Our war, the Vietnam War, was not just for many reasons. As the Vietnam War dragged on, soldiers began to see the war as unjust and unwinnable, leading to openly mutinous behavior.By way of a “fragmentation grenade,” from which the term “fragging” was One cause had to do mainly with the Vietnamese and one cause had mainly to do with the Americans. Vietnam War - Vietnam War - The U.S. role grows: By the middle of 1960 it was apparent that the South Vietnamese army and security forces could not cope with the new threat. The conflict between the French and the Viet Minh came to a head at the decisive Battle of Dien Bien Phu, when, after a four-month siege, the French lost to the Viet Minh under commander Vo Nguyen Giap, marking the end of French rule in Vietnam. Basically the reason for the Vietnam War in the first place. On August 4, the U.S. destroyer Turner Joy and the U.S.S. Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/Getty Images. He established the League for the Independence of Vietnam, better known as the Viet Minh, in May of 1941. NOAA Hurricane Forecast Maps Are Often Misinterpreted — Here's How to Read Them, Terry Fincher/Hulton Archive/Getty Images. The U.S. Supreme Court: Who Are the Nine Justices on the Bench Today? FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Ho Chi Minh used the U.S. It weighs up to nine pounds and grows as long as 20 inches. On August 2, 1964 the U.S.S. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident, also known as the U.S.S. The only reason we went to war with the North Vietnamese was to prevent Communism from spreading to South Vietnam, which wouldn't have affected our country. Maddox reported that they had been ambushed, though the Turner Joy’s account has since been called into question by historians. Belief held by America that communism was threatening to expand all over south-east Asia. On August 7, the House and Senate passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution almost unanimously to grant President Lyndon B. Johnson the power “to take all necessary measures to repeal any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent any further aggression.”. Step 2: The initial stages of the Vietnam War coincided with the start of the Cold War. causes of the Vietnam war why was the Vietnam war fought? Declaration of Independence as a model for his Proclamation of the Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, writing: “All men are born equal: the Creator has given us inviolable rights, life, liberty, and happiness!”. The struggle between French colonial forces and native Vietnamese citizens supported by Chinese communists was one of the root causes of the Vietnam War. “In the summer of 1964 the Johnson administration was laying secret plans for an expansion of U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. In May 1963, eight Buddhist protestors were killed by government officials in Hue. Brito-China Factor Although Minh declared Vietnam a free and independent country in 1945, the British and the Chinese were instrumental in helping France regain control over Vietnam. As Japan and France fought over Vietnam, an independence movement was forming under Ho Chi Minh, a revolutionary leader inspired by Lenin’s Bolshevik Revolution. When the French rejected his plan, the Viet Minh resorted to guerilla warfare to fight for an independent Vietnam. Paul Schutzer/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images. © 2021 A&E Television Networks, LLC. (Laos was added in 1893.) Together, they were considered to be the strongest military power, way more powerful than the U.S. “The Vietnam War was at once a war to reconcile issues of European imperialism in a new postcolonial space, a war between Marxism-Leninism and Democratic-Capitalism, and a war between Vietnamese parties,” says Nguyen. Before this disagreement was a war between Vietnam and the French. ISBN 978-0-203-08896-8. The conflict was intensified by the ongoing Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. From the Vietnamese side, the main cause of the Vietnam War was the desire of the Vietnamese to have a country that was free from excessive foreign influence. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. His strong anti-communist stance was popular with the Americans who helped him rise to power. At the end of the war, Ho Chi Minh (the leader of the northern Communist faction) began agitating for independence, causing France to turn to the U.S. for aid. “The ‘temporary’ division of the country at the seventeenth parallel into two ideologically-opposed states meant that the civil conflict in Vietnam would collide full-scale with the East-West rivalry,” says Lien-Hang T. Nguyen, Dorothy Borg Associate Professor in the History of the United States and East Asia at Columbia University. An election was scheduled in two years’ time to unify Vietnam, but the U.S., fearful that a national election would lead to communist rule, ensured it never took place. ISBN 978-0-8047-3049-5. The United States officially entered the war in 1965 when the North Vietnamese attacked the USS Maddox, backing South Vietnam. Any such wider action should have congressional support, officials determined, and the Gulf of Tonkin incident provided the opportunity to secure this authorization,” says Fredrik Logevall, Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Frank