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Involvement of the US in the Vietnam war
America's policy of containment in Vietnam
The influence of Vietnam in the cold war
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Recommended: Involvement of the US in the Vietnam war
American involvement in Vietnam was largely in response to Cold War polices and Strategies. Kennedy took a much more laid back approach to Vietnam than Eisenhower did. He only wanted to support the South and not give them direct military aid by getting involved. Kennedy believed that the nations themselves should bear the burden of fighting the war and America would merely give them supplies and political support. However, the administration’s attempt to help the South largely failed because neither the South Vietnamese nor the Americans knew how to deal with guerrilla warfare. Another issue was that Diem’s support quickly declining to the point where it was just about his own family. He never trusted any popular government official in office, and would quickly replace them. Kennedy kept urging Diem to change his ways before all support for the South diminished (Kaiser). Between 1960 and 1968 Vietnam evolved into an American war and the tactics greatly affected the American soldiers.
In 1960 the South Vietnamese communist organization, The National Liberation Front, more commonly known as the Vietcong, joined forces with the North Vietnamese. The American forces backed the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, which only stemmed the influence of the communist in South and proving to be very ineffective. In 1961, Maxwell Taylor sent a telegram to President Kennedy recommending the dispatch of US forces to South Vietnam so that the US forces can be called upon to engage in combat to protect themselves, their working parties, and the area in which they live (Taylor, 121-123). In 1963 the situation continued to escalate. Kennedy is trying to gain the American public’s support by being interviewed by Walter Cronkite of CBS, saying that as ...
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...1575-579. Print.
Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963 (September 2, 1963), pp. 651-52
Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963 (September 9, 1963), pp. 658-59
Robert Dallek, Flaw aint: Lyndon B. Johnson and His Times, 1961-1973, 1998, pp.238-40, 243-45,249, 267-271, 272-75, 276-80
Taking Charge; The Johnson White House Tapes, 1963-1964,
Telegram from Taylor to Kennedy, November 1, 1961, United States-Vietnam Relations, 1945-1947 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1971), Book 11, 337-42.
Telephone conversation between Diem and Lodge, November 1, 1963, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, vol. 4, p. 513.
U.S. Department of State Bulletin, 51 (August 24, 1964), 268
We Were Soldiers (2002)
Working Class War: American Combat Soliders and Vietnam by Christain G. Appy. 1993 by the University of North Carolina Press.
Anderson, D. (2002). The Columbia guide to the Vietnam War. New York: Columbia University Press.
Kennedy, Richard S. http://www.anb.org/articles/16/16-00394.html; American National Biography Online Feb. 2000. Access Date: Sun Mar 18 12:31:47 2001 Copgyright © 2000 American Council of Learned Societies. Publish by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
JOHN F. KENNEDY IN VIETNAM There are many critical questions surrounding United States involvement in Vietnam. American entry to Vietnam was a series of many choices made by five successive presidents during these years of 1945-1975. The policies of John F. Kennedy during the years of 1961-1963 were ones of military action, diplomacy, and liberalism. Each of his decision was on its merits at the time the decision was made. The belief that Vietnam was a test of the Americas ability to defeat communists in Vietnam lay at the center of Kennedy¡¦s policy. Kennedy promised in his inaugural address, Let every nation know...that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty. From the 1880s until World War II, France governed Vietnam as part of French Indochina, which also included Cambodia and Laos. The country was under the formal control of an emperor, Bao Dai. From 1946 until 1954, the Vietnamese struggled for their independence from France during the first Indochina War. At the end of this war, the country was temporarily divided into North and South Vietnam. North Vietnam came under the control of the Vietnamese Communists who had opposed France and aimed for a unified Vietnam under Communist rule. Vietnamese who had collaborated with the French controlled the South. For this reason the United States became involved in Vietnam because it believed that if all of the country fell under a Communist government, Communism would spread throughout Southeast Asia and further. This belief was known as the domino theory. The decision to enter Vietnam reflected America¡¦s idea of its global role-U.S. could not recoil from world leadership. The U.S. government supported the South Vietnamese government. The U.S. government wanted to establish the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), which extended protection to South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos in case of Communist subversion. SEATO, which came into force in 1955, became the way which Washington justified its support for South Vietnam; this support eventually became direct involvement of U.S. troops. In 1955, the United States picked Ngo Dinh Diem to replace Bao Dai as head of the anti-Communist regime in South Vietnam. Eisenhower chose to support Ngo Dinh Diem. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, Mass., on May 29, 1917. Kennedy graduated from Harvard University in 1940 and joined the Navy the next year.
This brief biography of Lyndon Johnson outlined his life beginning in rural Texas and followed the ups and downs of his political career. It discusses his liberal, "active government" mentality and its implications on both domestic and foreign issues. Johnson was obviously a man who knew how to get things done but his "under the table" methods are brought into question in this book, although, in my opinion, Schulman presents a fairly positive portrayal of LBJ.
Wilcox, Fred A. Waiting For an Army To Die. Washington, D.C.: Seven Locks Press, 1989.
