How Did Ngo Dinh Diem Get Independent Vietnam

Essay 1 Vietnam was in quite an unstable state following World War Two. It was not until the Geneva Accords in 1954 that some stability came to the Indochinese state. The Accords established a temporary cease-fire between the newly divided nation, but hostilities mounted as two radically different worldviews plagued its 27 million inhabitants. Ho Chi Minh and the communists in the North had their troubles, but they managed to build along party lines and continually increased their power and influence. Southern Vietnam would not fare as well. Ngo Dinh Diem was the prime minister under emperor Bao Dai. American leaders felt strongly that he embodied the traits necessary to produce a unified, independent Vietnam. Most in the United States “believed
Peasants made up the large majority of the population. The United States urged for land reform and redistribution. Many villagers outside of Saigon had suffered greatly at the hands of the French. But instead of following U.S. advice, Diem simply replaced local leadership with government-appointed officials to oversee the many outlying districts. This centralizing technique made it appear that he had matters under control, but in reality he did not. “The problem… was very simple: the Ngo family wanted American aid, American equipment and some American troops, but it did not want American advice” (Halberstam 41). With the country spiraling downward and insurgency brewing in the north, Diem and the Nhu’s continued to deny the obvious misfortunes unraveling before them. War had essentially broken out by 1959, but Diem wouldn’t recognize it as war. Members within his own government eventually turned on him. America continued to support him, believing that only whole-hearted support could influence Diem and generate change. His time as Vietnam’s leader started out promising, but the legacy he left was darkened by shadows of pride. The leader he sought to be was not the leader he eventually