The Vietnam War was a long fought war between North Vietnam, which marked its communist regime and South Vietnam, which was supported by the United States. It was believed that if Vietnam fell under communist influence, than other nations in Southeast Asia would follow, hence the domino theory. Although the United States’ involvement dated back to World War II, it did not escalate until the 1950’s. Unfortunately the United States’ involvement kept increasing due to the fear of communism. There were several factors that led to the increase of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Events at Dien Bien Phu, the Geneva Conference, the creation of South Vietnam, and John F. Kennedy’s “Flexible Response” policy, increased the United States’ involvement in
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The Geneva Conference was held that same year, 1954. Its purpose was to resolve problems in Asia and potentially come to an agreement on what was to be done with Vietnam. The United States had supported the French in fear that if Ho Chi Minh was victorious, communism would spread quickly throughout Southeast Asia. Though they supported the French, the United States refused direct intervention in the war, which then brought the Vietnam situation to the Geneva Conference. After their defeat at Dien Bien Phu, the Geneva agreements were signed. French agreed to remove their troops from northern Vietnam, and Vietnam would be temporarily split at the 17th parallel. Elections would be pending for two years to choose a president, and eventually reunite the country. During this time, no foreign troops were allowed in Vietnam. Although Ho Chi Minh signed the agreement, he did not believe it was fair for him. The U.S. refused to sign this agreement but would commit to follow it. For fear that Ho Chi Minh would be successful, the U.S. would help South Vietnam establish a non-communist government by offering economic and military aid. The Geneva Conference split Vietnam which led to the creation of South Vietnam (1955). This only anchored U.S. involvement in …show more content…
Kennedy’s “Flexible Response” foreign policy was introduced in 1961, and was conceived through the previous foreign policies. According to Eisenhower, Truman’s “Containment policy” was far too weak, so he created his policy “New Look,” which was potentially a more aggressive approach on containment and implied the use of nuclear power. Kennedy did not agree with Eisenhower’s “New look,” because he desired more options, and created his own policy, “Flexible Response.” “Flexible Response,” would develop a variety of military options that could be equivalent to the issues at hand. Kennedy increased spending on special forces, otherwise known as the Green Berets. In order to protect South Vietnam from communist North Vietnam, Kennedy began sending more advisers that would train troops on how to fight but would not fight themselves. The more advisers that were sent, the more the United States’ was involved in Vietnam. By the time Kennedy died, he had sent about 15,000 advisers and it became more difficult to withdraw involvement in Vietnam. Kennedy’s “Flexible Response,” made it much harder to not be involved in Vietnam, on the contrary, it only increased
The Geneva Conference was held that same year, 1954. Its purpose was to resolve problems in Asia and potentially come to an agreement on what was to be done with Vietnam. The United States had supported the French in fear that if Ho Chi Minh was victorious, communism would spread quickly throughout Southeast Asia. Though they supported the French, the United States refused direct intervention in the war, which then brought the Vietnam situation to the Geneva Conference. After their defeat at Dien Bien Phu, the Geneva agreements were signed. French agreed to remove their troops from northern Vietnam, and Vietnam would be temporarily split at the 17th parallel. Elections would be pending for two years to choose a president, and eventually reunite the country. During this time, no foreign troops were allowed in Vietnam. Although Ho Chi Minh signed the agreement, he did not believe it was fair for him. The U.S. refused to sign this agreement but would commit to follow it. For fear that Ho Chi Minh would be successful, the U.S. would help South Vietnam establish a non-communist government by offering economic and military aid. The Geneva Conference split Vietnam which led to the creation of South Vietnam (1955). This only anchored U.S. involvement in …show more content…
Kennedy’s “Flexible Response” foreign policy was introduced in 1961, and was conceived through the previous foreign policies. According to Eisenhower, Truman’s “Containment policy” was far too weak, so he created his policy “New Look,” which was potentially a more aggressive approach on containment and implied the use of nuclear power. Kennedy did not agree with Eisenhower’s “New look,” because he desired more options, and created his own policy, “Flexible Response.” “Flexible Response,” would develop a variety of military options that could be equivalent to the issues at hand. Kennedy increased spending on special forces, otherwise known as the Green Berets. In order to protect South Vietnam from communist North Vietnam, Kennedy began sending more advisers that would train troops on how to fight but would not fight themselves. The more advisers that were sent, the more the United States’ was involved in Vietnam. By the time Kennedy died, he had sent about 15,000 advisers and it became more difficult to withdraw involvement in Vietnam. Kennedy’s “Flexible Response,” made it much harder to not be involved in Vietnam, on the contrary, it only increased