why did america go to war with vietnam

In the 1972 presidential campaign, Democratic nominee George McGovern campaigned on a platform of withdrawing from Vietnam. It gave the president broad authority to defend American troops in the region. Under the Party’s leadership, Vietnam fought wars against Japan (1945), France (First Indochina War, 1946-1955), and America (Second Indochina War, 1954-1975). In a TV speech to the Nation from the White House, President Nixon announced that several thousand American ground troops entered Cambodia to wipe out Communist headquarters for all military operations against South Vietnam. One of the main reasons it remains a source of argument is that it is difficult to say when the U.S. war actually began. Even though U.S. politicians, military experts and leaders of foreign affairs generally agreed that Communism violated democracy and infringed on political freedoms, conflicts in Vietnam posed no direct threat to the U.S. government or to the freedoms Americans enjoyed. The U.S. entered the Vietnam War in an attempt to prevent the spread of communism, but foreign policy, economic interests, national fears, and geopolitical strategies also played major roles. All in all America went to war with Vietnam for many of reasons. That attitude was held up to scrutiny in a televised Capitol Hill testimony by a member of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, future Massachusetts senator, presidential candidate, and secretary of state, John Kerry. The U.S involvement in Vietnam had started as early as 1950 when Harry Truman sent military advisors to aid the French. America went to war with Vietnam as a general way of trying to prevent Communism. Throughout the whole article every paragraph talks about why America did what they did over in Vietnam and how it affected us. Related to this, the U.S. was adamantly against providing any aid to France that would in any way prop up France's … The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed by both houses of Congress within days of the naval confrontation. One reason America went to war was because President Harry Truman authorized a military aid to the French. In the 1950s, Vietnam descended into civil war, with the Southern government and US forces attempting to stop the spread of communism. In May 1954, the French suffered a military defeat at Dien Bien Phu and negotiations began to end the conflict. www.fpri.org Copyright © 2000–2021. After Nixon left office as a result of the Watergate scandal, the administration of Gerald Ford continued to support the government of South Vietnam. American did not go to war with Vietnam in general, it/we went to war with/against the Communists who were concentrated in North Vietnam supposedly in concert with … ... On the other hand, the United States did manage to stay out of the First Indochina War between France and the … "Military Advisors In Vietnam: 1963." John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. The US invaded Vietnam to contain Soviet and Chinese influence, simply put. Few decisions in American foreign policy have been more consequential than the series of events that led the United States to become involved in the Vietnam War. This stated that if one country fell to communism, then its neighbour would and then the neighbour to this country. The role of the United States in the Vietnam War began after World War II and escalated into full commitment during the Vietnam War from 1955 to 1973. During the administration of Richard M. Nixon, the levels of combat troops were reduced from 1969 onward. In the 1950’s, John Foster Dulles, US Secretary of State, had formulated the Domino Theory. The first wave of U.S combat troops invaded South Vietnam on March 8, 1965. Following the French withdrawal from Indochina, the solution put in place established a communist government in North Vietnam and a democratic government in South Vietnam. One American crawled for three days to take a single shot that would change the course of the war. Ousting and assassination of Ngô Đình Diệm The United States backed France and its puppet emperor Bao Dai. The United States government viewed involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and part of their wider strategy of containment. Learn why a country that had been barely known to most Americans came to define an era. The fighting in Vietnam finally ended with the collapse of Saigon in 1975. The U.S. entered the Vietnam War in an attempt to prevent the spread of communism, but foreign policy, economic interests, national fears, and geopolitical strategies also played major roles. In the 1950’s, John Foster Dulles, US Secretary of State, had formulated the Domino Theory. Anti-communist sentiment at home influenced foreign policy views. So, the US actually had its plate full of problems to deal with. Ho Chi Minh helped initiate the First Indochina War, which took place from 1946 to 1954. On 23 July 1962, fourteen nations, including China, South Vietnam, the Soviet Union, North Vietnam and the United States, signed an agreement promising to respect the neutrality of Laos. Battle of Dien Bien Phu. The role of American advisers increased and by late 1963, there were more than 16,000 Americans on the ground advising South Vietnamese troops.. The first wave of U.S combat troops invaded South Vietnam on March 8, 1965. Ho Chi Minh began a campaign to fight a weakened France and seize independence through force. Its legacy was 58,220 American soldiers dead, a huge drain on the nation’s finances, social polarisation and the tarnishing of the reputation of the United States. Maddox DD-731 was the victim of an 'unprovoked attack' in international waters off Vietnam, the Navy announced in Honolulu 8/1. No nation recognized the new regime and the French returned and swept it away, with remnants hiding in the mountains. Kallie Szczepanski contributed to this article. Why the United States Went to War in