United States Involvement In The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was fought to stop the spread of communism that threatened the United States way of life. War strategies that were used were harsh, major battles bloody, and war opposition at home was high. The leaders of our countries decisions caused devastating effects that not only shook our country but the whole world. The United States had fought wars in the past to stop the spread of communism. Vietnam had been under French control since the 1880s. Then the Vietnamese fought for independence and won in 1954. The country then was split into communist North Vietnam and non-communist South Vietnam. The Vietcong were a group that opposed democracy in South Vietnam. In the early 1960’s they tried to overthrow the government. North Vietnam

The U.S. was spending billions of dollars on the war and many American soldiers were dying. On television, people saw soldiers fighting dangerous battles and the terrible results of U.S. bombs on the Vietnamese people. Some people thought the United States had to fight communism everywhere, others thought the United States should stay out of a war between North and South Vietnam. The government drafted young men into the army. Many did not want to fight in a war they believed was wrong. People had antiwar demonstrations in many parts of the country. In 1969, Richard Nixon was elected President. He started bringing soldiers home, but U.S. planes also increased bombing of North Vietnam and started bombing Cambodia, a country west of Vietnam. In 1973, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the United States agreed to a cease-fire. U.S. soldiers went home. The North Vietnamese won the war in 1975. Communism was not stopped in Vietnam. There were many after effects of the war in Vietnam. The North Vietnamese Army killed thousands of South Vietnamese after U.S pulled out their troops. Many people tried to flee the country on boats. Then the Vietnamese had to fight wars against Cambodia and China before their independence was secured. Vietnam was destroyed their whole country was in shambles. Thousands of the Vietnamese people had been killed, and Agent Orange polluted its farmland. Vietnam remains still today one of the poorest

Thousands of Americans soldiers died in Vietnam. The war had cost so much that President Johnson was forced to cancel multiple programs including his social reform program. America had failed to contain communism and many people lost confidence in our country. It was nearly 20 years before America again tried to police the world. However, the domino affect was proved wrong because the loss of South Vietnam to communism did not immediately effect what happened in governments of other countries. News of atrocities such as the killings at My Lai, lost the US its claim to having high moral standards, and its status as the world 's defender of freedom and righteousness. Nearly 700,000 Vietnam veterans suffered psychological after-effects. Many of these veterans also were not really ever even properly thanked for their service. The leaders the Vietnam War played a major role in the events that took place. Ngo Dinh Diem was an American ally in South Vietnam whose inability to stop the Vietcong caused them to be able to thrive in the South. This required increasing American military aid to stop a Communist takeover. Richard Nixon was the President of the United States who ended the Vietnam War. He was also involved in the Watergate scandal. Which eventually caused him to become first president to resign from office. Ho Chi Minh also referred to, as the "bringer of Light” was the leader of communist