Why did the USA become involved in Vietnam in the 1950’s and 1960’s?

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David Gray

Why did the USA become involved in Vietnam in the 1950's and 1960's?

The USA became involved in Vietnam in the '50s and '60s because of their fear of communism. On of the underlying theories that supported their belief was the domino theory. This was stated by President Eisenhower in 1954,

'You have a row of dominoes set up. You knock over the first one. What will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly. Asia has already lost some 450 millions of its peoples to communist dictatorship. We simply cant afford greater losses.'

This was re-iterated by President Kennedy in 1956,

'Vietnam represents the cornerstone of the Free World in Southeast Asia, the keystone to the arch, the finger in the dike. Burma, Thailand, India, Japan, the Philippines and obviously Laos and Cambodia are among those whose security would be threatened if the red tide of Communism overflowed into Vietnam'.

The USA wanted to maintain a policy of containment, trying to contain Communism and prevent it spreading. Before the 1940's, the US had followed a policy of isolation. However in March 1945, Roosevelt said, 'From now on every Communist action would meet an American reaction'. The Cold War between the USA and USSR could not have existed without these two powerful blocs with opposing political viewpoints.
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During the 1800's, the growing empires of Western Europe expanded to become colonial powers. The French added a huge part of South East Asia to their Empire, known as Indo-China. During the 1930's Japan invaded much of Indo-China and during the Second World War Japanese troops occupied Vietnam. The Vietnamese organise resistance groups against foreign rule, the Vietminh being a communist group led by Ho Chi Minh. After the Japanese surrendered on August 15th 1945, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed Vietnam as an independent republic. The French however were reluctant to relinquish their empire and sent troops to Vietnam. ...

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