Vietnam, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/seato, https://millercenter.org/president/eisenhower/foreign-affairs, https://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/JFK-Speeches/Vietnam-Conference-Washington-DC_19560601.aspx, https://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations/Inaugural-Address.aspx. “The U.S. Army in Vietnam: Background, Buildup, and Operations, 1950–1967.” American Military History: The United States Army in a Global Era, 1917–2008, II, Center of Military History, pp. The United States had provided funding, armaments, and training to South Vietnam’s government and military since Vietnam’s partition into the communist North and the democratic South in 1954. In the article “The Causes of the Vietnam War” Andrew Rotter talks about all kinds of reasons why America went to war with Vietnam along with things that promoted America to get involved with Vietnam. Under the Party’s leadership, Vietnam fought wars against Japan (1945), France (First Indochina War, 1946-1955), and America (Second Indochina War, 1954-1975). Stewart, Richard W., editor. The United States enters the war Between the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and the U.S. presidential election in November 1964, the situation in Vietnam had changed for the worse. Instead his time in office is mostly associated with deepening American involvement in the war in Vietnam which ultimately proved futile. Why did the U.S. go to war in Vietnam? By 1969, there were half a million American soldiers fighting in the war. Throughout the early 1950s, the Viet Minh forces made significant gains. Ho Chi Minh helped initiate the First Indochina War, which took place from 1946 to 1954. American naval forces in the Gulf of Tonkin, on the coast of Vietnam, reported being fired upon by North Vietnamese gunboats. ", “The U.S. Army in Vietnam: Background, Buildup, and Operations, 1950–1967.”, "Military Health History Pocket Card for Health Professions Trainees & Clinicians.". The South was fighting against the Viet Cong, a communist party based in South Vietnam which was allied with North Vietnam. However, by the early 1970s the USA was forced to withdraw. The U.S. involvement in South Vietnam stemmed from a combination of factors: France's long colonial history in French Indochina, the US War with Japan in the Pacific, and both Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong's pledge in 1950 to support Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh's guerrilla forces. In March 1965, President Johnson ordered U.S. Marine battalions to defend the American airbase at Da Nang, Vietnam. The Cold War soon turned hot in divided Korea and Vietnam. Thuan delivered a letter from President Ngo Dinh Diem dealing with the Communist threat to his country. Winston Churchill, and later Harold Wilson, may be thought of as having kept Britain out of Vietnam, but in actual fact, that was only once it had begun to escalate.. The anti-war movement mobilized Americans in vast numbers, and public protest demonstrations against the war became commonplace. Why did America fight the Vietnam War? Tensions escalated into armed conflict between the two sides, and in 1961 U.S. President John F. Kennedy chose to expand the military aid program. Vietnam might not have become a zone of conflict for the United States had she adhered to Franklin Roosevelt’s wartime opposition to the return of French colonialists and his support for independence for Indochina once the Japanese had been defeated. The Korean War, sandwiched between the romanticism of World War II and America's traumatic experience in Vietnam, is often forgotten among the conflicts of … Learn why a country that had been barely known to most Americans came to define an era. The French were fighting in Vietnam to maintain their colonial power and to regain their national pride after the humiliation of World War II. Following Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963, the administration of Lyndon Johnson continued the same general policies of putting American advisers in the field beside South Vietnamese troops. Send the First Troops to Vietnam? Office of Academic Affiliations. Basically because the Vietnamese wanted to win more than the Americans did. America’s involvement in Vietnam, that was to lead to a full-scale military attack on North Vietnam, was all part of the Cold War scenario that had enveloped world politics. Should we trace it back to the 1940s when President Harry Truman authorized U.S. financial support of the French war in Indochina? National Archives. During the Vietnam War, there were a variety of reasons why USA became increasingly involved. However, the US started direct military action in Vietnam in 1964 until 1973. His reference to Southeast Asia becoming communist was major news the following day. The escalation continued throughout 1965, and by the end of that year, 184,000 American troops were in Vietnam. With the departure of the French, South Vietnam was left as an anti-communist dictatorship with U.S. backing. President Dwight Eisenhower invoked the Domino Theory in a press conference held in Washington on April 7, 1954. Vietnam unfurled a massive celebration on Thursday to mark the 40th anniversary of the end of its long war with the United States. Nguyyan Dinh Thuan, Chief Cabinet Minister to President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam, confers with President Kennedy in his White House office today. These are boom times for historians of the Vietnam War. In 1966, the troop totals rose again to 385,000. Why did the USA become increasingly involved in the Vietnam War? Even though the cause of the Vietnam War was generally unknown to the public, the government pressed on with the attacks. By the end of 1967, American troop totals peaked in Vietnam at 490,000.. Throughout the late 1960s, the mood in America transformed. The Real Reason America Lost the War in Vietnam: Japan. 