In the United States, we learned about how we beat the British during the Revolutionary War, even before we were a country. How we jumped in during WWI to help bring it to an end. Also, how we raided the shores of Omaha to save Europe from Hitler, and drop nukes on Japan. We learned how we beat the Soviet Union so hard during the Cold War that they don’t even exist anymore. One war that America does not seem to talk about is the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was a proxy war during the Cold War, but it is always swept aside. The Vietnam War divided the U.S. as the war continued throughout the years. The U.S. shouldn’t have been involved in the Vietnam War because the Domino Theory was not correct. Before the U.S. started combat in Vietnam, …show more content…
As a result of the Geneva Conference, French influence started to go away in Indochina and two new nations were born. After the French had left Vietnam and the rest of Indochina, the U.S. willingly took responsibility of South Vietnam. North Vietnam, on the other hand, fully established itself as a communist country under Ho Chi Minh’s leadership. The U.S. first sent American advisors to Vietnam after the Viet Cong, Viet Minh sympathizers, started becoming a threat in South Vietnam (“Vietnam War History”). At first, President John F. Kennedy sent military advisors to Vietnam to report the conditions there. They advised aid and the American military to help stop the Viet Cong. President Kennedy was a firm believer in the “Domino Theory,” and as a result, he increased aid. U.S. military in South Vietnam grew up to 9,000 troops by 1962 (“Vietnam War History”.) The U.S. started sending combat forces in 1965 (Tucker). Thereafter, the number of troops continued to increase, in the article, “Vietnam War,” the author comments, “At the end of 1964, about 23,500 Americans had been serving in Vietnam, but by the close of 1968, that number would grow to 525,000 in a steady stream of additional deployments” (Tucker). Thousands of Americans were sent to serve in the war, and after only four years that number went up to hundreds of thousands American soldiers. Initially, the U.S. was staying out of
Following the French return, the Communist regime of Vietnamese people had decided it was time for a rebellion and started waging war versus the French (Pendergast 14). With Vietnam’s neighbors to the north, China, following Russia’s principles and becoming a Communist nation, the Vietnamese Communist Regime, also known as the Viet Minh, gained strategic military support (Pendergast 15). The fighting between the Viet Minh and the French continued for many years and in the spring of 1954 the Viet Minh won a very decisive battle known as the Battle of Dien Bien Phu (Pendergast 17). This battle proved to bring the fighting between the French and Viet Minh to a close because in the summer of 1954 there was a conference held in Geneva, Switzerland to bring the fighting to a close (Pendergast 19). The results of this conference were the Geneva Accords which called for a temporary ceasefire, and a split of the country into a communist sector in the north and republic in the south along the 17th parallel (Pendergast 20). The plan however was not well liked and
“I was persuaded then, and I remain persuaded now, that the war was wrong. And since it was wrong and since people were dying as a result of it, it was evil(O ' Brien 272).” Tim O ' Briens If I Die in a Combat Zone is based in the Vietnam war with the main character being Tim O ' Brien. He explains what it was like to be drafted into the war and the hardships that he went through fighting the Vietcong. The changes that happened before his eyes to people he was fighting with being turned into a deranged person. He describes the fears that the soldiers had of bouncing betties and the people hiding waiting to attack the moment they go to sleep. The Vietnam started in 1955 and ended in 1975 with a total body count of a million people killed
The Vietnam War in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia lasted from November 1st, 1955 to around April 30th, 1975. The war was split up between two sides, North Vietnam, who were allied with the Soviet Union, China, and most of the communist countries during this time period, and South Vietnam, who were allied with the United States and many countries that were against the belief of Communism. Although the United States did not necessarily have to get involved in the war, they believed that they had too so that South Vietnam would not join the Communist party. During this time period there was a belief that if a region began to fall underneath communist control then other countries around them would do the same, this was known as the domino theory. As a result, the United States were committed for the long run to try and contribute to South Vietnam, so that Communism would not spread across the world. While the United States government was simply trying to stop Communism, what they did not know was that this war would begin the movement of anti-war by the citizens of the United States. Peace movements began to appear all across the country in major cities such as New York, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago, and in smaller towns as well. Surprisingly, numerous veterans joined in on the movement too. This may have been due to the fact that many veterans have struggled from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, but it also enlightened an abundant amount of citizens for if those who are
Between 1964 and 1975 the heightened tensions over the Vietnam war caused many americans to become divided on the actions taken by the government across seas. Americans questioned whether the government could be trusted. The feeling of betrayal and government secrecy created the “Credibility Gap,” in which many americans believed that the government no longer was for the people, but for anything else that would benefit the government. The Vietnam War exacerbated the gap between the pro-war traditionalists and anti-war liberals along with an increase in military action, causing controversy over government spending; as a whole these factors established a sense of distrust between the American government and its people.
Throughout the 1960’s, the United States of America was in the midst of change, advancements, and struggle. It was America vs. the Soviet Union, always trying to one up each other in both weaponry and space technology, but the main conflict was the spread of Communism. As the battle between Communists and Non-Communists raged on, America attempted to do everything in its power to stop the spread of communism all around the world. This is what lead to the gruesome war that lasted over a decade in Vietnam. A great deal of social changed happened all over the world, but particularly in America as the Vietnam War dragged on. As people became more aware of the atrocities going on in Southeast Asia, the endless domestic support turned into
The Vietnam War lasted from 1954 through 1975, and was the longest war ever fought in American History which lasted for 21 years. This war was long and costly and was mainly fought against the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies known as the Vietcong, against its war rival South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. More than 3 million people were killed in the Vietnam War, including 58,000 Americans (Staff). Although this war was mainly fought towards the impact of stopping the spread of communism, there were many other factors that contributed to the start of the war.
