Why did the USA become increasingly involved in Vietnam between 1964-1968?

by skuds2000 (student)

Question B – Why did the USA become increasingly involved in Vietnam between 1964 and 1968?

The USA became increasingly involved in the Vietnam War between 1964 and 1968 for a number of different reasons. After Kennedys reign of presidency, Lyndon Johnson took hold of a difficult situation in Vietnam. The South Vietnamese government was very corrupt, the Viet Cong were making large gains in rural areas of South Vietnam and guerilla tactics were proving very hard to combat. One key reason why the US became progressively involved in Vietnam was the fear of the Domino theory. The Domino theory was arguably the most significant cause for the escalation of US support in the Vietnam War. The Americans feared that if they left the corrupt South Vietnamese government alone, the whole country would collapse to communism and ultimately spread to neighboring countries such as Laos and Cambodia.

The most important reason as to why the United States became increasingly involved in Vietnam was the long-term effect of the Domino Theory. The Domino Theory was the belief that once one country had fallen to communism, its neighbors would do the same. The Domino Theory was very important for the Americans if they were to win the Cold War, as they had to keep as few countries from going communist as possible. If South Vietnam were to fall communist, its neighbors in South East Asia may do the same including India, Laos and Cambodia. As much of South Asia was swamped in poverty, communism looked an attractive prospect for the peasants who owned very little wealth. The idea of shared wealth and land seemed very appealing for the population and were extremely important reasons as to why the United States became increasingly involved in the war in Vietnam.

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The Gulf of Tonkin incident was a very important reason for the escalation of U.S support. Johnson maintained a moderately calm policy until August 1964, however his policy’s soon changed dramatically. In 1964, two U.S. Navy destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin reported that North Vietnamese gunboats had attacked them unprovoked. The American public were enraged, and Johnson requested to Congress for the authority to take “all necessary steps” to protect the U.S forces. Soon after Congress passed the resolution, a debate emerged in whether the attacks on the U.S. ships were indeed ‘Unprovoked’. The U.S. were likely involved in under cover missions against North Vietnam that were unknown to the American public at the time. This could suggest that the attacks were not unprovoked but simply retaliation from the North Vietnamese. Nonetheless, the U.S. government accepted the public’s anger and ultimately used it as a justification to escalate the war.

Another reason why the U.S escalated their involvement in the Vietnam War was the strategic geological location of Vietnam. Vietnam bordered southern China, a communist and nuclear-armed enemy of the United States. The Americans realised that if they had an ally like South Vietnam, the location would be of a massive importance if nuclear war was to break out. If this was the case and Nuclear Warfare did begin, the United States could have nuclear weapons installed a few hundreds of miles below China and just within range of Russia. Also, if conventional war were to occur, ships and planes from US installed bases would be able to navigate to China with relative ease due to the two countries short distances. This was a massive incentive for the Americans to increase activity in Vietnam and offered an ‘insurance’ in case war broke out between the U.S.A and China.

The NLF or ‘Viet Cong’ were also a reason why the USA become increasingly involved in Vietnam between 1964 and 1968. The ‘Vietcong’ were a communist organisation that used ‘Guerilla’ tactics in order to attack the United States in South Vietnam. The Cong were an armed group with the aim to counter the unpopular South Vietnamese government under Diem and unite Vietnam as a communist country. The Guerilla tactics, which the NLF used, proved very effective in both avoiding pitched battles and also frustrating the US army. These tactics meant that the US had to invest in higher troop numbers in order to patrol the dense jungles and seek the Viet Cong. The US also turned to using Chemical Defoliants such as Agent Orange and Napalm in order to combat the NLF. These tactics however proved very unpopular with the Vietnamese and weakened the ‘hearts and minds’ of the villagers.

The United States increased its involvement in Vietnam for numerous reasons. The first and most important reason was the Domino Theory and the US fear of communism. I believe this theory had a huge impact on their decision to get involved in the war, however other factors such as the Gulf of Tonkin incident also played a part in the Americans decision to escalate their involvement in the war.

Alex Skudder