Us Involvement In The Vietnam War Essay
Why did the United States get involved in the Vietnam War?
One thing that got the United States into the Vietnam War was the end of colonialism. The European countries were unable to deny the escalating demands for independence in their Asian colonies. In Vietnam, for instance, an independence movement under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh rose to challenge French rule. The United States helped France by giving financial and military aid.
Ho Chi Minh was also a communist, which brings up another reason for the United States involvement with the war. The United States ' top priority would be to "contain" communism and bring it to a halt.
Some people say that the war was an immoral, unjust war, or that communism is not that bad, and not so monolithic or evil (Dudley and Bender, 91.)
Communism is very monolithic, in that, the laws are pretty much stuck one way. You are held in the palm of the government 's hand. You are made to believe what they want you to believe, and that in itself makes it evil. Communism is not a good thing to spread. It causes lots of suffering.
Imagine a world where there was no freedom of speech, no freedom to vote, no …show more content…
freedom of assembly, or no right to a fair trial. Even imagine a world where there was no freedom whatsoever. These, all nightmares of communism, were all rights that the United States was protecting for us and the rest of the world.
Most of the countries in Asia, including South Vietnam, could not resist the ambitions of Asian communism alone. The U.S. ' power was a necessity (Dudley and Bender, 99-100.)
South Vietnam was a place where people could maybe look forward to better possibilities to come about. "The real question in the American intervention of the Vietnam War was not whether to intervene, but how to intervene effectively" ( Dudley and Bender, 100.)
The United States feared the spread of communism in Asia and the rest of the world. With that in mind, the U.S. provided economic and military aid to South Vietnam, much like it did to help the English before the U.S. entered World War II, to prevent the takeover by North Vietnam. Although the U.S. was not officially in the war, the North Vietnamese resented the little intervention, and so, torpedo boats fired onto the U.S. S. Destroyer in August of 1964, which was another cause for the U.S. to become more involved (Riggs.)
Another reason the United States wished to maintain independence of Vietnam was to prove to allied nation that we would help them resist communist overtaking. Virtually the entire world was worried about global spread of communism. "The U.S. had to enter the war to stop the spread of communism in Asia (Riggs.)" If North Vietnam were to succeed in converting Vietnam into a communist country, it could become very powerful and go on to persuade other countries to become Communists ( Domino Theory.)
Another important fact about the Vietnam War is that if there was a new communist state, then it might quite possibly be the most powerful country in that part of the world (Dudley 87.) With this happening there would be an imbalance of power.
The notion that the Vietnam War was wrong and immoral is based mainly onjthe idea that it was only a civil until the United States got into it. People thought that the intervention of the United States was an act of aggression against people who were trying to decontrol themselves from a difficult government to bring them together into one nation. The U.S. intervention was, "in truth a noble cause. A small country newly free from colonial rule [from France] sought our help in establishing self-rule and the means of self-defense against a totalitarian neighbor bent on conquest (Dudley and Bender, 99.)" After all, the United States do have a commitment to uphold. The Senate voted a resolution in 1965, which said that the United States would help that country in need of assistance to resist any further aggression, and specifically authorized the President to take whatever steps necessary to resist the aggression. The U.S. is committed to resisting communist aggression (Salisbury, 109.)
We must face the world as it is.
It is terribly divided, politically and philosophically, which has turned it into a big war of survival. The defense of the free world rests in a very important balance. That is what is being fought for every day and in the Vietnam War.
The communists are attempting to prevent the orderly development of independence and to confuse the issue before the world. The scheme is to whip up the spirit of nationalism so that it becomes violent. That is done by professional agitators. Then the violence is enlarged by communist military and technical leadership and the provision of military supplies. In these ways, international communism gets a strong hold on the people (Duiker, 55-56.)
With that note, it is apparent that the U.S. needed to take action before the situation at hand got out of
control.
The Vietnam War was courageously fought. Although the war was lost, the United States arms acquired Asia the time needed to become as free as it is today. It stalled expansionism in Asia and bought time for the non-communists to develop their free institutions (On the Issues.)
Although there were some bad intentions for the war, there were also some good intentions. In order to receive good things you have to go through some bad things. As anyone should realize, you cant ' get some good without a little consequence.
Works Cited
Dudley, William and David Bender, ed. The Vietnam War: Opposing Viewpoints.
Opposing Viewpoints Series. San Diego, California, Greenhaven press, Inc., 1984.
Freeman, James. "Why Communism is Bad." USA Today.
"On the Issues: Vietnam War." USA Today.
Overview: The Vietnam War."
Riggs, William F. Electronic Countermeasures Operator, Petty Officer 3rd Class.
Personal interview. 23 Apr 2001.
Salisbury, Harrison E., ed. Vietnam Reconsidered. New York, Harper and Row, 1984.
