What Caused the Vietnam War?
The Vietnam War was caused by many factors that contributed to the warfare in Vietnam during the years of 1959 to 1975. Most factors were the beliefs held by people who wanted to change or to prevent Vietnam becoming an Independent Country. Many people suffered due to these beliefs and policies and that the Vietnam War is now considered as one of the most distressing moments in the 20th Century. So why did the US become involved in the Vietnam War? What was Ho Chi Minh thinking when he was fighting for Nationalism? Who was Diem? And why was the Vietnam War have such a devesting impact on both the US and Vietnam.
The civil war between the French and Viet Minh was a major cause of the war. It is said that the
…show more content…
Furthermore, one of the major ideologies of the Vietnam War was what type of government should rule Vietnam and neighbouring countries. Ho, although he believed in Nationalism, became a Communist because their was no other way to ensure Vietnam's future of becoming an Independent country. Communism believed in the unity within the country, the equality of financial status and in the home, and to have a utopian' society where everybody accepted each other on the same level and therefore, having only one party to have ruling power over the country with no disagreements. However, to become a Communist Government, there needs to be a party willing to use force against it's own people to gain authority. Ho, was one such person to lead the Viet Minh against the Viet Cong, which contained an army of the South Vietnamese soldiers and allied forces. Communism believes that a Democracy, such as America's, was full of greed and that it was a society that did not determine equality very well in both economical values and also within the community. However, the Viet Cong, or known as Diem's and US's army, believed the opposite in which Communism was a vile type of government, and that their Democracy was the superior' type of government. America especially wanted to create social cohesion by introducing their type of Democracy to South-East Asia before the Domino Theory came into effect. Consequently, different ideologies on what type of government
The United States, the most powerful army in the world at the time of the war. The Vietnamese war started in November 1, 1955 and ended in 1975. To many people it was one of the most pointless wars in the United States history. It was like the country was split during the war. There was many protest against the some of which that drew blood. So why did the United States join the Vietnamese war. What was the impact on American society, the people of America. What was the impact of war on the United States foreign policy. The foreign policy determines how America conducts relations with other countries, further certain goals. So why did the United States join the war, what was the impact of the war on America society, and what was the impact of the war on the United States foreign policy.
The Vietnam War was first derived from the gradual oppression of the communist party of the north over the region of South Vietnam. The North Communist party was supported mainly by China and the Soviet Union whiles the Anti-Communist party of South Vietnam was supported by United States and France. The communist party group, as known as the Viet Cong, was recognized for their guerilla war strategies within the region of South Vietnam, intended to fully expand and unify Vietnam under Communist rule. U.S. involvement with the Vietnam War starting in November 1, 1955, develops from the theory of the domino effect, stating that if one country falls into communism, a threat that can develop into the encouragement and spread of communism throughout the world in the future. It is basically viewed as a potential harm to the welfare of the United Sates. Therefore, due to the conflicting forces of the historical, political, economic and cultural nature of the war itself, it is known to be the longest enduring war in United States history that altered many lives of the Vietnamese and American community, leading to suffrage and acts of courage.
The Vietnam war has been referred to by many names, one of the longer ones was 'the cornerstone of the free world southeast Asia'. It was called that by John F. Kennedy. He was talking about Vietnam being and essential country in a non-communist world. He believed that if Vietnam became a communist country, all of the surrounding countries would also become communists. This is the main reason America was involved in the Vietnam war. Another reason was that America wanted to spread their “political ideas around the globe”. They wanted to do this so that their anti-communism stance was clear. The public also wanted to keep communism from spreading. To soldiers, the war was like a crusade, a great journey to purge the communists from Vietnam.
The Vietnam War was fought between North Vietnam communists led by their leader Ho Chi Minh and South Vietnam anti-communists led by their president Ngo Dinh Diem. North Vietnam was trying to taking over South Vietnam to make it a communist country. That is when the U.S. came knocking on South Vietnam’s door and gave them much needed help in 1950. In Eric Foner’s and John A Garraty’s essay, “Vietnam War,” they explain, “from Washington’s perspective, . . . [a]ny communist anywhere, at home or abroad, was, by definition, an enemy of the United States” because of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “domino theory” (Foner). Eisenhower’s “domino theory,” was a theory that if communists took over Vietnam, they would gradually control all of Southeast Asia. The first aid given by the U.S. was to France. Willbanks explains in his essay that the U.S. provided France, a South Vietnamese ally, $2.6
Communism as a political philosophy has had both its critics and nationalist proponents throughout recent history. As a tool for nationalistic movements in recent, one of the most compelling examples is how communism was introduced and used by Ho Chi Minh to help Vietnam become a unified and independent nation in the 1970s. Ho Chi Minh, a Marxist Leninist, charismatic and populist leader, adopted communism through his experiences, struggles, and challenges. Communism came to play an important role in bringing Vietnam independence and freedom from the French and subsequent colonialist rulers. Ho Chi Minh used communist to help the Vietnamese develop feelings of patriotism and nationalism toward the country. Ho Chi Minh created several
Reasons for United States' Involvement in Vietnam In this essay I will be writing about why America got involved in the Vietnam War, between the 1950s to the 1960s. This was a steady and slow process with many deaths all because of communism. It was very costly and bloody. This essay will focus on political reasons, military reasons and economy reasons.