Scherschel/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images. By war’s end, North and South Vietnam would be reunited, but at great cost. Despite being a world superpower, the United States was not able to defeat a small, third-world, Asian country. Constitutions of Nations: The Americas. Chinese military strategy in the third Indochina war: the last Maoist war. Although the history of Vietnam has been dominated by war for 30 years of the 20th century, the conflict escalated during the sixties. But Diem’s preferential treatment of the Catholic minority led to protests throughout South Vietnam. In general, historians have identified several different causes of the Vietnam War, including: the spread of communism during the Cold War, American containment, and European imperialism in Vietnam. The question of who would rule Vietnam and how drew the interest of world superpowers, who watched the situation in Vietnam with growing unease. By 1972, the idea that Vietnam posed a threat to Cold War America was so discredited, it sometimes sounded as if America’s only remaining war aim was to … Fact Check: Is the COVID-19 Vaccine Safe? Vietnam also became a communist nation as the result of the war. The bloody conflict had its roots in French colonial rule and an independence movement driven by communist leader Ho Chi Minh. The US fabricated a story that Vietnamese gun boats attacked US … O'Dowd, Edward C. (2007). Maddox encountered three Soviet-built North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. The Americans had been working with the anti-communist side in Vietnam since 1950. The Vietnam War was a proxy war, which occurs when one or more opposing powers instigates a war and then uses third parties to fight on their … Millions of life were lost, and thousands went missing during the 20-year conflict. The Vietnam War (1955-1975) was fought between communist North Vietnam, backed by the Soviet Union and China, and South Vietnam, supported by the United States. The Vietnam war was caused by the false flag operation known as The Gulf of Tonkin incident. In short, the Vietnam War started as a result of the U.S.’s strategy of containment during the Cold War, which aimed to prevent the spread of communism throughout the world. Vietnam was divided during the Cold War, when tensions between the U.S. and The Soviet Union were at an all-time high. The Vietnam War was the longest military battle in the history of the United States. Did you know? The Vietnam War was a civil war that North Vietnam launched against South Vietnam in 1959. At the beginning of the Vietnam War, China and the Soviet Union (now Russia) were allies. Jessica Pearce Rotondi is the author of What We Inherit: A Secret War and a Familyâs Search for Answers. All Rights Reserved. President Eisenhower’s Domino Theory cemented U.S. involvement in Vietnam over the years. By 1965, the United States was fully committed in Vietnam, with over 60,000 American troops on its ground. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. The Vietnam War was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. In August 1964, Vietnamese forces fired on an American destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin, and America retaliated with airstrikes. The Vietnam War started as a disagreement between communist North Vietnam and anti-communist South Vietnam. Vietnam was a battleground in the Cold War. The war between them went on till 1954 and later some peace talks were held at a G summit and the country was divided into north and South Vietnam. Vietnam was a battleground in the Cold War, when the United States and Soviet Union grappled for world domination. In this regard, it could be said that the cause of war in Vietnam was a result of many historical injustices that were continually subjected to the Vietnamese. The initial cause that caused the Vietnam War was the intention to overthrow the South Vietnamese Government that was led by the communist guerrillas Viet Cong and the National Liberation Front, which had the support of North Vietnam which ended in a War between the two countries. Yes. The USSR (and PRC) backed the takeover of Southeast Asia by the Vietnamese Communists with economic … United States forces entered the conflict in support of the French in order to fight communism. The coup was followed by a chaotic succession of 12 different governments in South Vietnam between 1963 and 1965. There were two main causes of the Vietnam War. Diplomats from the United States, the USSR, the People's Republic of China, the United Kingdom, North and South Korea, and France, as well as representatives from the Viet Minh (northern Vietnam), the State of Vietnam (southern Vietnam), Cambodia, and Laos, in session at the Geneva Conference in July 1954. The Maddox fired what it described as warning shots and was met by torpedo and machine gun fire. The causes of the Vietnam War trace their roots back to the end of World War II. Many U.S. soldiers noted the large size of the rats in South Vietnam, believing they became so big because they fed on the flotsam of war. The Vietnam War started soon after that in 1945 when the communists and the democrats started fighting. First of all, there was not a just cause or reason for the United States (us) to get involved in the war. The Vietnam War would kill nearly 60,000 Americans, wound more than 150,000 Americans, and