The Causes Of The Vietnam War

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The Vietnam War marks a pivotal point in history as being the first war not decidedly won by one of the wealthiest and most powerful nations. It stands as one of the most polarized wars to date as an infamous example of how the will of the United States government and the will of people stood in direct opposition of each other. Although shrouded in a dense propagandist haze, I plan to show that despite the United States’ claims to defend the world against Communism, this war actually weakens and damages civil rights across the board, domestically and on foreign soil.

The Vietnam War began in 1954 after North Vietnam’s victory over the French colonial administration of Vietnam. North Vietnam’s goal was to unify the entire country by establishing a central Communist administration with support from the Soviet Union, China, and other Communist allies. By 1957, the Communist Vietnamese, known as the Viet Cong, utilized guerrilla war tactics against all those who were opposed them in the region. The United States government sought to guard against a Communist bloc in SE Asia and seized the opportunity to prevent the unification of the inevitable Communist rule of Vietnam by conducting strategic bombing methods in North Vietnam and surrounding areas suspected of housing the Viet Cong. President John F. Kennedy was a supporter of Dwight Eisenhower’s Domino Theory, which states that a communist victory in one country would cause a chain reaction of Communist rule in neighboring states.

 Ronald H. Spector. "Vietnam War." Britannica 23 December 2013. .
The Domino Theory allowed for almost full support from Washington and entered us into an eight year engagement of massive death and destruction of a small, third world country.

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... spoke about his missions around Southeast Asia. He mentioned how they were forced to burn down all the huts they possibly could as well as the Southeast Asians’ personal possessions, food, and even the livestock. He also talked about the crying women and children heard as they carried out these missions.

The Communist common front held a

…….Conc: 60’s was a tumultuous time, war is divisive, continuing discrimination of blacks today, compare the progression of civil rights in the US and abroad, touch on McNamara (maybe), Kennedy quote about paying any price for the success of liberty (how high a price?), “All men are created equal” not so much, touch on Martin Luther King, America blinded by propaganda, money gained, “thanks, but no thanks, US”, government manipulation, ulterior motives, the suffering of the Viets, try not to sound like a crazy conspiracy theorist.

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