How Useful Are Sources A to C To Explain Why The United States Became Involved In The War In Vietnam?
Sources A-C gives us some insight into why the USA fought and got involved in Vietnam and reveals a number of reasons about Vietnam. I shall be reviewing each source from which I have stated above. Sources A, B and C.
Source A is a primary public speech made by President Johnson (Lyndon Baines Johnson) in April 1965 just one month after the start of ‘Operation Rolling Thunder’ according to the provenance. This is where he wanted his opinions to be spoken out and heard. In the speech Johnson is saying “We fight in Vietnam because we have a promise to keep”. This is a promise regarded and made by Eisenhower when he was President in 1953. Lyndon Johnson wants all the Americans to believe what he is exactly saying and still wants to keep this promise. The Truman Doctrine was mentioned in the speech which was to come and help about communism in 1948 and Johnson wants to stick with this. In 1954, President Eisenhower and JFK started sending “advisers” as first president Kennedy would have wanted. You can see that Johnson is talking in a very religious manner and just maybe a religious when speaking out in the speech. President Johnson wants people and to reassure all Americans about the ‘Domino Theory’. The domino theory was a mid-20th century theory. If one country fell to communism then all the other countries around it shall follow and become communism and he didn’t want this. This is why Lyndon Johnson is trying to make people go and fight in the Vietnam War. Trying to justify himself to all Americans. I would say this source is biased. I find it’s biased because it’s only Johnson’s opinion and he his telling the American society and the people what they want to hear and nothing else. It’s very useful. But being useful it’s still very limited as this is only a public speech that doesn’t tell us what Johnsons private opinions really are. To look at President Johnson’s private opinions I can study source B as the speech was made private.
In source B this is a primary private speech made by President Johnson in May 1964 according to the provenance. At this point in time, Lyndon Baines Johnson only just became president. But as a V.P. (Vice President) Johnson knew about Vietnam very well. President Johnson in this private speech is talking about the citizens of America. I quote “I don’t think the people of our country know much about Vietnam, and I think we care a hell of, a lot less.” By this statement the President of America is calling his own people thick, dumb and not knowledge able to know much about Vietnam. In public no-one would use the word “hell” Because it’s southern religious Texan. In this source President Johnson is really voicing his opinions. You know this by Johnson saying “I don’t think we can fight them ten thousand miles away from home, I don’t think it’s worth fighting for. What the hell is Vietnam worth to me?” It’s like Lyndon Johnson isn’t really bothered and couldn’t care less about his people and about the Vietnam War. Johnson is also suggesting that the USA cannot win. It’s showing us that Johnson is scared fear of communism taking over the world and that the political consideration “Let’s move on, let’s go into the North” are just being selfish. We have to be very careful within this speech, as it hasn’t been edited o tampered with. If it’s all whole trustworthy. Possibly was it taped? As it has been to believed that since President Johnson been president his office was monitored by everything that had been said by recording. But is this really reliable and exactly what U.S. president Johnson really said. As I have stated before it can be edited in various ways making things sound different from what has actually been said.
