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Recommended: Vietnam war
Summary of Vietnam War
Ngo Vinh Long
In this reading, Long discusses the history of Vietnamese resistance to colonial and oppressive forces. Long states that American historians and statesman claim that other factors contributed to the disastrous conclusion of the Vietnam war, but that the real truth is that the American’s were not prepared to meet such a formidable foe. The Vietnamese had been resisting the Chinese for over 1,000 years and had held on; when the French arrived the same policy of resistance was practiced. Ultimately, due to the oppressive nature of the French and WWII, the French were ousted and a new communist government under Ho Chi Minh was established. Having just been under an oppressive force, and being very knowledgeable about how to deal with oppression, the American’s were caught by surprise.
Ho Chi Minh
In the first set of readings, Ho Chi Minh calls upon Western powers to honor the principles of freedom they so ‘righteously’ proclaim. Speaking specifically to the French, Ho Chi Minh proclaims that the right of the Vietnamese people to be sovereign is inherent in the ideology of French ideology and he calls on them to follow through.
In the second selection of reading, Ho Chi Minh recounts his eventual conversion to Marxist/Leninist ideals. He tells of his participation and final acceptance of communist ideals.
In the final selection of reading Ho Chi Minh calls upon all the people of Vietnam to join in the fight for full independence. In this letter Minh appeals to heroes of the past who have resisted oppression and relates these heroes to the present struggle.
Johnson
In this selection of reading President Johnson is defending his Vietnam policy. This address by Johnson lays out many arguments for why the war in Vietnam is necessary; they are as follows: (a) the self-determination of nations; (b) aggressive forces; (c) communism as a menace to the world; (d) idea that everything operates like dominoes; (e) avoiding another Munich; (f) responsibility of the American people; (g) a “new deal” for third-world countries; (h) a better tomorrow for the world
Scheer
In this article Scheer explains why the US got involved in Vietnam. Three primary reasons were the imminent collapse of the French government, the success of the Viet Minh, and the instability of the puppet Diem regime.
Duncan
In this narrative, Duncan explains through various stories why he believes the war in Vietnam simply propaganda; he concludes his narrative by saying that it took him 10 years in the military to figure out that the government was feeding him lies.
When Vietnamese revolutionary Ho Chi Minh and his political organization, the Vietminh, seized control of their independence from France United States Politicians saw it as another communist take over. When really Ho was more a nationalist than a communist. All Minh wanted was for the United States to recognize its independence from France and to send aid to help it reach its nationalistic goals. "Before the Cold War Ho and the Vietmin...
The Vietnam War: A Concise International History is a strong book that portrays a vivid picture of both sides of the war. By getting access to new information and using valid sources, Lawrence’s study deserves credibility. After reading this book, a new light and understanding of the Vietnam war exists.
E-History (2012, N.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2012, from http://ehistory.osu.edu/vietnam/essays/battlecommand/index.cfm.
shows how Uncle Chinh's position on being a Communist, gets in the way of Vietnamese
imperialism, ethnocentrism, and sexism. Conflict in the commentary is deliberately deceptive, “the objective of The Things They Carried, like other Vietnam War narratives, is not to open a traumatic event to multiple, vying interpretations, but rather to consolidate a satisfying mythic meta-narrative of American sin and redemption" (Clarke 135). The book underscores contending viewpoints which taken separately would be assumed on reliable. The contending viewpoints produce contending truths. Therefore there is no single narrative that is solely about depravity and evil or about salvation (Clarke 135).
Vietnam War (1954-1975) is considered as one of those big wars of the modern world that has been acknowledged and studied by countries in the world. Especially, in regard to the United States, starting and ending war in Vietnam was an unforgettable experience that has left a priceless lesson in its foreign policy, and of course a lot of loss, physically, mentally, and property. “The Legacy of Vietnam” article of George Herring basically summarizes how the Vietnam War led to an end in failure of America and what consequences it left behind.
It consisted of North Vietnam trying to make South Vietnam a communist government. The United States later joined this conflict because of the stress North Vietnam was putting on South Vietnam to become a government that America did not want. The main reason why America joined was because of a theory called the Domino Effect. America and Russia were going through what has been dubbed the Cold War. The Domino Effect is the theory that communism will spread from one country to another.
