Why Did the Usa Become Involved in the Vietnam War?
Why did the USA become involved in the Vietnam War? The Vietnam War was a military conflict that was fought in Southern Vietnam between 1959 and 1975. The Vietnam War was the source of many conflicting political and social opinions, especially in the years leading up to its conclusion. It also saw the change of Woodrow Wilson’s pacifist America to Johnson’s antagonist nation. Militarily speaking, the Vietnam War was the result of North Vietnam and the Vietcong attempting to overthrow the South Vietnamese government. There were several reasons why the USA became involved in the Vietnam War. Some of the reasons include, the containment of Communism and the Domino Theory. One of the reasons why the US got involved was because of their need to contain the spread of Communism. Vietnam was a country 9000 miles away from the United States. Yet America felt that its national interest was threatened strongly enough to fight a war there. The explanation lies in the fear caused by the spread of communism at that time. The communist take-over of China, the Korean War and the communist victory over the French in Vietnam - all led many Americans to fear that the communists were taking over the world and must be stopped. As an extension of the Truman Doctrine, the US sent economic and military assistance to help governments resist communist insurrection. Under the Truman Doctrine, the USA was not going to allow any more countries turn communist; the USA was going to “contain” the expansion of communism. The US government believed that this could be achieved by helping the South Vietnamese government resist the attacks of Ho Chi Minh’s communist North Vietnam, to prevent the spread of communism throughout the world. Another main reason why the US got involved in the war was because of the “Domino Theory”. President Eisenhower saw South-Asia as a row of dominos; if one country fell to communism, then others would also fall. For the