Source B is an extract of President Johnson’s ideas and thoughts about the war are expressed in a private conversation in May 1964. The source shows that President Johnson is infuriated to the fact that America is involvement in Vietnam. He states in the source that people in America have no knowledge and much care about Vietnam. The quote in the text confirms that he is fighting the war in Vietnam because of electoral reasons. He also feels that there is no point fighting a country that is ten thousand miles away. He clearly feels Vietnam is not worth fighting for. He however is aware of the fact that Vietnam and many other countries could fall to communism, if he did not involve America in Vietnam. He is afraid that if he does not involve the US in the fight against communism that America would suffer consequently because of it. The source is also useful as it tells of Vietnam being “the biggest damn mess”. This makes reference to the chaos in South Vietnam at this time. During the early 1960s Vietnam was a complete mess. The Vietcong were continuously murdering top officials in the south as they intensified their campaign for an independent communist Vietnam.
Source C is an extract from an interview with Professor Noam Chomsky who was an American journalist and highly critical of the war. He was also very critical of the US government, which adds to the limitations and the usefulness of the source. The interview was held in October 1982, around 10 years after the war had finished. Unlike the two previous sources, Chomsky is looking at the War in Hindsight, which could possibly distort his view on the USA’s involvement after knowing the terrible atrocities that were caused making the source both useful and limited. Noam Chomsky argues that America’s involvement in the war is misinterpreted this is evident in an interview in October 1982. It is thought that America fought against the North of Vietnam; however he suggests that America actually attacked the South Vietnam destroying the farming and peasant society. In the source the professor implicates strongly that the United States of America moved into Vietnam because it feared of an independent South Vietnam. Noam Chomsky also suggests that America dreaded the thought of South Vietnam reforming and improving its economy. He firmly believes that this procedure would undermine the American influence in the area.
Source A can also be seen as limited due to the fact that it was speech delivered after President Johnson had been re-elected in 1964. After gaining the trust of the American public and winning the election Johnson did not want to be seen as a weak president like his predecessor John F Kennedy. Also like Kennedy, Johnson felt obliged to show America’s support for Vietnam. Johnson’s primary motive for delivering this speech to the American people was to further gain the trust of the American people and promote the American cause in Vietnam as something the USA was doing for the good of the Vietnamese people. Another limitation of the source is that it is an official government written speech, (unlike sources B and C); moreover the content of the source would be modified in order to show America in the best light. The government did not want to become unpopular with its people at this crucial time in trying to gain support for America’s cause in Vietnam.
Source B also has its limitations. One reason why it may be an unreliable source is that this source is a private conversation so it must have been leaked giving the possibility that it may have been altered, thus making the source inaccurate. The source is also limited as it is taken from the election year; this was also the year when President Johnson gave his great society speech. Due to this Johnson is very aware of his public image and reputation with the other politicians at this time, as he did not want to loose his place in the White House.
Source C’s utility can be questioned due to the motive of the Source. The writer of the source Professor Noam Chomsky was highly critical of the government and the source was taken after the war had ended. Noam Chomsky was interviewed and could have been influenced by his knowledge of the atrocities and the huge causalities that happened. The motive of the source is to get Chomsky’s view across. He would also be influenced because he is writing for the American public and is aware of public opinion. Because Chomsky is looking back in hindsight it makes the source limited and ‘its official truth now’ meaning that he is sympathising with the US public as they all were now aware of the Vietnam true nature of the war.
In conclusion all the sources suggest reason such as the domino effect and the spread of communism. Each source is useful and limited, but out of all the sources, source B is the most useful. Source A is the official reason for why the USA became involved and was taken the election year and therefore would contain limitations in order to please the American public and win the election. Source B on the other hand is from the same election year but is the unofficial reasons. The source is taken from a private conversation and underlines the pressures Johnson had to face, from the president himself. Source C is also limited because it is taken after the war and could be argued that Chomsky was highly influenced by his knowledge. Source B is the most useful to explain why American became involved in the war because it gives the most truthful view from Johnson to why the USA entered Vietnam. Overall, they are all useful but because they have their limitations, it could have been more useful to use another source that was more reliable, such as an independent source that is very balanced and gives us a fair picture.
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