Vietnam+-+Path+to+War

The path to war in Vietnam begins in the 1800’s. France owned Indochina, which was the space between India and China. Back then, that was all one colony – it is now separated into countries such as Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Indochina was what one would want from a colony – it was a new market, it had new resources, but the Vietnamese people resented their French rulers. The Vietnamese people would riot and revolt against the French rulers, in hopes of becoming an independent nation. Several communist leagues united under the rule of Ho Chi Minh, a rebel, to form the ICP, also known as the Indochinese Communist Party. They and other commoners fought for independence. This was not an easy movement to push, as the French would arrest and execute many protesters. In WWII, Japan’s rapid expansion allowed it to gain control of Indochina. The ICP and other communist rebel groups formed the Viet Minh, which were at first assisted by the United States in their fight against the Japanese. At the end of WWII, Vietnam declared itself and independent nation, as Japan was losing power. After Japan faded from Vietnam, the French tried to regain control of Vietnam. Their argument was that Indochina was theirs before the war, so it was still theirs now. This led to a war between the Viet Minh and French in 1946.

American involvement began with Harry S. Truman supported the French when communism began spreading in Asia. Truman knew he would need allies to fight the Soviets in the Cold War, and was afraid that Vietnam would become a communist nation. Then, once the Truman Administration came to an end, President Eisenhower continued his Truman’s ideas of containment. Eisenhower had a theory called “the domino effect”, where if one nation fell to communism, so would the ones near it. Ultimately, the French failed in reclaiming Vietnam, despite being funded by the United States. Meanwhile, in Switzerland, the Geneva Accords were taking place. It was agreed that Vietnam would be divided into North Vietnam and South Vietnam, similar to Korea being split. However, North Korea and South Korea were supposed to hold an election for a leader to merge the nation. Unfortunately, this is not an easy thing to do.

Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh ruled North Vietnam. Ngo Dinh Diem, who was not a communist, was decided as prime minister of South Vietnam. Many North Vietnamese fled to South Vietnam, fearing the Viet Minh. In 1956, Ngo Dinh Diem had little support in the South, and decided not to hold an election, from fear of losing. Ngo Dinh Diem’s government was very corrupt throughout its entire rule. President Eisenhower supported this though, and poured money into the non-communist South Vietnam. In South Vietnam, communist rebels called the Viet Cong fought the South Viet namese government. In 1963, with Kennedy as President, the Viet Cong had nearly taken over South Vietnam. Kennedy tried to send advisers into South Vietnam, telling Ngo Dinh Diem to make several adjustments to the military and economy of South Vietnam, but when Diem did not obey he lost American support. Ngo Dinh Diem was assassinated three weeks before President Kennedy was. Lyndon B. Johnson took over as President, and it was his actions that brought America closer and closer to war.

Johnson encouraged activity in Vietnam, fearing what would happen if a dictator was left to do as he pleased. The South Vietnamese government was growing weaker and weaker as the North Vietnamese government sent aid to the Viet Cong, who had taken over most of South Vietnam. Johnson and his military advisors had planned to bomb North Vietnam, to discourage their supporting of Viet Cong. The bombings were calling Operation Rolling Thunder. However, then the Vietnamese attacked the Maddox, a United States destroyer, in the Gulf of Tonkin. Some say it was attacked a second time, but this is not confirmed. Regardless, this prompted Johnson to ask Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave Johnson the authority to “take any necessary measures” to defend the United States. Basically, Johnson had absolute authority to declare war by use of military force in Vietnam, but not actually declare war, as that needed to be passed by Congress. Everyone in the House of Representatives and everyone except for two in the Senate passed the Resolution. In March of 1965, America began bombing North Vietnam, and sent troops. It was now happening – the Vietnamese War had begun.