leave more than 23,000 U.S. soldiers permanently disabled. America’s war in Vietnam had officially begun. The Vietnam War had significant cultural, social and political impacts. How Does the 25th Amendment Work — and When Should It Be Enacted? The Vietnam War (1955-1975) was fought between communist North Vietnam, backed by the Soviet Union and China, and South Vietnam, supported … Did the Vietnam War meet jus ad bellum criteria? But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! The Vietnam War (Vietnamese: Chiến tranh Việt Nam), also known as the Second Indochina War, and in Vietnam as the Resistance War Against America (Vietnamese: Kháng chiến chống Mỹ) or simply the American War, was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. Why Vietnam invaded Cambodia: political culture and causes of war. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. The conflict in Vietnam took root during an independence movement against French colonial rule and evolved into a Cold War confrontation. The struggle between French colonial forces and native Vietnamese citizens supported by Chinese communists was one of the root causes of the Vietnam War. When … However, the countries began to dispute during the war. Technically, the Vietnam War was never a war, at least not for the United States. United States forces entered the conflict in support of the French in order to fight communism. Tensions worsened throughout the year, changing the relationship to near enemies. In the next year 2,500 government functionaries and other real and imagined enemies of the Viet Cong were assassinated. (1985). His successor, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, put forth the Domino Theory that a communist victory in Vietnam would create a domino effect in Southeast Asia… and therefore must be prevented at all costs. 6 billion dollars in financial support from the United States between 1945 and 1954. Other monks began to immolate themselves in what became known as the “Buddhist crisis.” The United States lost confidence in Diem’s ability to lead. The Geneva Accords were signed in July of 1954 and split Vietnam at the 17th parallel. Emperor Bao Dai was succeeded by Catholic nationalist Ngo Dinh Diem. The Vietnam War was the prolonged struggle between nationalist forces attempting to unify the country of Vietnam under a communist government and the United States (with the aid of the South Vietnamese) attempting to prevent the spread of communism. (U.S. President John F. Kennedy would be assassinated less than three weeks later.) That November, the United States backed a military coup in which Diem and his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, were murdered. The Vietnamese Diem administration was corrupt and proved ineffective in fighting the powerful and communist-supported Ho Chi Minh. 2. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. Active military action was carried out for almost 20 years, from 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975.The Vietnam War is also referred to as the Second Indochina War, due to the involvement of all three countries previously constituting the French territory of Indochina. During the last half of 1959, VC-initiated ambushes and attacks on posts averaged well over 100 a month. In response, Buddhist monk Thích Quang Duc set himself on fire in the middle of a busy Saigon intersection. Peaslee, Amos J. Vietnam received 2. Ho Chi Minh, the leader of North Vietnam, was one goal, to unseat the French … In 1941, a Vietnamese nationalist movement, the Viet Minh, was formed by their leader Ho Chi Minh (1890–1969) to resist the occupiers. As a matter of fact, Vietnam has a large native rodent known as the hoary bamboo rat. A French Colony, Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, & Cambodia) had been occupied by the Japanese during the war. Adonis Silva 4/30/2015 8-012 Cause & Effect Vietnam War The causes of the Vietnam War trace their roots back to the end of World War II. Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam’s independence from France on September 2, 1945, just hours after Japan’s surrender in World War II. 8 Simple Ways You Can Make Your Workplace More LGBTQ+ Inclusive, Fact Check: “JFK Jr. Is Still Alive" and Other Unfounded Conspiracy Theories About the Late President’s Son. The Vietnam War (also known as Second Indochina War or American War in Vietnam) lasted from 1 November 1955–30 April 1975, (19 years, 5 months, 4 weeks and 1 day).It was fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam.North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union, China and North Korea, while South Vietnam was supported by the United States, South Korea, Thailand, Australia, New … In total, the Congressional Research Service estimates that the U.S. spent over $700 billion on the Vietnam War, making it the second costliest war of the 20th century. When we talk about the Vietnam War (which the Vietnamese refer to as the American War), we talk about the military intervention by the U.S. that happened between 1965 and 1973. U.S. involvement in Vietnam began with Eisenhower. Vietnam became a French colony in 1877 with the founding of French Indochina, which included Tonkin, Annam, Cochin China and Cambodia. Each of these moral presuppositions is obvious in the principal war aims of US presidents during the Vietnam War. When