Why USA Became Involved in Vietnam

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Why USA Became Involved in Vietnam Before the Second World War, the region between India and China which now includes Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos was part of the French Empire. During the Second World War, however, Japan controlled Vietnam. After the war, the French tried to take over again but a communist group, the Vietminh wanted independence. During this war of independence the USA became involved as well. This essay will look at the reasons of why they did. The first reason why the USAbecame involved in Vietnam was the Domino theory. President Eisenhower first used the term in 1954 to justify US involvement in South East Asia, particularly Vietnam. The Domino theory was first evident in Eastern Europe when Stalin was taking over the Eastern European countries one by one with communism. However, it grew more serious when China fell to communism in 1949, closely followed by North Korea in 1950. There was a fear that communism would spread all over the world. The Domino Theory was a long term cause of why the USA became involved in Vietnam because the term was invented long before the Vietnam war. A second reason why the USAbecame involved in Vietnam was the US policy of containment which is why Truman supported the French in Vietnam even though he did not believe in colonisation. Also, he did this as soon as China fell to communism in 1949. Containment was the backbone of US foreign policy to stop the spread of communism to other regions of the world and give economic help to any country resisting communism. Containment was put to practice in Europe due to communism in Eastern Europe by Marshall Aid and Truman Doctrine. The ... ... middle of paper ... ...easons above and is the backbone of US foreign policy, for example, Kennedy and Johnson's foreign policies are both linked with containment as they both take all necessary steps to try and stop the spread of communism. The USA could not make the already existing communist countries to change but it could stop communism from spreading and stop it in its tracks. It did not want to be the country that allowed communism to win, therefore, using its policy of containment it took every possible route to weaken and demolish it, which is why USAbecame so involved in fighting communism in Vietnam. Bibliography: · Class notes and worksheets · Hindsight magazine · www.bbc.co.uk/education/gcsebitesize (history section) · www.learn.co.uk · www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam · The Cold War by J. Owen
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