Cause Effect Vietnam War

Adonis Silva
4/30/2015
8-012
Cause & Effect
Vietnam War

The causes of the Vietnam War trace their roots back to the end of World War II. A French Colony, Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, & Cambodia) had been occupied by the Japanese during the war. In 1941, a Vietnamese nationalist movement, the Viet Minh, was formed by Ho Chi Minh to resist the occupiers. Before World War Two, Vietnam had been part of the French Empire. During the war, the country had been overrun by the Japanese. When the Japanese retreated, the people of Vietnam took the opportunity to establish their own government lead by Ho Chi Minh.
In October 1946, the French announced their intention of reclaiming the north which meant that the Viet Minh would have to fight for it. The war started in November 1946, when the French bombarded the port of Haiphong and killed 6,000 people. The French tried to win over the people of the north by offering them independence. However, the people would not be allowed to do anything without French permission! A new leader of the country was appointed called Bao Dai. The Russians and Eastern Europe refused to recognize his rule. They claimed that Ho Chi Minh was the real ruler of Vietnam. North Vietnam had a population of 16 million. It was an agricultural nation. The Viet Minh trained guerrillas to go to the south to spread the word of communism. Their weapons mostly came from communist China. To the surprise of the South Vietnamese, those Viet Minh who went to the south helped them on their farms and did not abuse them. They had become used to fearing soldiers. Instead, the Viet Minh were courteous and helpful. During the 1950's, America had developed her Domino Theory. This was the creation of John Foster Dulles, America's Secretary of State. He believed that if one country was allowed to fall to communism, the country next to it would be the next to tumble just as when one domino falls the rest go with it if they are connected. In view of the fear in America of communism spreading throughout the world, the thought of Vietnam starting this process of turning to communism and then it spreading was unacceptable.

By the time of Kennedy’s presidency, it was clear in Washington DC that if there was to be a successful campaign against the North, Diem had to go as he was too much of a divisive leader. In September 1963, Kennedy stated that Diem’s government had to make more of an effort to win over those people in South Vietnam who were neither from his background nor Roman Catholic. Kennedy also stated that he thought, “The repressions against the Buddhists in the country were very unwise.”
The Vietnam War pitted America against communism and was a classic example of Cold War conflict. The western allies had been victorious in Berlin, but communism had taken root in China. Eastern Europe remained under Russian control and in Vietnam the American feared threat of the spread communism seemed to be real.
During the 1950's, America had developed her Domino Theory. This was the creation of John Foster Dulles, America's Secretary of State. He believed that if one country was allowed to fall to communism, the country next to it would be the next to tumble just as when one domino falls the rest go with it if they are connected. In view of the fear in America of communism spreading throughout the world, the thought of Vietnam starting this process of turning to communism and then it spreading was unacceptable.
America had already sent "special advisors" to South Vietnam since 1955. By 1961, there were 1,500 special advisors in the country. These were men from America's Special Forces who were there to train the South Vietnamese Army in how to fight the Viet Cong. By 1963, there were 16,000 special advisors in South Vietnam.
Following the Tongking Incident in 1964, the US Senate essentially gave the President the power to provide assistance to any country that needed to defend its freedom. By February 1965 aerial bombing of North Vietnam had commenced and from March till December 1965, 150,000 American troops had been landed in South Vietnam.
By May 1968, the North Vietnamese were willing to start talks that would lead to a peace settlement. Talks started in Paris and very slow progress was made over 5 years. The major sticking points were that Ho Chi Minh wanted all foreigners out of Vietnam and he wanted the country to be internationally accepted as a united country. America was still hampered by her support of the domino theory but the war had become very unpopular at home and the politicians were aware of the views of the voting population.
In 1969, the American president, Richard Nixon, agreed to reduce the number of American troops in South Vietnam. He pursued a policy called "Vietnamisation" whereby the South Vietnamese would be assisted in material matters by the Americans but the fighting would be done by the South Vietnamese Army. In December 1970, there were 350,000 American troops in South Vietnam. By September 1972, there were just 40,000.
In January 1973, all sides agreed to a cease fire during which the remaining American troops would have to be withdrawn and all POW's would have to be released. It was agreed that Vietnam would be "eventually reunited".
America's involvement in Vietnam ended in 1973. The war had cost her one billion dollars a day at its peak; she had dropped 7 million tons of bombs - more than the entire total of all participants in World War Two. The cost of the war in 1968 alone was $88,000 million while the combined spending on education, health and housing in that year was $24,000 million. The ceasefire lasted no time at all and the North attacked what was left of the South's army. By April 1975, Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam had fallen. It was re-named Ho Chi Minh City and a united Vietnam came into being.

Effects - The Vietnam War was a very costly war. It not only affected those in battles, but it also left behind long term effects on people everywhere in the world. It was an extremely costly war with over 58,000 Americans dead and over 150,000 wounded in battle. Many Americans were affected by the war for so many had died and many more were wounded. North Vietnam was victorious over South Vietnam and allied forces. The Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 marked the end of a very bloody war. The Vietnam War had many long lasting effects on the veterans who fought for America from the 1950s to the 1970s. Some veterans from Vietnam even formed groups against the war. These veterans formed an organization known as Vietnam Veterans against the War.