The U.S. Contained Communism In Vietnam Essay, Research Paper

In 1949, Mao Zedong led the Peoples Revolution, which established a Communist State in China. Communism has now been introduced to Asia. In this period, after World War II, Communism was a popular political orientation being introduced throughout the universe. Vietnam was one of the many states under the menace of Communism. At this clip, Vietnam was a Gallic Colony. As clip went on tenseness started to come between the Gallic and the Vietnamese people. As tenseness increased so did the combat between the Gallic and The Vietnamese. Finally in 1954, The Gallic decided that they could no longer defy the rebellions of the Vietnamese. The Vietnamese were now free of Gallic regulation. However, many jobs still remained in Vietnam. After the war there was a conference to discourse the problems in Vietnam and all of the other problems in Asia. That conference was called the Geneva Conference. Vietnam sent two deputations to the conference. One of the deputations represented Viet Minh ( which was Communist in their propensities ) and the other represented Bao Dia? s authorities, which was backed by the United States. Both claimed to stand for all of Vietnam. At the conference there was a treatment about spliting Vietnam at the 17th analogue to work out the problems between the two deputations. Now there were two Vietnams. One, in the North, was under Communist regulation and the other, in the South, was non. While the Geneva Conference was being held, the United States was already concerned about Communism being spread. The United States so decided that the lone manner to work out the jobs would be to incorporate Communism including in Vietnam.

The true reply to why the United States got involved in Vietnam lies in portion in the Truman Doctrine. This statement is true for two grounds. First, the Truman Doctrine set forth a policy that was applied the international spread of Communism. Second, the Truman Doctrine was brought up when the struggle in Vietnam was increasing. The first United States engagement in Vietnam began in the late 1940? s, long before it escalated to include the United States Military. Because of the basic footings or the Truman Doctrine, the United States was drawn in the Vietnam struggle. The Truman Doctrine dealt with frights of Communism, the Domino theory, and a feeling at that place was a demand for containment. All of Vietnam was in danger of falling into the custodies of Communism. The menace of Communism that was blossoming could stop was with the United States worst frights coming true, or a successful attempt of containment and the spreading of democracy. Therefore, the Truman Doctrine and Vietnam were really much intertwined.

The Truman Doctrine was brought Forth before Congress on March 12, 1947.

Although non straight stated, the message was strongly implied. President Truman talked about a society? based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the bulk & # 8230 ; panic and subjugation, a controlled imperativeness and wireless, fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms. ? This society was a incubus in the eyes of the United States ; this type of government was called Communism.

In add-on to speech production of the panic of Communism, the Truman Doctrine called for an anti-Communist foreign policy. President Truman stated, ? One of the primary aims of the foreign policy of the United States is the creative activity of conditions in which we and other states will be able to work out a manner of life free from coercion. ? The Truman Doctrine, in kernel, said three things. Communism was thought of as a menace to freedom. A menace to freedom anyplace represented a menace to freedom everyplace. The United States had an duty to hold the spread of communism.

Dwight Eisenhower, the President of the United States after Truman, wanted to back up the South Vietnamese. At a intelligence conference, Eisenhower stated, & # 8220 ; You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will go on to the last 1 is a certainty that it will travel over really quickly. & # 8221 ; Eisenhower believed that if the United States didn & # 8217 ; t measure to the assistance of the South Vietnamese, they would fall to the Communist aggressions, as would the remainder of Southeast Asia. President Eisenhower and his staff so started to put up a program for the support of Vietnam. Eisenhower & # 8217 ; s secretary of State, John Dulles, was determined that the American & # 8217 ; s could construct up South Vietnam as a Barrier to Ho Chi Minh ( Ho Chi Minh was the leader of the Communist party in North Vietnam )

and his Communist followings.

The Vietnam struggle changed when John F. Kennedy took the Presidential curse of office in 1961. Kennedy had long been interested in Vietnam. As a senator, he had visited the state in 1951. Like Truman and Eisenhower, Kennedy felt the United States needed to incorporate the spread of Communism. Kennedy wanted to take more military action against Communist Rebels. When Kennedy took office at that place were merely 900 American military advisers in Vietnam. Diem? s Army of the Republic of Vietnam ( known as ARVN ) numbered 200,000 work forces, opposing a Viet Cong guerilla force of merely 17,000 work forces. The ARVN seemed unable to stomp out the Viet Cong ( Communist Rebels ) . Kennedy wanted to cognize why this was go oning. In October of 1961 he sent General Maxwell Taylor and Walt Rostow to Vietnam to analyze the state of affairs. When both Taylor and Rostow returned, they presented a simple program. That program was that more American engagement was needed in Vietnam. They both wanted Kennedy to direct extra advisers to South Vietnam to demo the ground forces and the authorities how to better. Along with the advisers, they besides called for 10,000 American combat military personnels to contend the war straight. Kennedy didn? T want to direct in combat military personnels, but he did hold that there was a demand for military personnels. He decided to increase the Green Beret forces and to direct in more military equipment. The new U.S. advisers took a more active function in the combat. Some of them went into combat with the ARVN forces.

On December 22, 1961, one of the advisers, James T. Davis, was siting in a truck with some 10s South Vietnamese soldiers. The truck ran over a Viet Cong land mine buried in the route. Davis, who was unhurt by the detonation, jumped out of the truck with his gun ready. The Viet Cong were concealing in some nearby brush alongside of the route. The Viet Cong jumped out of the shrubs and gunned down Davis and the South Vietnamese soldiers he was developing.

The Americans found that the ARVN military personnels were eager to larn but did non execute good in combat. They were both ill paid and ill led. The lone ground why their officers were appointed was because they had? connexions? and a trueness to Diem. The American advisers were non able to give the South Vietnamese a combat spirit that was tantamount to the Viet Cong. The Americans continued to seek to assist the South Vietnamese ground forces, but it did no good. Soon there was more problem in South Vietnam than there was before. The American advisers tried to carry Diem to reform his authorities, but Diem wasn? t 1 who would be coerced. Corruptness spread throughout all the degrees of the authorities. The South Vietnamese people were get downing to protest against their authorities. Diem could no longer travel on without the population? s support. Diem shortly started to fear for his life. Diem asked to be hidden so that he would be safe, but that did no good. Diem and his brother, Nhu, were both assassinated in the autumn of 1963. When the intelligence of the blackwash reached Kennedy there was talk about Kennedy retreating the United States advisers from Vietnam. Three hebdomads subsequently Kennedy excessively, was assassinated. These events changed the range of the United States engagement in the Vietnam struggle.

The United States? program to incorporate Communism in Vietnam finally failed. The United States? forces fought many rough conflicts but were ne’er able to work out the job that was traveling on in Vietnam. On April 30th 1975, The South Vietnamese officially surrendered to the North Vietnamese. Staying United States forces and some of our South Vietnamese Allies were forced to evacuate in an exigency airlift. However, many who worked with the U.S. were unable to get away an finally were either killed or? reeducated. ? In decision attempts to incorporate Communism in Vietnam failed. Some of the grounds include: Lack of domestic support in the United States ; Failure to let the Military leaders to efficaciously put to death the war attempt in South East Asia ; Inability to change over the Black Marias and heads of the Vietnamese people. The lessons learned from the Vietnam experience have dominated the United States Military and political argument for the last 25 old ages.

Works CitedMarrin, Albert. America and Vietnam. New York: Penguin Group

Charlton, Michael. Many Reasons Why The American Involvement In Vietnam. New York: Hill And Wang

Ian Beckett, eds. The March Of Communism. New York: Bison Books

Hoobler, Thomas. Vietnam Why We Fought. New York: Alfred A. Knopf