289–335. Beginning in September, the Khanh government was succeeded by a bewildering array of cliques and coalitions, some of which stayed in power less than a month. In retrospect, the United States did not do much to end communism and it ended on its own. In Korea, the objective was to drive the aggressors back into North Korea and occupy that portion of … Taken to its extreme, the Domino Theory suggested that other nations throughout Asia would become satellites of either the Soviet Union or Communist China, much like nations in Eastern Europe had come under Soviet domination. As war continued, desire to find an "honorable peace" was motivation to keep troops in Vietnam. Japanese forces invaded Vietnam during World War II. Tensions escalated into armed conflict between the two sides, and in 1961 U.S. President John F. Kennedy chose to expand the military aid program. As 1963 progressed, the issue of Vietnam became more prominent in America. The United States had provided funding, armaments, and training to South Vietnam’s government and military since Vietnam’s partition into the communist North and the democratic South in 1954. The basic principle was that if French Indochina (Vietnam was still a French colony) fell to the communist insurgency, which had been battling the French, the expansion of communism throughout Asia would be likely to continue unchecked. The Domino Theory held that communism would spread if Vietnam became communist. On the home front, beginning in 1949, fear of domestic communists gripped America. The Gulf of Tonkin incident appeared to be a provocation for war. What for? Here, retired Colonel William C Haponski, co-author of ‘Autopsy of an Unwinnable War: Vietnam’, explains that the British were in fact one of five main players in early post-World War 2 Vietnam. Causes of the Vietnam war. The Vietnam War displayed the limits of US military power - 58,000 Americans died, millions of Vietnamese were killed. One was the Civil Rights War within the country, the other was the Vietnam War and another was the Cold War. Anti-involvement theorists argue that the U.S. shouldn’t have invaded Vietnam because Vietnam’s internal conflicts and political battles didn’t directly influence or affect America. This is a question historians continue to debate. This stated that if one country fell to communism, then its neighbour would and then the neighbour to this country. The main reason for the U.S. involvement in Vietnam was to prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. It was assumed by Johnson’s advisers that air attacks alone would cause the North Vietnamese to negotiate an end to armed conflict. ” It was a scary thing and the U. S. ealized what it was up against and why they needed to go to war with Vietnam. The U.S. government had an interest in the conflict in Indochina from the end of World War II until the mid-1950s when France found itself fighting against a communist insurgency led by Ho Chi Minh. Since the 19 th century, Vietnam had been under colonial rule. His vice-president, Hubert Humphrey advised him against it. The New York Times headlined a page one story about his press conference, “President Warns of Chain Disaster if Indo-China Goes.”. The military suffered over 58,000 casualties, and America withdrew in defeat. By August, the number increased to 100,000. America’s involvement in Vietnam, that was to lead to a full-scale military attack on North Vietnam, was all part of the Cold War scenario that had enveloped world politics. When Did the U.S. Out of fear of a great power confrontation with the Soviet Union, the United States fought a limited war, with the South China Sea to the east and … France'… Also the U.S. was afraid of communism taking over countries along with the reasons why … Also the U.S. was afraid of communism taking over countries along with the reasons why America did not like the government of North Vietnam. But there was still considerable support for the war, and Nixon had campaigned in 1968 pledging to bring an "honorable end" to the war. At the end of this war, North Vietnam was a communist dictatorship led by Ho Chi Minh while South Vietnam was all that remained of French colonial rule. Whatever happened in the confrontation, the Johnson administration used the incident to justify a military escalation. But things changed with an incident in the summer of 1964. The Americans began supporting the South Vietnamese with political and military advisers in the late 1950s. The conflict between the French and the Viet Minh came to a head at the … A prisoner of war blinked in Morse code to send one chilling word home to the U.S. government: "torture." There were a couple of reasons for this. It began to send military advisors to help train and support the South Vietnamese army . There was an exchange of gunfire, though disputes about what exactly happened and what was reported to the public have persisted for decades. The President is shown here standing before a map of Cambodia. Japanese forces invaded Vietnam during World War II. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In 1954, the French lost and Vietnam was divided between north and south. The sentiment, especially among conservative voices in America, was that the sacrifice of so many killed and wounded in Vietnam would be in vain if America simply withdrew from the war. Decades later, the US is again trying to extract itself from costly wars. The American government, like some others, was very afraid that the communists might win, so they intervened on behalf of Vietnam to try to stop the spread of Communism. One reason America went to war was because President Harry Truman authorized a military aid to the French. McCarthy saw communists everywhere in America and encouraged an atmosphere of hysteria and distrust. It marked the first time combat troops were inserted into the war. The McCarthy Era was marked by dramatic accusations that communists had infiltrated the highest levels of American society as part of a global conspiracy. The