After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (JFK) in November of 1963, Lyndon B. Johnson took over as president. Due to the sudden death of JFK, Johnson had inherited many responsibilities and policies of dealing with the growing problem in Vietnam (Young 105). He continued to be involved in South Vietnam because he did not want the U.S to lose their prestige and did not want to show weakness to the Communists. By the mid- 60s, the war in Vietnam began to escalate as more troops were being sent to Vietnam. As the war dragged on, Johnson’s popularity amongst the American citizens lowered. Therefore to ensure Johnson’s popularity amongst the American citizens, secret memos of what was happening in Vietnam at the time were being circulated
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Because Johnson worried that South Vietnam would have difficulty in defending against the Viet Cong, he brought in more military aid (Hickman). By increasing military aid to patrol the shores of North Vietnam, he hoped that the newer technology that were being sent in would boast the power of Western technology and stop further Communist advancement. Prior to sending in military aid, South Vietnam’s patrol boats were sent to collect data in an attempt to gather information to be used against the North (Vietnam: A Television). Because South Vietnam failed multiple times to gain information against the North, U.S sent in destroyers to the Gulf of Tonkin. On August 2, 1964, the USS Maddox was met with enemy fire because the Viet Cong were retaliating against attacks from the South the day before. Because the attacks were sudden, the U.S had no choice but to strike back against the North. After the first attack, involvement in Vietnam grew as Johnson saw this event as a challenge that he could not back down from …show more content…
This war could have been stopped if Johnson had realized that winning a war against the Vietnamese who were determined to rid their land of foreign oppressors was impossible. Nonetheless, Johnson never realized that the war could not be won and continued to send in more troops into Vietnam believing that the war could have been won with more men in the country. If the war had not continued, the U.S would not have so much to
Because Johnson worried that South Vietnam would have difficulty in defending against the Viet Cong, he brought in more military aid (Hickman). By increasing military aid to patrol the shores of North Vietnam, he hoped that the newer technology that were being sent in would boast the power of Western technology and stop further Communist advancement. Prior to sending in military aid, South Vietnam’s patrol boats were sent to collect data in an attempt to gather information to be used against the North (Vietnam: A Television). Because South Vietnam failed multiple times to gain information against the North, U.S sent in destroyers to the Gulf of Tonkin. On August 2, 1964, the USS Maddox was met with enemy fire because the Viet Cong were retaliating against attacks from the South the day before. Because the attacks were sudden, the U.S had no choice but to strike back against the North. After the first attack, involvement in Vietnam grew as Johnson saw this event as a challenge that he could not back down from …show more content…
This war could have been stopped if Johnson had realized that winning a war against the Vietnamese who were determined to rid their land of foreign oppressors was impossible. Nonetheless, Johnson never realized that the war could not be won and continued to send in more troops into Vietnam believing that the war could have been won with more men in the country. If the war had not continued, the U.S would not have so much to