The U.S. Enters the Vietnam War

1. Many neutral observers in Vietnam were critical of US policy. Explain why.
In 1954 the U.S.A prevented Vietnam from holding elections in fear that a communist leader would be elected. In 1955 the Americans help set up the Republic of South Vietnam. The U.S. supported corrupt leaders in Vietnam and supplied over a billion dollars in the 1950, they had no other way to try to stop communism but to support anti-communist people, weather they were corrupt or not. President Kennedy sent military personal that he referred to as advisers to fight the Viet Cong, but as time went on, between 1963 and 1964, tension between North and South Vietnam increased and so did the amount of military assistance in Vietnam. Many neutral observers were critical of U.S. policy because the U.S. was sending astonishing amounts of money as well as a great deal of soldiers into Vietnam without any real reason. They were bombing helpless citizens and they supported corrupt leaders.

2. Explain how US politicians would have defended their policies.
US politicians would have defended their policies because they claimed that if Vietnam fell to communism, than it would have been the start of all of Asia. American's saw what was happening in Vietnam as a domino effect, if Vietnam fell to communism than many other Asian countries like Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Burma and maybe even India would fall right behind them. Communism was a huge fear of the United States and they went to any measure they could in stopping it. The policy of sending troops into Vietnam was one of the only ways that the US could be sure that they were driving out communism and keeping a nationalist balance. The money they gave anti-communist leaders in Vietnam was very important because it was able to set up a government that was anti-communist and supported by some peasants.

3. The following events are not listed in correct date order. Place them in the correct chronological order. (Write the year inside the parenthesis, i.e. (1965). Then note the reason for each U.S. action, and how it brought the U.S. into deeper involvement in Vietnam.
The reasons you can choose from are: No direct involvement; financial support; political involvement; military involvement. Also, note what events triggered the increased involvement.

( 1963 ) Assassination of JFK - Johnson becomes president- political involvement- When Lyndon Johnson became president, he was more prepared than Kennedy to commit the USA to a full-scale conflict in Vietnam to prevent the spread of communism. It brought the U.S. deeper into involvement in Vietnam because Johnson was up for a war while Kennedy was hesitant, so with Johnson being president, the U.S. was ready to go to war.
( 1954 ) Formation of South Vietnam- political involvement- elections could not be held to determine what was going to happen in Vietnam, so at the Geneva peace conference in 1954, Vietnam was split into two different countries, North and South. With the constant fighting and disagreements between the communists and the anti communists in Vietnam, the involvement was increased. The U.S. was brought deeper into involvement with Vietnam with the formation of South Vietnam because the U.S. needed to stop communism from spreading, and making sure that Vietnam was equally divided, it would not spread any further.
( 1964 ) Gulf of Tonkin Incident- military involvement- North Vietnamese patrol boats opened fire on US boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. This infuriated Johnson and members of conference. The US was now authorized to do whatever it took to prevent further aggression in Vietnam, and the answer was war. The Gulf of Tonkin increased the US' involvement in Vietnam because now Vietnam was threatening US people and started fighting against them.
( 1962 ) Number of 'advisers' reaches over 11,500- military involvement- Kennedy was sending military 'advisors' to Vietnam to fight against the Viet Cong. When the tension increased between the Vietnams, more and more advisors were sent. With the increasing of advisors entering Vietnam, it increased the involvement of the USA because more and more American soldiers and people were entering Vietnam, they needed to fight and help defeat the Viet Cong.
( 1962 ) JFK sends military advisers- military involvement- JFK sent military personal to Vietnam to fight the Viet Cong, it was a sign that the Viet Cong was very strong and powerful and US assistance was needed. The sending of military advisers was an increase of involvement of the USA because the president was sending members of the military to engage in undeclared warfare in Vietnam and to help out fighting against the Viet Cong and their guerrilla tactics.
( 1965 ) U.S. Marines land at Da Nang- military involvement- with the landing of U.S. marines on Da Nang, the Vietnam War was started. Fire was opened upon U.S. ships, so war was declared and Marines were station to Da Nang. This brought the US into deeper involvement in Vietnam because they were now at war and fighting against the communists and the Viet Cong.
( 1954 ) U.S. stops elections in Vietnam- political involvement- the U.S. stopped elections in Vietnam because they were in fear that a communist would win and it would then result in a domino effect and other Asian surrounding countries would fall to communism. The involvement was triggered because the USA was scared of what would have happened if communism kept growing. The U.S. stopping elections in Vietnam increased the involvement of the U.S. in Vietnam because now they were interfering with the government of the Vietnamese.
( 1963 ) U.S. supports South Vietnam government after army overthrow Diem-political involvement- the U.S. supported the South Vietnam government because they were anti-communist, although they have may have been corrupt and not the best leaders or government to support, the U.S. had no other choice, they knew no one that was better. The involvement was triggered by the overthrowing of Diem by the army because his decisions and actions were not working. The supporting of the South Vietnam government increased the U.S. involvement in Vietnam because now they were supporting part of the country and the government that ran it.
( 1960-2 ) Viet Cong attacks on U.S. and South Vietnam bases- military involvement- The Viet Cong attacked American air force and supply bases as well as the South Vietnamese government's buildings, forces, and officials. The involvement was triggered by the formation of the Viet Cong and their ideas of communism and how they were against the South Vietnamese government and it's supporters. The Viet Cong attacks increased the involvement of the U.S. in Vietnam because they were now fighting the Viet Cong and the communists in Vietnam.
( 1960 ) Viet Cong formed-military and political involvement- the Viet Cong was against the South Vietnamese government and they killed peasants who were not in support of them. They attacked the US and the Southern Vietnamese government. The involvement was triggered by how the Viet Cong used guerrilla tactics and were extremely hard to face when it came to fighting. The formation of the Viet Cong increased the involvement of the U.S. in Vietnam because now they had to deal with skilled fighting and another force that wanted communism to expand and wanted the United States out.

4. Choose two events that you think were critical in getting the U.S. involved in a war in Vietnam. Explain your choice.
The Gulf of Tonkin incident- The Gulf of Tonkin incident was critical in getting the U.S. involved in a war with Vietnam because now Northern Vietnamese people and ships were fighting against the U.S. American lives were now at risk and were being threatened, Johnson and the Congress agreed that something had to be done and they had to take desperate measures to conserve peace and prevent further aggression.
JFK sends military advisers- JFK sending military advisers was very critical in getting the U.S. involved in a war in Vietnam because he was basically sending the army into Vietnam, they were in fact military personal. With American soldiers going into Vietnam to fight the Viet Cong, it was battle. When the numbers of 'advisers' increased, the fighting came more and more, and eventually a war pursued.