U.S. felt that it was losing the ​Cold War and needed to "contain" communism. By January 1966, the number was more than 200,000. The main reason for the U.S. involvement in Vietnam was to prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. ", "Transcript of President Eisenhower's Press Conference, With Comment on Indo-China. That same year, the Korean War began, pitting Communist North Korean and Chinese forces against the U.S. and its UN allies. He was Amazon.com's first-ever history editor and has bylines in New York, the Chicago Tribune, and other national outlets. By 1972, the idea that Vietnam posed a threat to Cold War America was so discredited, it sometimes sounded as if America’s only remaining war aim was to … The United States supported the anti-communist government in South Vietnam. The U.S.S. Top Essentials to Know About the Vietnam War. But did his government listen? With the vacuum caused by the defeat of Japan, an opportunity arose for the Communists to declare the "independence" of Vietnam in 1945. On February 8, 1962, the Kennedy administration formed the Military Assistance Command Vietnam, a military operation intended to accelerate the program of giving military aid to the South Vietnamese government. However, the forces of the South, without American combat support, could not hold off the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong. McGovern lost in a historic landslide, which seemed, in some part, to be a validation of Nixon’s avoidance of a speedy withdrawal from the war. The U.S. involvement in South Vietnam stemmed from a combination of factors: France's long colonial history in French Indochina, the US War with Japan in the Pacific, and both Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong's pledge in 1950 to support Ho Chi … Timeline of the Vietnam War (Second Indochina War), "President Warns of Chain Disaster If Indo-China Goes. "Military Health History Pocket Card for Health Professions Trainees & Clinicians." Vietnam war facts are also ones of remarkable feats of courage, determination, and sacrifice. The reasons for entering the Vietnam War no longer seemed so vital, especially when weighed against the cost of the war. One reason is resurgent public interest in a topic that had lost some of its salience in American life during the 1990s. Beginning in the mid-1950s, the American foreign policy establishment tended to view the situation in Southeast Asia in terms of the Domino Theory. April 30, 1970, Washington, DC. In March of that year, US troops landed in Da Nang. The US entered the Vietnam War in an attempt to prevent the spread of Communism.The objective is to make a country safe for the people to freely choose and live with their own government. Given Eisenhower’s credibility on military matters, his prominent endorsement of the Domino Theory placed it at the forefront of how many Americans for years would view the unfolding situation in Southeast Asia. During World War II the Japanese occupied Vietnam and disarmed the French. During the Second World War, Japan invaded the country. That did not happen. At the time, the capitalist South Vietnamese region was losing their fight against the communist North Vietnamese. First, the Americans were an … Fifty years ago, during the first six months of 1965, Lyndon Johnson made the decision to Americanize the conflict in Vietnam. One reason included how they thought it would be an 'easy' war to fight and for that reason, they would be able to easily win and the war would not go … The attack was made near the Communist Chinese held island of Hainan. Also, during that time the President of the United States declared that any country from their allies if demanded help to end communism, the US would provide it. Internationally, following World War II, country after country in Eastern Europe had fallen under communist rule, as had China, and the trend was spreading to other nations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia as well. After decades of conflict, more than 2.7 million Americans served in Vietnam and an estimated 47,424 lost their lives; and still, the reasons why the U.S. entered the Vietnam War to begin with remain controversial.. The United States government viewed involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and part of their wider strategy of containment. The main reason for the United States of America to become apart of the Vietnam War was to end communism and since the Soviet Union was involved already, it seemed more inviting for them. The Kennedy foreign policy was rooted, of course, in the Cold War, and the increase of American advisers reflected Kennedy’s rhetoric of standing up to communism wherever it might be found. The country spent much of the 1950s under the influence of the Red Scare, led by the virulently anti-communist Senator Joseph McCarthy. The Johnson administration began a series of airstrikes against targets in North Vietnam. Robert J. McNamara is a history expert and former magazine journalist. It was against this backdrop that the first U.S. military advisers were sent to help the French battle the communists of Northern Vietnam in 1950. Photo of Senator Joseph McCarthy. On April 22, 1971, speaking of losses in Vietnam and the desire to remain in the war, Kerry asked, “How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?”. What Americans call the Vietnam War was the second of three wars in Indochina during the Cold War, in which the United States, the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China intervened in shifting patterns of enmity and alliance. All Rights Reserved. And Chinese forces against the Viet Minh forces made significant gains defeat at Dien Bien Phu negotiations... Nominee George McGovern campaigned on a platform of withdrawing from Vietnam aid French. With remnants hiding in the mountains home to the U.S. and its UN allies, had formulated the Domino held... 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