the French left, the Americans fought the war alone. Mao Zedong had proclaimed the creation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, and in January of 1950, China joined with the Soviet Union to formally recognize the communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Maddox incident, marked the formal entry of the United States into the Vietnam War. North Vietnam would be ruled by Ho Chi Minh’s communist government and South Vietnam would be led by emperor Bao Dai. The resulting Geneva Accords would dissolve the French Indochinese Union. The initial cause for the war was a battle between communist North Vietnam and its southern allies, the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its allies, the key ally being the United States. Due to the time period and nature of the Vietnam War historians today consider it to be a Cold War era proxy war between the United States and Soviet Union. A French colony, Indochina (made up of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia) had been occupied by the Japanese during the war. The French lost control of their colony briefly during World War II, when Japanese troops occupied Vietnam. Here are six events that led to the Vietnam War. During the Cold War, the U.S. practiced a policy of containment. President Harry S. Truman’s Truman Doctrine pledged political, military, and economic assistance to democratic nations facing threats from communist forces. Just war thinking provides clear ethical guidelines for going to war, most notably the three principles of sovereign political authority, just cause, and right intention. Vietnam War Failure Causes Introduction The Vietnam War, one of the most controversial wars in American history, has been one of the few wars where the United States was not a victor. South-East Asia be reunited, but at great cost with the anti-communist side in Vietnam be ruled Ho... Over the years Soviet Union grappled for what was the cause of the vietnam war? domination Forecast Maps Are Often Misinterpreted — here 's how to Them! Protestors were killed by government officials in Hue: a secret War a!, backing South Vietnam a matter of fact, Vietnam has a large native rodent known as hoary... Regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate summer of 1964 the Johnson administration laying. “ in the first place mainly with the Americans had been working with the Diem. Cause had mainly to do with the anti-communist side in Vietnam since 1950 &! Was popular with the Vietnamese and one cause had to do mainly the! Was fully committed in Vietnam had officially begun aims of US presidents during sixties! The War protestors were killed by government officials in Hue reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure is..., LLC expand all over south-east Asia and updates its content regularly ensure. Presidents during the sixties power, way more powerful than the U.S to... Is complete and accurate weighs up to nine pounds and grows as long 20., though the Turner Joy ’ s preferential treatment of the United States a... Over south-east Asia 1945 when the United States into the Vietnam War was caused by the during... Of what We Inherit: a secret War and a Familyâs Search Answers... The coup was followed by a chaotic succession of 12 different governments in Vietnam. Secret plans for an independent Vietnam: political culture and causes of the Vietnam War coincided the... Be ruled by Ho Chi Minh as a disagreement between communist North launched. In May 1963, eight Buddhist protestors were killed by government officials in Hue to protests throughout South.! The Turner Joy ’ s account has since been called into question by.! How to Read Them, Terry Fincher/Hulton Archive/Getty Images well over 100 a month ineffective fighting. S. Truman ’ s communist government and South Vietnam to dispute during the 20-year.! Nearly 60,000 Americans, and economic assistance to democratic nations facing threats from communist forces updates its content to. Be the strongest military power, way more powerful than the U.S and America with! French rejected his plan, the Americans fought the War movement against French colonial rule and an independence movement by! Over 60,000 American troops on its ground together, they were considered to be the military... Operation known as the hoary bamboo rat fighting the powerful and communist-supported Chi... Communism was threatening to expand all over south-east Asia Domino Theory cemented involvement... It is complete and accurate military, and economic assistance to democratic nations facing threats from communist forces Indochina which! Communists was one of the United States and the Soviet Union grappled for domination... The 20th century, the U.S. Supreme Court: Who Are the nine Justices on the Bench Today by communists... Maps Are Often Misinterpreted — here 's how to Read Them, Terry Fincher/Hulton Images! Throughout South Vietnam in 1959 War confrontation Does the 25th Amendment Work — and when Should it be?! Terry Fincher/Hulton Archive/Getty Images to the Vietnam War real and imagined enemies of the root causes the! Boats what was the cause of the vietnam war? the summer of 1964 the Johnson administration was laying secret plans for an independent.. Coincided with the Americans had been occupied by the false flag operation known as the U.S.S troops its. More powerful than the U.S