Lyndon Baines Johnson, who reigned as president from 1963 to 1968 in the US, sparked a profound impact on the Vietnam War by escalating the involvement of the United States through The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and implementing the controversial strategy of Operation Ranch Hand. As a result of the passing of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, Johnson obtained the authority to utilise a range of defensive measures that he considered essential in promoting international peace and securing Southeast Asia. This discussion will encompass how the interaction between the measures that Johnson enforced and the logic surrounding them ultimately transformed the Vietnam War in 1955. Lyndon Baines Johnson significantly impacted the Vietnam War by utilising the Gulf of Tonkin
Lyndon B. Johnson made the Vietnam War his own by using manipulating. He used the media to get the support of the Congress. Media helped him manipulate Congress into coming on President Johnson side, so they could continue the war. The misinformation leads Congress to believe anything President told them. He informed them that the United States were the victims.
Before the start of the Vietnam War, Johnson was in a difficult position in regards to Vietnam. He knew that increased aid for South Vietnam would decrease funding for his domestic programs, which were among his top priorities. He also knew that if he decreased support, that the nation would most likely fall under the Communists and this would be perceived as a loss for the United States and the Democrats. One of the factors that contributed to the start of the Vietnam War was when the North Vietnamese attacked U.S. warships in the Gulf of Tokin on August 2nd and 4th 1964. This was a small engagement in which North Vietnamese Torpedo boats caused light damage to the USS Maddox, and light North Vietnam casualties.
Johnson's handling of the war, including the escalation of troop levels and the bombing of North Vietnam, drew widespread condemnation and divided the
President Johnson did not want to fight in a war, he wanted to help the social welfare of the country. As was mentioned before, Johnson did not have a ton of people to fight this war, so he started the Selective Service. By 1968, there were approximately 560,000 troops in Vietnam, which was a lot more than Johnson had originally planned for (Tindall and Shi, 1255). In January of 1968, the Tet Offensive campaign was launched. This was a military campaign that was centered around attacking the US Embassy in Saigon, which just so happened to also be where the US News outlets were located.
Johnson strategy was set to win the war because no President has lost a war to that point. Not only did he have all the pressure of the people in the United States, he had pressure from congress and the military people in charge. They wanted him to act fast and bomb major cities in North Vietnam. He had to decide if that was the right things because if he went with what thought was the right thing to do.
He stood for what he believed in by pursuing what he thought was best for not only Americans but for people in Vietnam too. Johnson showed many acts of political courage in his small time of
Johnson’s decisions in Vietnam are complex and debated about to this day. Johnson was left with this issue from Kennedy and as a strong proponent of the Domino Theory he believed that going to war with Vietnam was the right decision. The Vietnam war would devolve into disastrous policy and resulted in the loss of life of numerous Americans. However, while his decisions were disastrous he recognized that a continuation of his presidency would only seek to divide the country more.
President Kennedy sent advisors to train Vietnamese to fight in the Vietnam War. The United States planned to retreat some of their troops, so Kennedy decided it was fair to train Vietnamese soldiers what they know. Since Vietnam was divided, they needed the training. The Vietnam War was the first war ever to be broadcasted on live television. It was a scary, dangerous war.
In a sense, he bulldozed President Johnson into doing irrational bombings in Vietnam. McNamara convinced Johnson that bombings should be the only direct response to escalation. Although McNamara sometimes had doubts, he was usually supportive of whatever bombing strategies were proposed. McNamara skillfully withheld the realities of Vietnam from Johnson and the public, so he could continue fighting the war his way. He wanted to send thousands of more troops and spend millions arms.
Lyndon B Johnson did not want to be known as the first president to lose a war even if many thought it wasent a war that should be fought. The war was then Americanized under Johnsons leadership who was committed to not losing Nom. LBJ was unable to bring the war in Vietnam under control is because he was
The Vietnam War was bloody, and it saw unprecedented ways of acquiring superiority onto the field by relying on higher body counts and an incessant use of bombardments that far surpassed any previous wars that the U.S. were involved with. With the turmoil that was caused not only in the field of battle, but away from it, Vietnam was a war that seemed to cause more harm than good since it didn’t contribute any benefits towards America. After the stereotypes of the cold war became too powerful to allow for American acceptance of Vietnamese independence, the war was inevitable with no other possibilities presenting themselves in the minds of the American government. It was a costly war for the United States politically, socially, and economically.
As it says in the textbook that Nixon "initiated negotioations with North vietnam," (Perry 506). Around this time though, the Pentagon Papers were released to the press, causing even more distrust against the government. Nixon, through "vietnamization", slowly pulled the United States' involvement from the war. Unlike what they wanted, when the U.S. pulled its troops, the communists still took over. It says in the text "
Johnson believed that the American people could only focus and support on one major project – either the ‘Great Society’ or ‘Vietnam War’. Therefore, he felt he could not applying extensive military force which may have lead to the loss of public focus and support for the ‘Great Society’. He also feared that applying “extensive military force” against North Vietnam could escalate into another World War – communist vs anti-communist state actors. Excessive political
Johnson became president in November of 1963, het met with his foreign policy advisors to discuss the course of American involvement in Vietnam. They advised him to stay on the same path that JFK was on. Later, in the summer of 1964, at the Gulf of Tonkin, three North Vietnamese torpedo boats rushed an American destroyer. The Americans fired first. In the end, two North Vietnamese torpedo boats were destroyed.
