Ms. Alves
Period 4 Civics
2/20/2014
The Vietnam War and its Effect on American Society The Vietnam War was started by President Eisenhower. He was the first to involve the United States in the conflict between North and South Vietnam, by putting in CIA operatives and military advisors in South Vietnam (ushistory). The US's involvement grew with every passing president. President Kennedy was the first to put soldiers in Vietnam. Johnson orders the first official combat of the United States soldiers. Finally, the war ended after eighteen years after it was declared by President Richard Nixon.
The war had a lasting effect on all parties involved. The US lost its first war, the objective of stopping communism from spreading failed. The war was also the first that the people and soldiers couldn't look back on with pride of a sense of accomplishment (Hochgesang, Lawyer, Stevenson 1). Due to the government’s secrecy and over reach of power, a distrust of the United States government, as an institution, grew that still exists today. The fall out of the war had massive, negative impacts on south East Asian countries. More countries would fall to communism. The devastation of the war caused economic repercussions that still effect countries today. Not only did the war cause lasting damage multiple countries, but it allowed situations that caused the death, slaughter, and starvation of millions in the years following the war (sparknotes). The Vietnam War was started based on the Domino Theory. This theory was adopted by President Eisenhower; it concisely stated that if South Vietnam fell to communism, many other South East Asia countries would become more accepting of communism and eventually adopt it (vietnamawbb 1).
“If Indochina falls, Thailand is put in an almost impossible position. The same is true of Malaya with its rubber and tin. The same is true of Indonesia. If this whole part of South East Asia goes under Communist domination or