Vietnam 2

Source A is useful for explaining why the USA got entered the war because it gives us information from the time it happened. Source A is a speech by President Johnson in April, 1965, one month after operation rolling thunder when America started bombing North Vietnam to aid the south. Seeing as though the speech is so close to the start of the bombing means that he is trying to win the people over to he’s ideas. In President Johnson’s speech he says that they have a promise to keep. The promise was “the independence of the South Vietnam the freedom of the people of South Vietnam to guide their country own country in their own way”. This is in connection with Truman doctrine which says that America would offer help to any country under the threat of communism. In 1950 and 1953 America offered support to South Korea to stop it becoming communist but failed in its attempt. In the speech, President Johnson feels like he has to aid Vietnam as he says “Every American President has kept up with the promise which was stated in the Truman Doctrine with the objective of independence for South Vietnam and the freedom of the people who live there”. He also says “we are here to strengthen world order”. In this case he is referring to the efforts they have gone to, to stop communism from spreading for example South Korea and Western Europe countries during the Cold War. He go on to say “the battle would be renewed in one country and then another”. He is talking about the domino theory but this is not 100 percent true because it is his own opinion and a guess that he has come up with.

There are limitations to the source such as it is the President speaking so he can only express his own theories but it does not say the rest of America’s feelings. He also may be bias and I does not tell us whether or not South Vietnam even wanted to help.

Source A is reliable because it was said by one of the people who knew most about the Vietnam War, but it also could not be reliable as it was said after the bombings in North Vietnam so he might just be saying it to please the public.

Source B is President Johnson talking in a private conversation and gives lots of reasons why America got involved in the Vietnam War. It says why he didn’t want to get in involved in the War and go ahead with it. He says he felt pressure from other Politicians, “All the politicians are saying “lets move, let’s get into the North”. They’d bring a President down if he ran out”. This quote shows how he wasn’t protecting South Vietnam because he cared about their independence or freedom. He really only cares about his role as the president and his someone else taking over his role. He talks about how Vietnam isn’t worth anything to him and the American people. This is the opposite of what he says in Source A and his attitude is very different to what he also says in source A. He also says “If you start running from communists, they may chase you into your own kitchen”