To what extent can the growing involvement of the US in Vietnam in the years 1950 -1968, be seen as an ideological crusade against communism?
To what extent can the growing involvement of the US in Vietnam in the years 1950 -1968, be seen as an ideological crusade against communism?
The growing involvement of the US in Vietnam in the years 1950 – 1969 can be seen due to a number of reasons. This includes: ideological crusade; French withdrawal; Geneva accords and weaknesses of South Vietnam. Although these reasons may have caused the US to intervene, it can be argued that the main reason for the growing involvement was due to ideological crusade against communism. The following will analyse why this brought about the growing involvement.
Ideology was the main reason why the US government intervened in Vietnam. This is because they felt as if they were defending democracy and pride as the US felt threatened by the advance of communism. The communist invasion of the south came at a time when the US government were threatened by the Soviet Union and which prevented their attempts to contain communism. In 1949 the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb but the US thought that this would not occur until the late 1950’s therefore the US lost their lead in nuclear technology. Moreover the Americans believed that communism threatened international free-trade and the democratic ideals which were important to American well-being and security. Furthermore the Soviet Union was seen as the base for future communist expansion especially to Indochina and Vietnam. It became clear that if one country falls to communism then the rest would follow. This became known as the Domino theory in 1954.