The Vietnam War came at a time of great social and political unrest in America. It was right in the middle of the Cold War, a fierce worldwide battle between Eastern communism and Western democracy. There was already division going on in America at the time, with events like the red scare in Washington creating a growing fear of worldwide communism. The U.S. involvement in Vietnam began with Harry Truman aiding the French in an imperial war from 1946-1954, which the French eventually lost to the Vietminh. The U.S. once again entered Vietnam in 1965, this time involved in a civil war between the democratic South and the communist North. What ensued was one of the most controversial wars in American history, which had a lasting impact that is still felt today.
When the War first started the United States claimed that the reason behind the war was to contain communist aggression and expansion. The U.S. claimed that the war was caused by outside aggression from the communist North Vietnam and that South Vietnam’s independence was being threatened by the North. This was what the public was led to believe and what policy makers did believe. The United States was the defender of the world against communism. They were the knight in shining armor that would come in and save not only Vietnam but any country from the grasps of communism. It felt as if it was their duty to protect the world from such evil, at least that is what it felt like at the beginning of the war. So based on the readings and class lectures there was a difference in what United States officials were telling the American people and the reality of the Vietnam war, in order to hide the gruesome behavior towards the Vietnamese people, hide that the officials were wrong, conceal the actual progress in South Vietnam, and distract the people of the issues in their own nation.
In July and August of 1972, Jane Fonda made radio broadcasts from Hanoi that changed the way Americans thought of the Vietnam war and of her. To this day, many people view her as a traitor and criticise her actions in Vietnam; however, some people were truly inspired by her words and what she had to say. Despite people 's personal opinions, Fonda was a powerful speaker and knew how to convey her message to her audience. She tried to convince people that the American government and military were the “dual villains” and the Vietnamese would never surrender. Jane Fonda 's radio broadcast from Hanoi to American Servicemen tried to convince the American people that the Indochina War was a useless attempt to make the Vietnamese people compromise
1. The Vietnam War was a war against communist Russia more than it was a war against the North Vietnamese. Before the start of this War the United states established a policy where any country seeking help in a fight against communism would be aided by the United States. Any such bold statement, would eventually put the United States in a difficult situation. The war started off establishing a presence in South Vietnam attempting to push back the North Vietnamese who were attempting to conquer the South and create a united communistic Vietnam. This war was also aided by the politician who saw the war as an opportunity to prove the US superiority over Russia. Slowly, it became clear that the war was not as easy as originally planned. The slow progress and eventual realization the war could not be won began to wage war on the minds of people. This in addition to the loss of thousands of innocent lives began to affect popular opinion. The war beginning to develop into a political nightmare and politicians were forced to make a decision on what was the best policy for the country. Was it fair to continue to protect a group of people to possibly offer a better way of life while at the same time american soldiers continue to lose their life?
Though it may have ended in 1989, the Vietnam war is still being fought, but on a different battlefield, one of public opinion. Some call this war an atrocity, a war the United States should never have joined. Others call it a crime, committed by the power hungry politicians of the U.S. Now that new information from both sides of the war has surfaced and the wounds of battle have had more time to heal there is yet another opinion emerging. The Vietnam War was in fact only one of many proxy wars fought under the umbrella of the Cold War. While some of the actions of people involved in the Vietnam War were questionable at best, the decision the lawmakers of the United States made to enter the war was in the best interests of Americans and in line with the ideals they upheld at that time.
The Vietnam War, or also known as the American War to the Vietnamese people, is a catastrophic battle that has left both nations reeling with the casualties and the irreversible emotional, physical, and mental destruction for civilians and soldiers alike. Spanning over two decades, the war has taken away not only the lives of its soldiers, but also the souls of its survivors. Aware of its impact, artists, writers, and filmmakers from both sides have attempted to capture the post-war memories and sentiments through the perspectives of the few surviving soldiers and their loved ones, hoping to bring to light the unfiltered descriptions of the war and the raw emotions that it has left on its brave victims. Originally written by a veteran of
The movie Platoon was based upon the 25th infantry division stationed in Vietnam during 1967. The company was to patrol near the Cambodian border to prevent the North Vietnamese Army from controlling the southern half of the country. I believe that the movie Platoon portrayed the many conflicts that occurred throughout the Vietnam War. Not only was the war a big conflict for the United States, but also there were different small beliefs about why we were fighting, how to fight in a foreign unknown land, and many others. This movie displayed a truly realistic version of how the war actually was and how it was viewed among the veterans.
The largest counterargument for those who take Johnson as the one worst modern day presidents would be his failure in the Vietnam War. Admittedly, the war has ruined Johnson’s reputation. The Vietnam war started as the conflict between the South and the North Vietnamese. However the war has global ramifications. The North Vietnamese was lead by the Communist Party, and the South was led by a non-Communist regime. However, as a matter of fact, during that period of time, Vietnam War seemed to be necessary in against Communist party, and the Soviet Union. With belief in “domino theory”: when one country becomes communists then the surrounding countries will also fall under communists influence, stopping Vietnam from pursuing Communism seemed to be compulsory to Johnson’s administration.
The Vietnam War is perhaps one of the most unsupported wars in American history. Perhaps the country's gradual involvement in this war is the reason why. War usually isn't a good thing, but this time America was not happy about their involvement. The Vietnam War had a significant effect on the social, economic, and cultural life of America.