Why Did The USA Become Increasingly Involved In The Vietnam War?
Why Did The USA Become Increasingly Involved In The Vietnam War? The Vietnam War was a prolonged and unsuccessful attempt by South Vietnam and the United States to prevent the Communists of North Vietnam from uniting South Vietnam with North Vietnam under their leadership. The Vietnam War was probably the longest war in which the Americans fought in and the only war in which they were defeated. This essay will discover the facts and reasons for why America became involved in the Vietnam War from the Second World War up to sending the first troops up to Vietnam in 1965. At the end of the Second World War Americans were still concerned about the spread of Communism and were still offering military aid and economic aid to any country requiring defense for themselves over Communist countries. The USA was still a great believer in the Domino Theory. This was the belief that if one country fell to Communism the rest would follow. America had also been so concerned about communism due to the fact that countries such as Poland, Czechoslovakia and Romania had communist governments. Following the surrender of Nazi Germany in May 1945 near the close of World War II, the uneasy wartime alliance between the United States and Great Britain on the one hand and the Soviet Union on the other began to unravel. By 1948 the Soviets had installed left-wing governments in the countries of Eastern
Explain why America became increasingly involved in the affairs of Vietnam
Explain why America became increasingly involved in the affairs of Vietnam Before the Second World War Vietnam had been a French colony. Vietnam consisted of mainly thick jungle and most of the people who lived their were farmers growing rice on the flat, fertile land by the coast. The Japanese during the war occupied Vietnam. A strong resistance movement, Vietminh (anti-Japanese resistance movement) emerged with a communist leader, Ho Chi Minh. Ho Chi Minh inspired the Vietnamese people to fight for an independent Vietnam. When the war ended the Vietminh controlled the north of Vietnam and were ready to take control of the rest of the country. The French wanted to regain control of Vietnam again. The Vietnamese people had not fought the Japanese only then to hand over power to the French. In 1946 war broke out between the French and the Vietminh. Ho Chi Minh cleverly did not mention that he was communist so that countries such as the USA would not get involved. The French asked President Eisenhower of the United States to send American troops to help. There was even mention of using nuclear weapons. Eisenhower said 'No' to both of these requests. The United States had just ended the war in Korea in which over 40,000 American's had died. They were in no mood to see anymore Americans die in Vietnam. In 1949, Ho Chi Minh declared himself communist. This date was cleverly
Explain why the US withdrew its forces from the Vietnam War in 1973
Explain why the US withdrew its forces from the Vietnam War in 1973. In the early 1960s, the American president, John F. Kennedy pledged financial and military aid to the struggling South Vietnam. As political unrest grew the support from a war in North Vietnam grew and 1963, and with John Kennedy's assassination in 1963, President Johnson felt that, to keep in with the U.S. foreign policy of containment, he would have to send a vast amount of young soldiers into Vietnam to help fight the rising influence of the Viet Cong. For over ten years, the U.S. pledged thousands of young troops and billions in financial aid until public opinion and guerilla tactics forced the U.S. to withdrawal from Vietnam, claiming that they hadn't been defeated but that they had left in their own right. But in reality, a tiny, lesser economically developed country had successfully defeated a new super power. This was due to many reasons, both short and long-term, such as the political unrest in the U.S., fighting conditions, military tactics and lack of trained unity within the U.S. forces, all of which will be dealt with in this essay. In the mid-1800s, Vietnam was colonized by French forces, which imposed dramatic political and cultural changes on to the country. And though they helped boost the country's economy, fuelled by exports, the French government often ignore calls for self-government
To what extent did the US president hinder rather than help the development of African American civil rights in the period from 1865-1992?
To what extent did the US president hinder rather than help the development of African American civil rights in the period from 1865-1992? It can be argued that over the period 1865-1992 the majority of the presidents hindered the development rather than help as the presidents Johnson to Cleveland actively slowed down the civil rights. However, it can also be said that some of presidents did help the African Americans to a large extent, for example in the 1960s Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson actively help the African American’s through their policies. Presidents at the start of the time period might have hindered the development because of their white supremacist views, prioritising reconstruction and the need to maintain white Democrat support in the South. Presidents between Cleveland and Kennedy and after Ford can be categorised as passive relating to the issue of Civil Rights. They were distracted many events such as the Great Depression, Vietnam and the Cold War which lead to hinder the development of African American. Although most hindered the development and were passive, by 1992 presidents had created Civil Rights for African Americans. In this essay I will be discussing the both side of the argument in which I will include the Presidents who helped the development of African American and those who hinder the development. Presidents hindered the development of
What were the major problems facing US forces when fighting the war in Vietnam?
What were the major problems facing US forces when fighting the war in Vietnam? There were a number of problems facing US forces when fighting the war in Vietnam. Perhaps one of the biggest problems that they faced was the fact that the Vietcong were fighting using guerrilla tactics: fighting on a small scale, taking independent, irregular actions. The Vietcong depended on stealth, concealment, and surprise attacks and ambushes. Guerrilla warfare spread as Vietminh soldiers who were trained and armed in the North - the Vietcong, returned to their homes in the south to assassinate, ambush and sabotage. Unlike conventional wars in which the Americans may have fought, the war in Vietnam had no defined front lines. Much of the fighting consisted have hit and run attacks, with the guerrillas striking at government outposts and then retreating into the jungles. Most of the US soldiers were also caught out by booby traps set up by the Vietcong. These ranged from simple holes in the ground to metal spikes covered in poison or human excrement. Booby traps were thought to have accounted for 11 per cent of US deaths in Vietnam and 17 per cent of wounds. After 1965, US involvement in the war escalated rapidly in response to the growing strength of the Vietcong. By 1967, US troop strength in South Vietnam had risen to 389,000 men, but despite their sophisticated weapons, the Americans
To what extent was America's policy of containment successful? Use Korea, Cuba and Vietnam in your investigation.
