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a) Roots
Vietnam had been under foreign rule for much of its history, first of all under the Chinese. In 1860, France began its domination of the area and had, by the late 19th century, implemented its colonization in a number of regions around the Gulf of Tonkin. During WWII, the Japanese government took control of much of the area and set up a puppet regime that was eventually forced out by the Vietnamese at the end of that war in 1945.
After WWII and until 1954, France fought hard to regain her former territories in the region, but with a poorly organized army and little determination among the troops, these efforts soon collapsed. The French troops withdrew, leaving a buffer zone separating the North and South and planned elections the purpose of which would have been a reunification of the country. The communist regime set up its headquarters in Hanoi under the leadership of the Nationalist and Communist leader Ho Chi Minh. Many North Vietnamese left the country and fled south where the self-proclaimed president, Ngo Dinh Diem had formed the Republic of Vietnam.
Between 1955 and 1960, the North Vietnamese (with the assistance of the southern communist Vietcong) tried to take over the government in South Vietnam, and in November 1963 President Diem was overthrown and executed. The following year, supported by China and Russia the North Vietnamese began a massive drive to conquer the whole country.
Fearing a communist takeover of the entire region, the United States grew more and more wary of the progress of Ho Chi Minh and the Vietcong. Communism had become the evil menace in the US and with the expansion of Soviet rule into Eastern Europe, Korea and Cuba, the Americans were bent on stopping communism from spreading any further.
b) The Vietnam War
With the Cold War at its height, the US leaders were worried that an attack on North Vietnam by the US would create tensions with the Chinese and Russians which would, in turn, lead to a larger conflict and possibly WW III. This created a difficult situation for the US and would eventually lead to many internal conflicts. The US was also faced with a number of cultural differences between the two countries, and what was considered corrupt by the US government was considered legitimate by South Vietnamese standards. It was difficult for the US to portray South Vietnam as a hard working, hard fighting democracy; corruption was widespread among officials and the armed forces. The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was disorganized due to the low morale of its leaders and their conspicuous interest in personal gain. Therefore the US had a great deal of difficulty in holding the army together in South Vietnam and saw only one solution, which was to start taking care of things themselves.
Around 1955 the US began supporting the south, at first in an advisory role, which slowly escalated into full commitment.
The large-scale involvement of the US began under President Lyndon B. Johnson and his Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, a resolution that was proclaimed to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in Southeast Asia, but that only brought war and millions of dead and refugees. Johnson had replaced John F. Kennedy who had been assassinated in Dallas, Texas in 1963. He was torn between the various strategies the US had drawn up for Vietnam. The increasing involvement from 1965 onwards and the escalation of troop involvement meant there were more casualties and more problems at home. But Johnson, who held the power to stop the war in Vietnam, but was always concerned about his image, could not face the thought of being regarded as the first president in US history to lose a war. The pressure around him grew so intense that he was only left with one option and that was not to run for a second term. Basically, he handed the war down to Richard Nixon.
The escalation of war continued during the first Nixon years. The top US commander in Vietnam was General William Westmoreland; who had to face an army of young men placed in an environment that was totally alien to them. There was no clear frontline to the conflict and basically, the enemy could be hiding anywhere. Life in the jungle was painful and there were no home comforts. Drugs and other stimulants filtered their way into the daily routine of many servicemen and morale quickly started to decrease. For the first time, people in the US resisting the draft were given acceptance although still not by the majority of citizens. Riots and demonstrations against the war became common in the US, with numerous veterans taking part in the efforts to stop the war, strengthening the issue. Finally, the US government saw that it was in a no-win situation and began making plans to withdraw.
After great efforts by the US to withdraw, and the establishment of cease-fire on January 27th, 1973, American soldiers began leaving Vietnam for good. The North Vietnamese, totally ignoring the cease-fire, finally conquered South Vietnam in early 1975 and on July, 2nd, 1976, North and South Vietnam were officially reunited as a single communist state.
c) Results
. It had cost an estimated 2 million lives and disablement of many millions of others. (50 000 Americans)
. The war had a deeply unsettling effect on the economy of the US.
. Among Americans there was a strong feeling of humiliation after the defeat by the guerrilla forces of a country of "peasants".
. Americans became disillusioned and distrustful of their government after Vietnam.
. The Vietnam War had a profound impact on US foreign policy. It resulted in US disillusionment about its role as the "world police" and revived the wish to keep the country free of long term world wide commitments.
. The role of press freedom in wars was thought over again. After this war the media were not allowed to show pictures of the front again, nor of dead US soldiers, defeats, or US atrocities.
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