America's Policy on the Vietnam War
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
With these defiant words, John F. Kennedy seemed to be spelling out his position on American policy toward the Vietnam War during his inaugural address on 20 January 1961. However, it is questionable whether or not he maintained this conviction throughout his brief stint as this nation’s leader. Throughout Kennedy’s term in office, evidence points to the fact that he initially felt strongly about staying the course with the policies handed down to him by the Eisenhower Administration; yet later he began to indicate his desire to pull away from total American support of this continued involvement in Vietnam. However, before he could take final action on whatever his decisions were, John F. Kennedy was killed; and Lyndon B. Johnson became president, thus placing the war policy in his hands. Rather than pulling back American forces from Vietnam as it seemed the Kennedy Administration may have intended, Johnson escalated the American commitment to this war transforming it from an internal Vietnamese civil war to America’s fight against communism. Perhaps, however, the Kennedy Administration intended to secure South Vietnam’s status as a democratic state. If America had backed out of Vietnam, then it would have demonstrated to its allies that it only cared about its own internal affairs and that preserving worldwide democracy was not the priority that Kennedy alluded to as he took office. It is hard to say if things would have been different had Kennedy not been assassinated and remained in charge of America’s foreign policy. His reaction to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, which was a major cause for the war’s escalation, can only be assumed as he never had to face the dilemma. Although the Johnson Administration took the Vietnam War to a new
With these defiant words, John F. Kennedy seemed to be spelling out his position on American policy toward the Vietnam War during his inaugural address on 20 January 1961. However, it is questionable whether or not he maintained this conviction throughout his brief stint as this nation’s leader. Throughout Kennedy’s term in office, evidence points to the fact that he initially felt strongly about staying the course with the policies handed down to him by the Eisenhower Administration; yet later he began to indicate his desire to pull away from total American support of this continued involvement in Vietnam. However, before he could take final action on whatever his decisions were, John F. Kennedy was killed; and Lyndon B. Johnson became president, thus placing the war policy in his hands. Rather than pulling back American forces from Vietnam as it seemed the Kennedy Administration may have intended, Johnson escalated the American commitment to this war transforming it from an internal Vietnamese civil war to America’s fight against communism. Perhaps, however, the Kennedy Administration intended to secure South Vietnam’s status as a democratic state. If America had backed out of Vietnam, then it would have demonstrated to its allies that it only cared about its own internal affairs and that preserving worldwide democracy was not the priority that Kennedy alluded to as he took office. It is hard to say if things would have been different had Kennedy not been assassinated and remained in charge of America’s foreign policy. His reaction to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, which was a major cause for the war’s escalation, can only be assumed as he never had to face the dilemma. Although the Johnson Administration took the Vietnam War to a new
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