The political and societal ramifications of Vietnam's Tet Offensive indubitably illustrate the historical oddity of 1968. 1967 had not been a bad year for most Americans. Four years after the profound panic evoked by the assassination of John Kennedy, the general public seemed to be gaining a restored optimism, and even the regularly protested Vietnam War still possessed the semblance of success (Farber and Bailey 34-54). However, three short weeks following the eve of 68, Americans abruptly obtained a radically different outlook. The Tet Offensive, beginning on January 30, 1968, consisted of a series of military incursions during the Vietnam War, coordinated between the National Liberation Front's People's Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF), or "Viet Cong," and the ...
The War of 1812, sometimes referred to as “The Second War of Independence,” was one of the bloodiest, yet most pointless wars in American history. After 32 months of Americans fighting for a change in the relationship between Britain and the U.S., the war ended with a treaty that left many of the original conflicts unresolved. Although the war had no obvious victor, it boosted American nationalism and patriotism, something much needed after only 39 years of independence. However, British interferences with American trade, and the cost of war materials had a negative impact on the United State's economy. America’s geographic location, in relation to Canada and New York, played a key role in defense against British attacks. Whoever gained control of the Niagara peninsula that connected these two territories would have an advantage over the other nation.
Answer the following: Is it valid to call the War of 1812 "America's worst-fought war"? Was the cause of the failure essentially military, or was it an inevitable result of the political disunity over the war's purposes? Provide support for your stance and "discredit" the opposing view. Maximum of 2 pages/ 15 Points
The War of 1812 was a war between Britain and the United States fought primarily in Upper Canada. It had many causes, few which involved British North America. The results of the war include the fact that there was no clear winner or loser among them. The only real losers in the situation were the Natives in the region. They were driven out of their lands and customs. None of the borders was changed by the war, though many attempts were made. The Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war, did nothing to advance the state of the countries. It went so far as to end the war and put things back the way that they were, but the main causes of the conflict were not addressed or dealt with. In order to evaluate the significance of this war, Canadian victories and losses, as well as overall results, must be analyzed.
“In July 1965, Lyndon Johnson chose to Americanize the war in Vietnam.” Although Johnson chose to enter America into the war, there were events previous that caused America to enter and take over the war. The South Vietnamese were losing the war against Communism – giving Johnson all the more reason to enter the war, and allowing strong American forces to help stop communism. There were other contributing factors leading up to the entrance of the war; America helped assist the French in the war, Johnson’s politics, the Tonkin Gulf Incident, and the 1954 Geneva Conference. President Johnson stated, “For 10 years three American Presidents-President Eisenhower, President Kennedy, and your present President--and the American people have been actively concerned with threats to the peace and security of the peoples of southeast Asia from the Communist government of North Viet-Nam.”
The conflict in Vietnam for the United States started when President Dwight D. Eisenhower went along with the domino theory and sent in military advisors in South Vietnam to stop the communist movement from taking place in South Vietnam. The Vietnam conflict was between the communist’s and the United States. North Vietnam was led by Ho Chi Minh, and Ho Chi Minh led the Viet Cong, a guerilla group to help spread communism. The United States were supporters of the South Vietnam because they wanted them to maintain their government rather than falling to the domino theory of communism. After Eisenhower’s term ended, John F. Kennedy became president and took control of the situation in Vietnam.
Their positions in Vietnam are clearly stated in a 1961 recommendation to the president: “The United States should commit itself to the clear objective of preventing the fall of South Viet-Nam to Communism. The basic means for accomplishing this objective must be to put the Government of South Viet-Nam into a position to win its own war against the guerrillas…. We should be prepared to introduce United States combat forces if that should become necessary for success” (Hunt 47). Kennedy agreed with building up the Diem regime, but the notion to send troops into combat he did not readily accept. The president viewed the conflict taking place in Vietnam as a political struggle. In retrospect, the Korean War was much more of a direct threat stemming from communistic activity. He replied to his advisors in November 1961 that “The conflict in Viet Nam is more obscure and less flagrant” (Hunt
During Kennedy administration, he pushed more involvements of U.S. in Vietnam. President Kennedy was particularly “determined to regain American strength, prestige and influence. Anything which could be construed as American weakness in relation to the USSR was to be avoided” (course packet). Since it was still during Cold War with Soviet Union, Kennedy had more emphasis on making America strong against communism and Vietnam was the pace where he could show his power. Thus, supporting South Vietnam and making victory there was crucial. Henry Cabot Lodge, who was U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam, believed that the war “can be won under a Diem administration, either Diem or any member of the family can govern the country” (course packet). However,
Few wars have had the impact that the Vietnam War had on American politics and military. Starting off as a conflict between France and Vietnam, it eventually grew into a long, divisive conflict pitting the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its ally, the United States. In the early years of the war, the United States had a small number of troops in Vietnam and was only providing aid to the French forces. However, in 1964, under President Lyndon B. Johnson it was clear that this conflict would soon escalate into a full-scale war. By 1965 “Johnson approved sending up to 82,000 ground troops to defend U.S. airbases and engage in limited combat” (Vietnam War). As U.S. presence in Vietnam increased, American morale
Vietnam was a struggle which, in all honesty, the United States should never have been involved in. North Vietnam was battling for ownership of South Vietnam, so that they would be a unified communist nation. To prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism, the U.S. held on to the Truman Doctrine and stood behind the South Vietnamese leader, Diem.