One thing that got the United States into the Vietnam War was the end of colonialism. The European countries were unable to deny the escalating demands for independence in their Asian colonies. In Vietnam, for instance, an independence movement under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh rose to challenge French rule. The United States helped France by giving financial and military aid.
Ho Chi Minh was also a communist, which brings up another reason for the United States involvement with the war. The United States ' top priority would be to "contain" communism and bring it to a halt.
Some people say that the war was an immoral, unjust war, or that communism is not that bad, and not so monolithic or evil (Dudley and Bender, 91.)
Communism is very monolithic, in that, the laws are pretty much stuck one way. You are held in the palm of the government 's hand. You are made to believe what they want you to believe, and that in itself makes it evil. Communism is not a good thing to spread. It causes lots of suffering.
Imagine a world where there was no freedom of speech, no freedom to vote, no …show more content…
freedom of assembly, or no right to a fair trial. Even imagine a world where there was no freedom whatsoever. These, all nightmares of communism, were all rights that the United States was protecting for us and the rest of the world.
Most of the countries in Asia, including South Vietnam, could not resist the ambitions of Asian communism alone. The U.S. ' power was a necessity (Dudley and Bender, 99-100.)
South Vietnam was a place where people could maybe look forward to better possibilities to come about. "The real question in the American intervention of the Vietnam War was not whether to intervene, but how to intervene effectively" ( Dudley and Bender, 100.)
The United States feared the spread of communism in Asia and the rest of the world. With that in mind, the U.S. provided economic and military aid to South Vietnam, much like it did to help the English before the U.S. entered World War II, to prevent the takeover by North Vietnam. Although the U.S. was not officially in the war, the North Vietnamese resented the little intervention, and so, torpedo boats fired onto the U.S. S. Destroyer in August of 1964, which was another cause for the U.S. to become more involved (Riggs.)
Another reason the United States wished to maintain independence of Vietnam was to prove to allied nation that we would help them resist communist overtaking. Virtually the entire world was worried about global spread of communism. "The U.S. had to enter the war to stop the spread of communism in Asia (Riggs.)" If North Vietnam were to succeed in converting Vietnam into a communist country, it could become very powerful and go on to persuade other countries to become Communists ( Domino Theory.)
Another important fact about the Vietnam War is that if there was a new communist state, then it might quite possibly be the most powerful country in that part of the world (Dudley 87.) With this happening there would be an imbalance of power.
The notion that the Vietnam War was wrong and immoral is based mainly onjthe idea that it was only a civil until the United States got into it. People thought that the intervention of the United States was an act of aggression against people who were trying to decontrol themselves from a difficult government to bring them together into one nation. The U.S. intervention was, "in truth a noble cause. A small country newly free from colonial rule [from France] sought our help in establishing self-rule and the means of self-defense against a totalitarian neighbor bent on conquest (Dudley and Bender, 99.)" After all, the United States do have a commitment to uphold. The Senate voted a resolution in 1965, which said that the United States would help that country in need of assistance to resist any further aggression, and specifically authorized the President to take whatever steps necessary to resist the aggression. The U.S. is committed to resisting communist aggression (Salisbury, 109.)
We must face the world as it is.
It is terribly divided, politically and philosophically, which has turned it into a big war of survival. The defense of the free world rests in a very important balance. That is what is being fought for every day and in the Vietnam War.
The communists are attempting to prevent the orderly development of independence and to confuse the issue before the world. The scheme is to whip up the spirit of nationalism so that it becomes violent. That is done by professional agitators. Then the violence is enlarged by communist military and technical leadership and the provision of military supplies. In these ways, international communism gets a strong hold on the people (Duiker, 55-56.)
With that note, it is apparent that the U.S. needed to take action before the situation at hand got out of
control.
The Vietnam War was courageously fought. Although the war was lost, the United States arms acquired Asia the time needed to become as free as it is today. It stalled expansionism in Asia and bought time for the non-communists to develop their free institutions (On the Issues.)
Although there were some bad intentions for the war, there were also some good intentions. In order to receive good things you have to go through some bad things. As anyone should realize, you cant ' get some good without a little consequence.
Works Cited
Dudley, William and David Bender, ed. The Vietnam War: Opposing Viewpoints.
Opposing Viewpoints Series. San Diego, California, Greenhaven press, Inc., 1984.
Freeman, James. "Why Communism is Bad." USA Today.
"On the Issues: Vietnam War." USA Today.
Overview: The Vietnam War."
Riggs, William F. Electronic Countermeasures Operator, Petty Officer 3rd Class.
Personal interview. 23 Apr 2001.
Salisbury, Harrison E., ed. Vietnam Reconsidered. New York, Harper and Row, 1984.