The Impact of the Vietnam War on America

The Vietnam War

It was in 1954 that Ho Chi Minh , the famed Vietnamese general and leader is fighting for independence for his beloved country , Vietnam They are under French colonization at that time . With the help of USSR and China , Ho Chi Minh , together with his army Viet Minh , has successfully liberated the nation from the clutches of France

Ho Chi Minh won the battle , and America is not happy with it . The U .S viewed Ho Chi Minh as a big threat . Although his main objective is to attain independence

, which the country is supportive about , he is a known Communist . The U .S . opposes all forms of Communism . The government believes that the Communist system in general is a threat to the U .S democratic system . The effect will be more apparent in the economical aspect . The U .S . also believed in the Domino Theory . They believed that if one nation in a certain region succumbs to Communism , the rest of the neighboring lands would follow . Because of this , the U .S . decided to side with France to regain her former colony . Vietnam is not ready to be free , not with it being a Communist country , it believes . They are , at that point , are putting into action their Containment Policy to overturn the situation

The French Army is fighting an important battle again against Viet Minh . The French believed that they could take the group through open battle . Henri Navarre , the French general , selected the isolated city of Dien Bien Phu to take his stand on . The Viet Minh army in Dien Bien Phu is under General Giap 's command . They anticipated the French 's tactics so they accepted the challenge for battle . Both parties would like to secure victory on Dien Bien Phu . There is a conference being held in Geneva to settle the conflict on Vietnam . Whoever wins the battle would surely gain better grounds on the bargain (Wiest 14 . As foreseen , the Viet Minh artillery proved to be stronger than the French army . They claimed victory of Dien Bien Phu and drove the French away . With the elimination of the French army , Northern Vietnam became tremendously strong . They seek governance of the whole land . Southern Vietnam , on the other hand refuses , and would like to maintain its sovereignity . Another conflict is coming about

Still backed by the Soviet and China , North Vietnam is moving on to siezing control . The U .S . now found the chance to join the war . They , on the other hand , backed South Vietnam as they backed the French army

The American involvement is an effect of the Containment Policy of their government . This policy is in effect even during the early years of the Cold War . The main purpose of it is to overpower USSR and prevent its government from expanding their territory along with communism or even to persuade other nations to embrace the idea

The American government with the policy at hand got its troops marching to Vietnam...