Causes and Effects of the Vietnam War

Causes and Effects of the Vietnam War

Causes and Effects of the Vietnam War

Causes:
1.) Containment policy worked in Europe (Greece, Turkey, Berlin) & with Korea
2.) North Korea’s invasion of South Korean confirmed U.S. suspicions that the Soviets sought to conquer all of Asia
3.) SE Asia provided 90% of America’s rubber, 75% of its tin, and 27% of its oil
4.) The U.S. believed the Vietnamese were inferior and could beat them easily. The U.S. had a pattern of racism and imperialism that began with the first Indian war in Virginia in 1622, continued in the 19th century with “Manifest Destiny,” and continued with Vietnam
5.) Truman administration was under fire for “losing” China and felt compelled to hold the line somewhere else; Kennedy and Johnson felt this way too. Truman had take a lot of criticism from Republicans and a Republican won the next presidential election – Eisenhower
6.) The administration felt another red scare would happen if there was a pull out (the same thing happened after China was lost)
7.) Americans viewed Vietnam as the key to keeping SE Asia out of communist hands (domino theory, containment, and Truman Doctrine)
8.) Refusal to send U.S. aircraft or troops in the Bay of Pigs made officials believe that they had to make a stand somewhere
9.) America felt its prestige was on the line, so it did not want a defeat in Vietnam
10.) People believed that destiny had singled out the U.S. to defend and spread the democratic ideal
11.) People believed that no problem was without a solution
12.) At Versailles in 1918, Woodrow Wilson failed to hear Ho Chi Minh’s plea for his country’s independence
13.) FDR had a policy of not helping the French recolonize Southeast Asia after WWII. He advocated placing Indochina under international trusteeship in preparation for independence
14.) Big business fomented the war to help the economy and make a business out of the war
15.) Loss...

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