Reasons Behind The U.s.’s Extended War with Vietnam

The United States’ involvement in Vietnam from 1950-1975 was long and brutal, ending with the U.S.’s retreat. The reasons behind American involvement in the war can be seen in three distinct phases: the initial involvement, the prolonged continuation, and the fear of leaving. The reasons in each aspect are economic interests, fear of the Domino theory, and the threat to the world image of America, respectively.

            The first aspect of the U.S.’ involvement in Vietnam is the reason why America got involved in the first place. Indochina, mainly the territory that became the Vietnams, was the jewel of the French territory. France had lost Vietnam during the Second World War, and after WWII was finished, France wanted to regain her colony. Though this was an imperialistic goal, America supported France, rationalizing that despite France’s imperialistic intentions, Minh, the leader of Vietnam, was a communist and therefore worse than an imperialistic France. However, this rationale was merely a disguise that gave the U.S. an excuse to help France. After WWII, the European economy lay in disarray. Vietnam provided France with invaluable resources that would help France to rebuild its economy. This in turn, would help to rebuild Europe’s economy. Because of this reason, America aided France, rather than Vietnam. However, when France lost, Vietnam was split into the North, led by Minh, and the South, a French stronghold under a puppet named Diem. According to the treaty that ended the war between France and Vietnam, an election was to be held in 1956, the winner of which would reunite the Vietnams. However, the Vietnamese loved the man who fought so hard for their freedom, Minh, and so it was well known that he would win the election. Thus, the second stage of American involvement beings: the fear of the spread of communism.

            Since Minh had communist ideas, Eisenhower urged Diem to disregard the elections of 1956, which he did. Thus, the rationale behind suppressing the North was to combat communism. As more resistance grew against Diem’s government, the U.S. sent more aid to ensure their survival. When Johnson came into the presidency due to the assassination of Kennedy, he “inherited what was already a substantial American commitment to the survival of an anticommunist South Vietnam” (Brinkley 829). Johnson escalated the war because of his desire to combat the communist North and the communist threat of the NLF within the South. However, Johnson’s escalation went beyond just the immediate threat of communism, for he believed in the Domino Theory, which stated that communism would spread like an infectious plague to all adjacent areas of a communist stronghold. Thus, in order to prevent other nations around Vietnam from falling to communism as well, Johnson continued increased the war by investing more American power into fighting the battle. This was the same reason why Truman proclaimed his Truman Doctrine and took action in Greece and Turkey in the late 1940’s.