Vietnam War Paper

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Recommended: America's role in the Vietnam War

The Vietnam War escalated from a Vietnamese civil war into a limited international conflict, in which the United States was deeply involved. The Vietnam War was fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerilla forces aided by the North Vietnamese. Despite increased American military involvement and signed peace agreements in 1973, the Vietnam War did not end until North Vietnam's successful invasion of South Vietnam in 1975. The Vietnam War may have been the longest war in American history, but after South Vietnam collapsed, America was left to question their highly controversial involvement in a lost cause.

The Vietnam War originated as a civil war between the North and South. However, soon enough, the United States would find interest in the Vietnam War. American involvement stemmed from several areas of concern, as Communist North Vietnamese guerilla forces attempted to overthrow the current government in Vietnam.

The United States, as a Democratic nation, fears the spread of Communism throughout the world, which has led to the "domino theory." In an interview with Robert Richards, President Dwight D. Eisenhower explained the importance of Indochina to the free world. Specifically, Eisenhower cited that Indochina was crucial in the production of and tungsten. Furthermore, Eisenhower argued that Indochina was facing a dictatorship that was detrimental to the free world. Therefore, the "falling domino" principle said that Communist pressures gaining in the southwest Pacific threatened Australia and New Zealand, stating that they would fall if the free world, in this instance the United States, failed to protect them. Therefore, Eisenhower suggested American involvement in ...

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... from supporting the French to military measures. In addition, the controversial war left America with the harsh realization that they are not invincible. As a result, America was forced to learn that they could not simply enter situations and just overpower the opposition into submission to get what they wanted.

Works Cited:

"President Dwight D. Eisenhower Explains the Domino Theory, 1954" – Ch. 8 #3

"The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, 1964" – Ch. 8 #6

"President Lyndon Johnson's Advisers Debate Expanding the War, 1965" – Ch. 8 #7

"State Department Advisers Debate U.S. Support for the French in Vietnam, 1949" – Ch. 8 #2

"Nguyen Tan Thanh Explains Why He Joined the Vietcong (1961), 1986" – Ch.8 #5

"State Department Advisers Debate U.S. Support for the French in Vietnam, 1949" – Ch. 8 #2

"Wrong, Rambo! A Vietnam Veteran Looks Back, 1985" – Ch.8 #9

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