This book details the discussion of government policy in the stages of the Vietnam crisis from 1961-July 1965. It examines the main characters of President Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert McNamara, in addition to the military, which included the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It began in the Kennedy era amidst the Bay of Pigs incident and how that led to mistrust of the military planning by advisors and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It continues with Johnson and his administration making decisions over and over that continued to commit more and more involve...
The reasons for the Vietnam War took place long before the war even began. For years, the Vietnamese had been under French colonial rule. But, when Communist revolutionary Ho Chi Minh came back to Vietnam, he established a group called the Viet Minh, the goal of which was to remove all French occupation from Vietnam. So, the fighting started, and Ho Chi Minh tried to get the US to support them. But, being true to their policies of containment, the US started supporting France. The United States' thoughts about Communism's potential growth can be summed up in one basic idea: the Domino Theory. This theory stated that if one country in a region fell to Communism, the surrounding countries would soon follow. Because of this, the US committed to keeping the North Vietnamese contained once the French withdrew from Vietnam. But, the thing that really pushed the US into sending troops into Vietnam was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. On August 2nd and 4th, 1964, the North Vietnamese fired upon two US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin. Following this, Congress approved the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on August 7, 1964, which gave the president authority to send military troops into Vietnam without declaring war. So, President Johnson sent troops into Vietnam, which had already erupted into civil war, to aid the South Vietnamese.
Herring begins his account with a summary of the First Indochina War. He reports that the Vietnamese resisted French imperialism as persistently as they had Chinese. French colonial policies had transformed the Vietnamese economic and social systems, giving rise to an urban middle class, however; the exploitation of the country and its people stimulated more radical revolutionary activity. Herring states that the revolution of 1945 was almost entirely the personal creation of the charismatic leader Ho Chi Minh. Minh is described as a frail and gentle man who radiated warmth and serenity, however; beneath this mild exterior existed a determined revolutionary who was willing to employ the most cold- blooded methods in the cause to which he dedicated his life. With the guidance of Minh, the Vietminh launched as a response to the favorable circumstances of World War II. By the spring of 1945, Minh mobilized a base of great support. When Japan surrendered in 1945, the Vietminh filled the vacuum. France and the Vietminh attempted to negotiate an agreement, but their goals were irreconcilable.
North Vietnam came under the control of the Vietnamese Communists who had opposed France and aimed for a unified Vietnam under Communist rule. Vietnamese who had collaborated with the French controlled the South. For this reason the United States became involved in Vietnam because it believed that if all of the country fell under a Communist government, Communism would spread throughout Southeast Asia and further. This belief is known as the domino theory. The decision to enter Vietnam reflected Americas idea of its global role - the U.S. could not recoil from world leadership.
As strangers treat your country like a placemat for the boots of war, spit in the face of your family and friends; then treat you as insolent for refusing to cooperate it's only natural to be furious. After 22 years of ongoing bombing, shooting, chaos, and overall misery for the U.S. and Vietnam the letters exchanged by President Johnson and Ho Chi Minh establish their and opinions on each other and the war.Through descriptions of how the U.S. has ravaged Vietnam and the devotion of it's people for their cause, Minh provides an explanation for his decision to pause negotiations and attitude towards the U.S.
The Vietnamese people’s movement was very well coordinated during the Pacification period. The rebellion was not only led by court mandarins, but also by private scholars. The moral and military power of some of the rebel ...
The Vietnam War took action after the First Indochina War, in fact the Vietnam War is also known as the Second Indochina War. This war included the communist North Vietnam and its allies of the Viet Cong, the Soviet Union, China and other communist allies going against South Vietnam and its allies, the Unites States, Philippines and other anti-communist allies. It was a very long and conflicting war that actually started in 1954 and ended in 1975. The war began after the rise to power of Ho Chi Minh and his communist party in North Vietnam. More than three million people were killed during the war, this included approximately 58,000 Americans and more than half of the killed were actually Vietnamese civilians. The Vietnam War ended by the communist forces giving up control of Saigon and the next year the country was then unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Many people, including both men and women were directly and indirectly involved within the war itself. Women worked many different roles in the Vietnam War, and they are most definitely not credited enough for all that they actually did.
Vietnam was a struggle which, in all honesty, the United States should never have been involved in. North Vietnam was battling for ownership of South Vietnam, so that they would be a unified communist nation. To prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism, the U.S. held on to the Truman Doctrine and stood behind the South Vietnamese leader, Diem.