To what extent was America's policy of containment successful? Use Korea, Cuba and Vietnam in your investigation. American policy of containment refers to the foreign policy strategy of the US in the early years of the Cold war. The policy was to defeat the Soviet Union by preventing it from expanding the territories under its Communist control or otherwise extending its influence. This, naturally, resulted in strained relations and rivalry between the two superpowers. Despite the many difficulties, American policy of containment during the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War did manage to contain the expansion of Communism to a certain extent. The containment of communism in Korea was successful. The Korean War, which started on June 25, 1950 and ended with a cease fire on July 27, 1953, was a civil war between North Korea and South Korea. This Cold War era fighting is considered to have been a proxy war between the United States and its Western democratic allies, and the Communist powers (Soviet Union and People's Republic of China). North Korea was supported by Communist China and the Soviet Union, and South Korea was supported by the United States and its Western allies. Communist North Korea sought to spread its influence and control to the South. In October 1950, hostility spilled over into open warfare. North Korean troops overwhelmed the South
Summary of "Critical period effects in second language learning - The influence of maturational state on the acquisition of English as a second language", by Jacqueline S. Johnson and Elissa L. Newport,
Psychology of Human Development 3054, Section 5014F 9 October 2001 Summary of "Critical Period Effects in Second Language Learning: The Influence of Maturational State on the Acquisition of English as A Second Language", by Jacqueline S. Johnson and Elissa L. Newport, Published by Cognitive Psychology in 1989, pages 60-99. The original paper attempts to focus on whether or not the ability to adopt a second language, namely English, also lies within a certain designated period which defines the period for first language acquirement as well. Johnson and Newport attempted to modify Lenneberg's definition of the original critical period (mentioned below) into two versions: "The exercise hypothesis and The maturational state hypothesis". The first version implies that the attainment of a native language needs to be rehearsed during a period in early life and the ability will decrease with age. However, once this has been accomplished, the attainment of a second language is quite feasible at any point during the person's lifetime. The second version implies that full native or even multiple language attainment abilities are present only during an early period of life and if this period is not utilized, learning of any language decreases with age. The hypotheses tested mainly focused on the effects of age on second language attainment. Two studies were done on immigrants
What methods does Lee use to build up danger in the Tim Johnson passage?
a) What methods does Lee use to build up a sense of danger in this passage? Lee creates a sense of danger through the dialogue in this passage. She shows Atticus gradually becoming more nervous through punctuation, for example "Don't just stand there, Heck!". By using an exclamation mark to suggest that Atticus is shouting, Lee shows to the reader that he is growing increasingly more anxious. This builds up a sense of danger, and creates tension for the reader, as we too become uneasy and fearful of what might happen next. This is also effective as it is one of the rare moments in the novel when Lee shows Atticus being nervous, which makes the passage more alarming. Furthermore, Lee builds up an increasingly uneasier atmosphere through Scout's narrative. "..time had slowed to a nauseating crawl.". This description suggests to the reader that there is a lot of tension, and the atmosphere is apprehensive and uncomfortable, as everything has seemed to slow down. Lee also uses the simile of "He walked quickly, but I thought he moved like an underwater swimmer..", which juxtaposes Atticus' quick and trepidatious walk, with Scout's portrayal of the event. To Scout, and possibly the other onlookers, their fear has made them see Atticus move at a sluggish, lengthy pace, when in fact he is "walking quickly". Lee does this to elongate the tension for the reader, which gradually builds
Assess the view that the Supreme Court was the most important branch of federal government in assisting African Americans to achieve their civil rights in the period 1865-1992.
Assess the view that the Supreme Court was the most important branch of federal government in assisting African Americans to achieve their civil rights in the period 1865-1992. The three main branches of America federal government often show great divergence of opinion - something that has a huge impact on the way laws and attitudes in the US change over time - and this is blindingly obvious in terms of the Civil Rights movement and the fight for African American civil rights - for example, even at times when Congress was highly conservative, the Supreme Court was able to make rulings, based on previous legislation, that dramatically improved the rights of African Americans, and even at times when the Supreme Court and Congress were both heavily opposed to further movement on the issue, the President was able to step in and issue Executive Orders. One of the first steps, of course, on the journey toward equal rights for African Americans was the 13th Amendment. Ultimately, unless the slaves had been freed, there could never have been equality for them with the rest of society. Followed by the 14th and 15th Amendments, which further extended the de jure rights of African Americans - indeed, the Amendments gave African Americans equal rights, in a de jure capacity. All three of these amendments were passed by Congress, and are indicative of the positive attitude towards the
Do you agree that Martin Luther King was the most important factor in helping blacks gain more civil rights in the 1960s?
Do you agree that Martin Luther King was the most important factor in helping blacks gain more civil rights in the 1960s? In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed by Lyndon B Johnson, giving black people civil rights for the first time. This was followed by the Voting Bill in 1965, an act which scrapped the literacy tests given to blacks, and gave all black people the right to vote. Many things led up to these acts, such as the work of Martin Luther King, various protest groups and the experiences of many black Americans during the Second World War. Martin Luther King was born on 15th January 1929, the son of a preacher man and a teacher, in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a passionate, charismatic man, and was no doubt influenced by the Baptist Church that he grew up with. Whilst a college, Martin Luther King was introduced to the work and ideas of Mahatma Ghandi, another influence on his ideas for peaceful protest. Throughout much of the world outside America, Martin Luther King was seen as a hero and a figurehead for change, however in the eyes of many racist Americans from the southern states, he was nothing more than a trouble maker and someone to be put down. One of the first civil rights groups Martin Luther King was involved with was the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). By the time he became involved, he was a preacher, and was named president of the