Vietnamese people wanted freedom and communist Ho Chi Minh wanted freedom for Vietnam therefore people supported him. But they all know that Vietnam belong to the French. Ho fought with French his army was in the north and he tried to get US to help him but US didn’t because he was communist and were afraid that communism would spread throughout South
Of course, the paranoia of communism that gripped much of Western culture was in no way the sole cause of the Vietnam War. The French colonization of Vietnam in the late 1800s was a major cause, but that colonization was unnecessary and indefensible, and therefore the conflict could easily have been avoided. In the later half of the nineteenth century, France was seeking to gain territory to keep pace with other
The Vietnam War was a result of the United States’ involvement in the Cold War against the USSR. The main goal of the United States during the Cold War was to contain communism and prevent the USSR from affecting other countries with their communist government. One of the concerns for President Dwight D. Eisenhower was that if communism spread to Vietnam, then other countries in Southeast Asia would become more susceptible to adopting communism. As a result, The United States entered a war in Vietnam, where they supported South Vietnam against the communist government of North Vietnam. The Vietnam War was a failed attempt by the United States to contain communism and support South Vietnam, because after decades of combat, the United States
During the time that America invaded Vietnam, the Vietnamese had quite a bit of internal conflict within the walls of the country. Communism was a big issue
Vietnam has a very rich history that often goes unnoticed and unaccounted for, this is most likely due to the war being such a big landmark in the history of Vietnam. Before the war many events transpired that would eventually lead up to the war. In the late 19th century Vietnam was considered to be a French colony. The French built their own standing infrastructure, they began to build railways and roads and bridges. All of this building meant heavy taxation on the Vietnamese. This was all good and progressive for vietnam however “Naturally the Vietnamese wanted independence.” (http://www.localhistories.org/viethist.html) From there Ho Chi Minh founded a revolution and within 20 years Vietnam came under Ho Chi Minh rule.
There is no single fixed reason as to why the U.S. entered the Vietnam War. The United States became involved in the war step by step until it was completely committed, which was when Japan took over Indochina. There is, however, multiple reasons as to why stopping communism in Vietnam became a major U.S. priority. Presidents Eisenhower and Truman both advocated doing everything in their power to keep communism, which is a social system where all property is collectively owned instead of by individuals, from spreading throughout the world. Therefore, the domino theory is one of the major reasons it became a U.S. priority to prevent Vietnam from falling to communism. Another major reason for the action taken by the United States towards this dilemma would be that if the United States hadn’t taken part, the non-communist people of South Vietnam would have been persistently victimized and tortured. Lastly, it became a priority to the U.S. because the nation just generally felt responsible in helping Vietnam become independent and to be involved in the global fight against communism.
The Vietnam War is thought of as one of the most significant events in United States history. It was fought over the course of two decades and three United States presidencies. American involvement in the Vietnam War is one of the most highly debated topics discussed today. The United States began their involvement by supporting the French with one billion dollars per year to assist in containing the chaos in Vietnam. Once the French failed, the United States continued to supply money, firearms, and military advisors to aid the South Vietnamese. Americans remembered their promise to support any country fighting against the spread of communism. That promise was hard to keep when government lies were exposed, the number of American graves grew, and the matter of draft issues became too overwhelming to ignore.
A leader emerged, HoChi Minh, who organized a group to fight back against the Japanese. Members of the group became known as the Viet Minh. HoChi Minh wanted support from America to help Vietnam become independent. France wouldn’t leave their hold in the country. An agreement was made between HoChi Minh and the French. The northern part of Vietnam went to the
To understand the US involvement in Vietnam, it is necessary to understand the background of traditional independence and opposition to larger powers throughout Vietnamese history. The Vietnamese had a long history and tradition of opposing invading powers. This opposition and culture was to draw the U.S. into the longest war it has been involved in. This was an indirect but vitally important cause of US involvement in the Vietnam War. As early as 500BC, Vietnam was a country that held a strong sense of nationalism, and endeavoured for the goal of autonomy, independence, and self-rule. Up until modern history, there have been several events that have contributed towards intensifying this sense of nationalism and resistance against foreign powers. National resistance against the Chinese empire was one of the earliest examples of resistance against nationalism. Throughout the period of pre-modern history from 210 BC to 1789, resistances against foreign control and rule such as that against the Nan Yue, the Song, the Ming, and the Qing, were frequent. These attempts at national resistance came down to the basis that the nationalist Vietnamese did not want foreign influence determining the political future, culture, or customs of their country. Another main example that increased a sense of nationalism was French Colonialism. The French, who were appealed by Vietnam’s unique location, natural resources, and the extensive economic opportunities