The Vietnam War, lasting from 1955 to 1973, was a war fought by communist North Vietnam and democratic South Vietnam/The United States.
On paper, the Vietnam War was initially between the Vietnamese people and the French. In 1945, Vietnam, lead by communist Ho Chi Minh, declared themselves independent from French colonial rule. The Viet Minh were the members of the independence movement. The French refused to give Vietnam its independence. In 1946, the French and the Viet Minh clashed, officially marking the start of the First Indochina War. Due to the Americanization of the war, it is now colloquially known in the US as the Vietnam War.
France and the US were allies that wanted to protect their capitalistic and democratic interests. The …show more content…
The backdrop of the Vietnam war was the tense stage of the Cold War. While the Cold War was between the US and the Soviet Union, the agitation was international. It bled across national divides, some sides democratic and blue, other communist and red. The US and its Western allies were fighting a war to contain the spread of communism. This was because communism, in its then form, seemed to Western powers as a direct threat to democratic policy and values. Unfortunately for them, communism was spreading. The rise of the ideology in Russia created a sphere of influence to other eastern European countries and …show more content…
Not only in the amount of soldiers both US and NVA/Viet Cong killed, but those injured and permanently scarred. Even after the war, many veterans had to turn to addictive habits to deal with the memories and effects of the war. Some were disabled, and other had lasting mental trauma. A number have even committed suicide due to the struggles they faced.
The financial cost puts it at around the US’s fourth most expensive war. Billions of dollars, that came out of the government’s military budget and thus taxes, were spent in the span of two decades. And the cost kept piling up, and continued to do so even after the war to pay for the care of veterans
Lastly, the main reason Truman even edged into the war was to contain the spread of communism. Despite US entanglement with the war, the communist leader gained popular support. The fighting, bombing, and propaganda turned many in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos to support the Viet Minh. Their uprising succeeded, and hence communism had a solid stronghold in Southeast Asia.
The US’s own actions kept them from winning the war. The desire to spread democracy, the arrogance, and the entitlement of US administrations led them to a war they had to business in. Due to this, lives, money, and trust were lost. And communism eventually settled into its new
On paper, the Vietnam War was initially between the Vietnamese people and the French. In 1945, Vietnam, lead by communist Ho Chi Minh, declared themselves independent from French colonial rule. The Viet Minh were the members of the independence movement. The French refused to give Vietnam its independence. In 1946, the French and the Viet Minh clashed, officially marking the start of the First Indochina War. Due to the Americanization of the war, it is now colloquially known in the US as the Vietnam War.
France and the US were allies that wanted to protect their capitalistic and democratic interests. The …show more content…
The backdrop of the Vietnam war was the tense stage of the Cold War. While the Cold War was between the US and the Soviet Union, the agitation was international. It bled across national divides, some sides democratic and blue, other communist and red. The US and its Western allies were fighting a war to contain the spread of communism. This was because communism, in its then form, seemed to Western powers as a direct threat to democratic policy and values. Unfortunately for them, communism was spreading. The rise of the ideology in Russia created a sphere of influence to other eastern European countries and …show more content…
Not only in the amount of soldiers both US and NVA/Viet Cong killed, but those injured and permanently scarred. Even after the war, many veterans had to turn to addictive habits to deal with the memories and effects of the war. Some were disabled, and other had lasting mental trauma. A number have even committed suicide due to the struggles they faced.
The financial cost puts it at around the US’s fourth most expensive war. Billions of dollars, that came out of the government’s military budget and thus taxes, were spent in the span of two decades. And the cost kept piling up, and continued to do so even after the war to pay for the care of veterans
Lastly, the main reason Truman even edged into the war was to contain the spread of communism. Despite US entanglement with the war, the communist leader gained popular support. The fighting, bombing, and propaganda turned many in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos to support the Viet Minh. Their uprising succeeded, and hence communism had a solid stronghold in Southeast Asia.
The US’s own actions kept them from winning the war. The desire to spread democracy, the arrogance, and the entitlement of US administrations led them to a war they had to business in. Due to this, lives, money, and trust were lost. And communism eventually settled into its new