Americas Involvement in the Vietnam War Essay - 797 Words

Americas Involvement in the Vietnam War Vietnam is a time in American history that most of us would like to forget, but really, we must learn from it. Vietnam is a time where we didnt look at the whole picture, it was perceived through the lens of Cold War politics. (MP:420) With the new ?domino theory,? Americans feared for their safety and the safety of the free world. If they didnt step in, they would inevitably lose the world to communism. Many Americans believed our involvement in Vietnam began around 1965?the beginning of combat with American boys. In reality, engagement began much earlier, around 1945. The US supported France and rejected to recognize the Vietnamese nationalists as an actually†¦show more content†¦?The United States had taken its first steps toward direct involvement in a ruinous war halfway around the world.? (AP:898) American and Eisenhower?s mind set was one of the fear of ?falling dominoes.? The theory itself made everything seem more important that it really was, as one can tell from P resident Eisenhower: ?So, the possible consequences of the loss are just incalculable to the free world.?(MP:409) The US sent in around 600 advisors and created a South Vietnamese government, with Diem as the head. And no election was held in 1956, as promised in Geneva. ?Without understanding Geneva, and the way we felt about it, you will never understand our side of the war.? (MP:421) The elections would have been a turning point and a time where the US could have stepped out. President John F. Kennedy is elected in 1960 and his commitment to Cold War victory led him to expand the American role in Vietnam. The government set up in South Vietnam was corrupt and it was obvious that Diem had no really interest in setting up a democracy. The National Liberation Front, or Viet Cong, began invading South Vietnam. Kennedy?s response was to increase the number of advisors to 16,000. This was the ?cornerstone of the free world in Southeast Asia? and ?he was reluctant to withdraw and let th e Vietnamese solve their own problems.? (AP:898) Diem was rapidly losing support and with the assurance that the US would not object to and internal coup,Show MoreRelatedThe Vietnam War1402 Words   |  6 Pagesinstability in Vietnam from 1950 to 1975 between the communist North Vietnam and anti-communist South Vietnam during the Cold War era has led to the United States’ inevitable intervention in Vietnam. The main motivators for the United States’ incremental decision to intervene and commitment in Vietnam can be viewed as an accumulation of socio-political, political and economic catalysts. 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