Mr. Wilcox
American History
27 March 2011
Vietnam War Research Paper Why is the Vietnam War so significant in American history? How did it really affect America? The Vietnam War was the prolonged struggle between nationalist forces trying to unify Vietnam under a communist government, and the United States attempting to prevent the spread of communism. There are many lessons learned throughout this war that America, hopefully, will never undergo again. There are a series of events that led up to this full-scale war. First, the U.S. tried to prevent Vietnam from becoming a communist nation, so they sent the French military aid to help rule against this. Soon enough, France wanted to withdraw their troops out of Vietnam; the Geneva Conference was a meeting between many nations deciding how France could peacefully pull out troops. A bit later, there was supposed to be a General democratic election held, but America refused to agree to the election, afraid that the communists would win. In 1965, the U.S. sent ground troops to help South Vietnam, sparking tensions between the U.S. and North Vietnam. From 1965 …show more content…
Soon began peace talks in Paris that finally succeeded in producing a cease-fire agreement. Nixon declares the news of the decisions made during the Paris peace talks. “Good evening. I have asked for this radio and television time tonight for the purpose of announcing that we today have concluded an agreement to end the war and bring peace with honor in Vietnam and in Southeast Asia. The following statement is being issued at this moment in Washington and Hanoi: At 12:30 Paris time today [Tuesday], January 23, 1973, the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam was initialed by Dr. Henry Kissinger on behalf of the United States, and Special Adviser Le Duc Tho on behalf of the Democratic Republic of