The year 1954 was a major turning point, which brought the American’s very close to involvement of the conflict. The battle of Dien Bien Phu, in which the French were defeated by the Vietminh, caused the French to leave Indo-China. The Geneva peace agreement led to the temporary partition of Vietnam. This was to be temporary as the elections were to be held in1956 in which the Vietnamese could vote for their leader.
The Vietminh leader, Ho Chi Minh controlled North Vietnam and Bao Dai Controlled South Vietnam. Bao Dai was disliked in the south and many, even in the Eisenhower administration believed that if any national election was to be held Ho would win and spread his influence to the south, creating a Communist state and proving the ‘Domino theory’. So Diem was installed as prime-minister of the south to try and solve the problems that were being faced there.
Diem was a Nationalist and was supported greatly by the Americans. Diem had no intention of holding the elections and stated that the communists would not allow free elections in the North. This broke the Geneva peace agreement and the USA supported his actions. This breached the agreement and the agreement was promised to be defended by the Americans. In order to keep peace in South Vietnam, in 1959 President Eisenhower poured in economical aid and modern weapons and sent military advisors. Eisenhower believed in the 'Domino theory', he thought that if Vietnam fell to Communism the surrounding countries would fall like dominoes around it. This was the main reason USA was involved.
The historical reputation of Dwight D. Eisenhower, war hero and thirty-fourth president of the United States sank to a low point after he left the White House in January 1961. Although his personal popularity with the American public had not weakened during his eight years in office, the academic and journalistic communities that had criticized his occupancy, his policies, and his personal leadership continued to believe that he had lead ineffectually over an era of relative inactivity. He did not wage war on North Vietnam, whom had turned Communist during his presidency, nor did he send ground troops to Vietnam, except for military advisors. He inherited a presidency which I think he controlled very wisely. The main reason for American involvement in Vietnam was due to the belief, which all the presidents after the Second World War held, saying that if Communism isn’t stood up to, then it will spread to its neighboring countries. His main involvement in Vietnam was sending financial help to the French colonialists, who later were defeated in the battle of Dien Bien Phu, and helping unpopular catholic Diem by sending him Billions of dollar’s worth of aid. A reason which a lot of Americans had for being against involvement in Vietnam was that America was recently in a War with Korea and wasn’t ready morally for another, especially when American soldiers knew that China and the Soviets were sending recruits. America’s biggest misunderstanding of the war was that North Koreans would rather die then see their country get occupied; they were patriotic and would fight brutally. American soldiers however did not have this approach, as they were just keeping the peace and had nothing worth fighting for.
Most of Eisenhower's critics seem to have supported the social programs of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal and Harry S Truman's Fair Deal, and during the 1960s they quickly shifted their admiration and allegiance to the liberal elements of John F. Kennedy's New Frontier. They saw Eisenhower's conservative agenda as a program to benefit the privileged and the wealthy, a Republican reaction to the progress made under Democratic reformers. Liberal scribes and specialists condemned his refusal to take on ‘the dark beast of the 1950s’, Senator Joseph McCarthy. They ridiculed Eisenhower's efforts to achieve fiscal responsibility and decentralized government, claiming that these efforts were little more than a smokescreen covering the president's insensitivity to the needs of the less fortunate elements of American society. Eisenhower's foreign policy (which had, after all, resulted in seven-and-a-half years of peace) came in for somewhat less criticism. Nevertheless, many criticized Vice-president Nixon’s emphasis on nuclear weapons and the doctrine of massive retaliation. Most of the criticisms, however, were directed at Eisenhower's supposed failure to pursue the cold war vigorously and successfully. Eisenhower's misguided efforts to balance the federal budget, it was said, had resulted in an inadequate military posture and an unwillingness to confront America's communist enemies in areas involving either conventional or guerilla warfare. The peace of the 1950s, it was thought, was simply a matter of luck.