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.
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.