Turning point of the Cold War and JKF Assassination
Turning point of the Cold War and JKF Assassination
The assassination of President Kennedy was the turning point in history as many felt he and his family was American royalty, he had the ability to reach Americans through his speeches, as it helped Americans through some stressful times in cold war history, he was a catalyst in allowing Americans to be part of history from the first walk on the moon and the equality of all human rights in the United States. One of his most famous sayings and what rallied so many Americans behind President Kennedy: “And so my fellow Americans… ask not what your country can do for you… ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world… ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” On November 22, 1963, just three weeks after Diem’s assassination in Saigon, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into office, kept Kennedy’s key Vietnam advisors in place, and pledged, “Let us continue.” The United States would soon be well past the point of no return in Vietnam. For President Johnson, it was very difficult to repudiate his predecessors’ legacy in Vietnam, especially the fact he was not elected but became President by default due to the death of President Kennedy. Johnson and his administration felt compelled to escalate the U.S. involvement as more and more Americans were becoming increasingly vulnerable to the Vietcong attacks.
On May 4, 1964, a trade embargo was imposed on North Vietnam, this in fact was a notable stepping up of hostilities. Some would say trade embargoes can be more effective than the actual art of war. But in many cases these trade embargoes are the catalyst for initiation of war, in this such case with the Vietnam War.
In 1965, Johnson began sending ground troops into Vietnam, from this point on the Vietnam War was nicknamed “Johnson’s war.” Johnson also felt it
The assassination of President Kennedy was the turning point in history as many felt he and his family was American royalty, he had the ability to reach Americans through his speeches, as it helped Americans through some stressful times in cold war history, he was a catalyst in allowing Americans to be part of history from the first walk on the moon and the equality of all human rights in the United States. One of his most famous sayings and what rallied so many Americans behind President Kennedy: “And so my fellow Americans… ask not what your country can do for you… ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world… ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” On November 22, 1963, just three weeks after Diem’s assassination in Saigon, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into office, kept Kennedy’s key Vietnam advisors in place, and pledged, “Let us continue.” The United States would soon be well past the point of no return in Vietnam. For President Johnson, it was very difficult to repudiate his predecessors’ legacy in Vietnam, especially the fact he was not elected but became President by default due to the death of President Kennedy. Johnson and his administration felt compelled to escalate the U.S. involvement as more and more Americans were becoming increasingly vulnerable to the Vietcong attacks.
On May 4, 1964, a trade embargo was imposed on North Vietnam, this in fact was a notable stepping up of hostilities. Some would say trade embargoes can be more effective than the actual art of war. But in many cases these trade embargoes are the catalyst for initiation of war, in this such case with the Vietnam War.
In 1965, Johnson began sending ground troops into Vietnam, from this point on the Vietnam War was nicknamed “Johnson’s war.” Johnson also felt it
Bibliography: Forrest, S. (n.d.). Tet offensive: a turning Point in the Vietnam war. Retrieved from http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~socappeal/1968/vietnam.html Sanders, V. (2008). Turning Points in the Vietnam War. Retrieved from History Today: http://www.historytoday.com/viv-sandders/turning-points-vietnam-war Woods, A. (2008, January 30). Marxist. Retrieved from The Tet Offensive: the turning point in the Vietnam War- Part One: http://www.marxist.com/tet-offensive-part-one.htm