It was clear that the United States did not approve of France fighting to get Southern Vietnam back in its empire. Yet, she let the war continue as U.S.A itself had her own reasons for refusing to take action. The U.S.A didn’t approve of France’s actions because they felt that it was an area that had been captured many years ago, and so now had earned its right to independence, as the world status itself had changed with time. But the U.S.A was fearful. They believed that if Vietnam had succeeded in becoming independent, then it would have a knock-on effect – the domino theory – and other surrounding nations would also fight for their right for independence. In other words, these nations (Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaya, Indonesia and Japan) would fight to become communist. The Americans had already shown in the early 1950’s that they were not happy about the spread of communism when Eisenhower introduced the policy of containment.
America pumped money into South Korea, giving France over $1 billion between 1946 and 1954. Yet this huge sum of money was no real help, as France lost. In 1953, they attempted to trap the Viet Minh by setting up a camp at Dien Bien Phu. This plan failed miserably however, as the Viet Minh simply surrounded it and set up guns at strategic positions on the nearby hills. Due to this, the French were unable to get supplies into the camp. This meant that they had little food supplies, as the Viet Minh besieged the camp from March to May 1954. After two months, the French were unable to continue and were defeated.
This defeat by France led to the intervention of the United States. They had sat back and tried to do as much as they could without physically getting involved up until this point, but they now had to either leave the South alone or take action themselves.
Peace talks were held at Geneva and it was agreed that Vietnam would be split into two parts along the 17th parallel. The North was to become a communist republic controlled by the Viet Minh. In 1955 the South became a republic too. It was planned that after two years an election would be held which would unite the country. But the Americans knew that the South predominately supported Ho Chi Minh. If an election were indeed to take place, then it would be almost certain that the whole country would turn communist. America wasn’t prepared to let this happen. The U.S promised to support the South Vietnamese government. The South Vietnamese therefore refused to take part in any election that was to take place.
The U.S.A decided to get involved in what appeared to be a minor war because President Eisenhower believed that Ho Chi Minh was in part of a conspiracy in China to try and turn the whole of South East Asia communist. This would prove a threat to the United States, as they would be at risk of forming an alliance between these newly formed communist countries and the Soviet Union. Due to this, the United States supported Diem’s government in the South of Vietnam. Unfortunately for the U.S, however, was that Diem’s government was harsh and he and his government were also corrupt. Because of this, and the fact that the majority of the population in this area were Buddhists, whereas Diem and his associates were Roman Catholic, meant that the government was unpopular amongst the masses.
But the U.S still stood back. They supplied the South with money, although it was generally used to bribe Diem’s friends. Arms were also sent, although they were sold; on some occasions even to the Northern communists. In 1960, Southern Vietnam had whole areas in open rebellion. Also in 1960, the National Liberation Front (NLF) were set up to oppose Diem and his corrupt government. This group consisted of mainly communists, and was supported by the North. The South referred to them as the Vietcong. A divide was forming between the government and its peasants, and a civil war was now developing. President Kennedy of the United States was becoming anxious, as all the money that he had sent to the South had just been wasted and had been unable to prevent the North’s advances. But Kennedy had a problem, and was caught in two minds – he couldn’t send in troops because that would make him unpopular with the American people, and would be bad for propaganda, yet he couldn’t leave this war to go on because it seemed certain that the South was going to lose.
So Kennedy decided that he would send in some American advisors to try and sort the situation out. By November 1963, he had sent a huge sum of 10,000 advisors in. This figure is an example of how desperate Kennedy was at this period.
Meanwhile, the poor South Vietnamese government’s army tortured and executed thousands of peasants in an attempt to destroy the NLF. This decision backfired, as the peasants now hated the government even more and were even more determined to fight back. The government managed to hold out until November 1963, when Diem and his ostracized companions were overthrown, and Diem himself was killed.
Later that month, Kennedy himself was assassinated. The man to take his job was Lyndon Johnson, who instantly decided to increase support to the South Vietnamese. The US Navy were sent to patrol the South Vietnamese coast, on the look out for NLF soldiers. This again shows that the US President was reluctant to enter South Vietnam itself with force. This point also shows how propaganda plays a large part in everyday issues, and how free press in the United States prevented military action.
As the US patrolled the coast of South Vietnam the North became agitated and eventually reacted, when in August 1964, they attacked an American destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin. This persistent annoyance of American intrusion into North Vietnams business had paid off. President Johnson now had an excuse to hand to the American people as to why he was allowed to use military action against North Vietnam. And he did so, with the US Congress now granting him the right to fight a war against the North Vietnamese.
