Discuss the conditions that lead to the Vietnam War.
The Vietnam War was a complex conflict that developed due to historical precedents, geopolitical ideas, and power principles. The fight for supremacy between the Vietminh led by Ho Chi Minh and French colonialists was one of the key elements. Ho Chi Minh was extremely effective in opposing French colonization, keeping Vietnam on the red line of the 17th parallel after the Geneva Conference of 1954 (Mcleod, 2021). Ho Chi Minh, a communist leader in North Vietnam, which was under the dominance of the North, went into a power struggle with the South Vietnamese government, which was anti-West and led by Ngo Dinh Diem. These struggles led to military conflicts ultimately.
Moreover, the Cold War and the domino effect theory largely drove American participation in the conflict. Under the domino theory of communal infection and fear of communist expansion in Southeast Asia, the U.S. provided South Vietnam with both military and financial support (Mcleod, 2021). The support, however, was advanced by the administrations of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson as more military units and assistance were introduced.
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident in 1964 worsened tensions, hence the adoption of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This resolution granted President Johnson very broad powers to use military force in Vietnam. The occurrence also added to the atmosphere of Cold War politics, with apprehension of possible communist expansion, and it enhanced the spirit of the United States’ involvement in the struggle.
The Vietnam War resulted from multiple factors, including historical circumstances, ideologies, and geopolitical realities. These elements centered on the conflict of domination between Ho Chi Minh and the French colonial rule in the greater context of the Cold War and the genuine occurrences, such as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident (Mcleod, 2021). The process reached the point that America found itself increasing engagement in Southeast Asia, and an unforeseen extended battle created a huge and contradictory rift among both Vietnamese and American cultures.
How did the war impact the U.S.?
The Vietnam War significantly influenced the image of the United States in the international arena and affected its national aspect, such as its image and business among the people at home (BBC, 2019). The media demonstrated that the U.S. had no good image in the world because it collaborated with a crooked government in South Vietnam and was accused of applying many brute methods.
The second major outcome was the astonishing number of casualties, where around 58,000 soldiers of the United States Army were killed, and the remaining 153,000 were injured. This included financial problems, too. During the conflict, the US government invested more than $828 billion in its military personnel, which highly affected the economy (BBC, 2019). The dependability level of American society has been affected in such a way that it will remain for a long time as a result of the war.
Through 100 thousand plus soldiers suffered wounds, and those who dodged the draft were badly treated and disparaged. When the soldiers returned, they were greeted with a desperate inflame and were misled as aggressive embodiments rather than glorified. Most importantly, the US’s failure to win against a small country causes people to lose trust in U.S. military strength and leadership, resulting in disillusionment and questions about the Americans’ role in the world (BBC, 2019). For the United States, the Vietnam War shifted many dimensions, policies, and reformations of the human makeup in ways that cannot be undone.
References
BBC. (2019). Impact of the war – The Vietnam War – National 5 History Revision – BBC Bitesize. Retrieved from BBC Bitesize website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zv7bkqt/revision/6
Mcleod, S. (2021, October 14). “Causes of the Vietnam War.” Retrieved from World History Blog website: https://www.worldhistoryblog.com/causes-of-the-vietnam-war.html.
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