To what extent did the containment of communism in Vietnam reflect the high ideals of the Truman Doctrine and the spread of democracy?
ESSAY
Introduction
World War Two crippled Europe and Asia and left only two countries standing, the superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States. These countries had very different ideologies, the Soviet Union was communist and the United States was capitalist. The Soviet Union was a totalitarian regime and the US was democratic. Both countries wanted the world to take on their ideology and a struggle began between them to expand their ideology globally. Although the Stalin and the Soviet Union had promised that they would allow Eastern Europe to be democratic and hold elections it became clear …show more content…
In his speech to Congress Truman compared two ways of life. One way should be based on the will of the majority and have free institutions, a representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion and freedom from political oppression. The second way is based on the will of the minority which is forcibly imposed. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled media, prefixed elections and a suppression of personal freedoms”. He went on to say that it must be the policy of the US to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities.” He concluded that the US must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own …show more content…
The elected government and president acted to contain communism in Vietnam through the election of President Eisenhower (Domino Theory), President Kennedy (support any country under threat of communism) and President Johnson (full scale war). At the beginning this fear made the war popular and democracy created it but in the end the war became unpopular, protests, television, world opinion and President Nixon was elected because he wanted to pull out of Vietnam. The US may not have been successful in Vietnam but their democratic system was successful in the
ESSAY
Introduction
World War Two crippled Europe and Asia and left only two countries standing, the superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States. These countries had very different ideologies, the Soviet Union was communist and the United States was capitalist. The Soviet Union was a totalitarian regime and the US was democratic. Both countries wanted the world to take on their ideology and a struggle began between them to expand their ideology globally. Although the Stalin and the Soviet Union had promised that they would allow Eastern Europe to be democratic and hold elections it became clear …show more content…
In his speech to Congress Truman compared two ways of life. One way should be based on the will of the majority and have free institutions, a representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion and freedom from political oppression. The second way is based on the will of the minority which is forcibly imposed. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled media, prefixed elections and a suppression of personal freedoms”. He went on to say that it must be the policy of the US to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities.” He concluded that the US must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own …show more content…
The elected government and president acted to contain communism in Vietnam through the election of President Eisenhower (Domino Theory), President Kennedy (support any country under threat of communism) and President Johnson (full scale war). At the beginning this fear made the war popular and democracy created it but in the end the war became unpopular, protests, television, world opinion and President Nixon was elected because he wanted to pull out of Vietnam. The US may not have been successful in Vietnam but their democratic system was successful in the