Due to the Cold War doctrine of American Officials in the 1950s, the United States believed that they had the right to stop any and all Communist insurrection or hostility. Eisenhower used the “falling domino” theory, the Eisenhower doctrine, to insert America in Vietnam’s business on Communism and attempt to repel it. This was the start of what was known to Americans as the Vietnam War but, to the Vietnamese called the American War in 1954. This became known as the longest foreign war as it lasted from 1954 to 1975. For America, the Vietnam War was an utter failure because of poor decisions by the American Government, U.S. troops lack of guerrilla warfare training, the amount of loss of American soldiers, and the use of Agent Orange.
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Eisenhower was the first president involved in Vietnam War by sending military “advisors” and CIA spies into Vietnam. John F. Kennedy continued Eisenhower’s “Domino Theory” and sent more military “advisers” plus aid in the form of, sixty-five million dollars in military supplies and one-hundred and thirty-six million dollars in economic support. Lyndon B. Johnson became an “accidental” president when John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. Johnson found himself bound by Kennedy’s legacy but was unprepared for dealing with Vietnam War. Johnson sent more and more troops into Vietnam, after the incident at the Gulf of Tonkin, despite his pledge to not send any more “American boys” in. Despite America’s losses Johnson refused to bring U.S. troops home because he did not want to be the first president to lose a war.
The use of Agent Orange was approved in 1962 by John F. Kennedy. The approval of Agent Orange devastated many soldiers and Vietnamese alike. To top off the major losses and injuries from the fighting the soldiers and Vietnamese suffered from mental illness, cancer, and birth defects due to the effects of Agent Orange. The losses of the Vietnam War were devastating both financially and in the lives of the American …show more content…
Johnson’s response to the anti-war demonstrators was to call them “chickenshit.” In 1969 Richard Nixon became president and gained the mess that was Vietnam War. Nixon believed that “there was no way to the war.” Nixon’s Vietnam policy to end the war hit three fronts. The first the withdrawal of Communist forces from South Vietnam, which they refused. The second was to alleviate the domestic unrest by decreasing the total of American troops in Vietnam, changing the draft to the lottery, and eventually making the military strictly voluntary. The third front was what he called his “madman theory.” While he reduced to amount of U.S. ground troops Nixon increased the amount of air warfare to convince the Northern Vietnamese leaders that he “might do anything to stop the war.” The United States formed what is called détente with the Soviets that would eventually was able to destroy Communist rule from the inside. Gerald R. Ford became president in 1974 and a year later under his leadership what was known as the longest war came to an end with Communist Northern Vietnam as the
Eisenhower was the first president involved in Vietnam War by sending military “advisors” and CIA spies into Vietnam. John F. Kennedy continued Eisenhower’s “Domino Theory” and sent more military “advisers” plus aid in the form of, sixty-five million dollars in military supplies and one-hundred and thirty-six million dollars in economic support. Lyndon B. Johnson became an “accidental” president when John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. Johnson found himself bound by Kennedy’s legacy but was unprepared for dealing with Vietnam War. Johnson sent more and more troops into Vietnam, after the incident at the Gulf of Tonkin, despite his pledge to not send any more “American boys” in. Despite America’s losses Johnson refused to bring U.S. troops home because he did not want to be the first president to lose a war.
The use of Agent Orange was approved in 1962 by John F. Kennedy. The approval of Agent Orange devastated many soldiers and Vietnamese alike. To top off the major losses and injuries from the fighting the soldiers and Vietnamese suffered from mental illness, cancer, and birth defects due to the effects of Agent Orange. The losses of the Vietnam War were devastating both financially and in the lives of the American …show more content…
Johnson’s response to the anti-war demonstrators was to call them “chickenshit.” In 1969 Richard Nixon became president and gained the mess that was Vietnam War. Nixon believed that “there was no way to the war.” Nixon’s Vietnam policy to end the war hit three fronts. The first the withdrawal of Communist forces from South Vietnam, which they refused. The second was to alleviate the domestic unrest by decreasing the total of American troops in Vietnam, changing the draft to the lottery, and eventually making the military strictly voluntary. The third front was what he called his “madman theory.” While he reduced to amount of U.S. ground troops Nixon increased the amount of air warfare to convince the Northern Vietnamese leaders that he “might do anything to stop the war.” The United States formed what is called détente with the Soviets that would eventually was able to destroy Communist rule from the inside. Gerald R. Ford became president in 1974 and a year later under his leadership what was known as the longest war came to an end with Communist Northern Vietnam as the