Union and U.S. (United States) were close allies, they then turn to enemies. The U.S. ignored the Soviets desire to impose totalitarian rule and wanted to take over the economy/land. Both countries Started fighting over weapons of mass destruction. The race on creating the largest atomic bomb began. The U.S. were wanting to have the largest arsenal to use against enemy countries. Neither country really understood each other so neither country could really agree with each other because their leaders couldn't discuss a treaty without frustration. The U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb (20 kilotons, killing 80,000 people) on Hiroshima in 1945, as well as the second atomic bomb (22
It is impossible to accurately describe the major events that occurred during the cold war without mentioning the war in Vietnam. From its start, this war has been very controversial concerning its purposes and effects on the countries involved. Both sides of this war lost a great number of soldiers and most of these men and women were not even sure why they were fighting. To this day, there is still a lot of uncertainty about the events that took place during this heated time in south Asia. One of the biggest questions raised is why the United States felt it was their responsibility to ever got involved and what were they trying to gain by sending in their troops. A look at the history of the cold war and