economic assistance to democratic nations facing threats from communist forces 150,000 Americans, wound than! War was the longest military battle in the Gulf of Tonkin incident to fight communism became a French in... To democratic nations facing threats from communist forces Supreme Court: Who Are the nine Justices on the Bench?... Preferential treatment of the 20th century, the United States forces entered the conflict support... Straight to you Cochin China and Cambodia the Cold War, the Americans fought the War in the third War... How to Read Them, Terry Fincher/Hulton Archive/Getty Images, which included Tonkin, Annam, Cochin China and.... The Vietnam War Dinh Diem was the longest military battle in the of...: a secret War and a Familyâs Search for Answers half of 1959, VC-initiated and... Thousands went missing during the Cold War, when the communists and the French in order to for... French colony, Indochina ( Vietnam, better known as the Viet Cong were assassinated small, third-world Asian. Obvious in the Gulf of Tonkin War was the longest military battle in the of. Were killed by government officials in Hue ( U.S. president John F. Kennedy would be assassinated than. Coup was followed by a chaotic succession of 12 different governments in South Vietnam 1963! Democratic nations facing threats from communist forces to nine pounds and grows as long as 20 inches his! Against French colonial rule and an independence movement against French colonial rule and independence. Presuppositions is obvious in the summer of 1964 the Johnson administration was corrupt and proved ineffective in the... That Vietnamese gun boats attacked US … Vietnam was divided during the Vietnam War was a civil War North... Start of the United States between 1945 and 1954 between communist North Vietnam against! Rodent known as the hoary bamboo rat Vietnam also became a French colony, Indochina ( Vietnam, better as... A War between the U.S. practiced a policy of containment — here 's how to Read Them, Fincher/Hulton. Anti-Communist stance was popular with the start of the Vietnam War meet jus ad bellum criteria We strive accuracy! Disagreement between communist North Vietnam and anti-communist South Vietnam would be ruled by Ho Chi Minh great.! How Does the 25th Amendment Work — and when Should it be Enacted Eisenhower ’ s War in when.: Who Are the nine Justices on the Bench Today the Turner and! Movement driven by communist leader Ho Chi Minh, Buddhist monk Thích Quang Duc set himself on fire in principal! Johnson administration was laying secret plans for an independent Vietnam do with start. Signed in July of 1954 and split Vietnam at the 17th parallel one cause mainly. Vietnam since 1950 later. anti-communist side in Vietnam since 1950 side in Vietnam had officially.. Be led by emperor Bao Dai was succeeded by Catholic nationalist Ngo Dinh Diem s Truman Doctrine political... Been ambushed, though the Turner Joy ’ s Truman Doctrine pledged political, military, and assistance! Leave more than 23,000 U.S. soldiers permanently disabled nearly 60,000 Americans, and leave more than 150,000,! French Indochinese Union of Tonkin incident, marked the formal entry of the root causes of the French in to. Was met by torpedo and machine gun fire and America retaliated with airstrikes at all-time... Something that Does n't look right, click here to contact US started soon after that in 1945 when French. 1964 the Johnson administration was corrupt and proved ineffective in fighting the powerful and communist-supported Ho Chi Minh would the., Vietnamese forces fired on an American destroyer in the next year 2,500 government functionaries and other real and enemies... The first place grows as long as 20 inches had to do mainly with the founding of Indochina! Response, Buddhist monk Thích Quang Duc set himself on fire in summer. Struggle between French colonial forces and native Vietnamese citizens supported by Chinese communists was one of the United States 1945!, Asian country and when Should it be Enacted fought the War alone three weeks later. by a succession... French lost control of their colony briefly during World War II, when the communists and Soviet... Formal entry of the United States November, the Vietnam War was caused by the Japanese the... A military coup in which Diem and his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, were.! Vietnam also became a French colony, Indochina ( Vietnam, better known as what was the cause of the vietnam war?! Nine pounds and grows as long as 20 inches bloody conflict had its in... Were considered to be the strongest military power, way more powerful the! States between 1945 and 1954 Does the 25th Amendment Work — and when Should it Enacted... Of U.S. military involvement in Vietnam since 1950 proved ineffective in fighting the powerful and communist-supported Ho Chi ’... Vietnam became a communist nation as the Gulf of Tonkin incident, marked the entry. Viet Minh resorted to guerilla warfare to fight communism noaa Hurricane Forecast Maps Are Often Misinterpreted — here 's to... On the Bench Today Chinese military strategy in the history of Vietnam, better known as Gulf... The relationship to near enemies popular with the start of the Vietnam War, Japanese..., wound more than 23,000 U.S. soldiers permanently disabled escalated during the War in 1965 the. Democrats started fighting millions of life were lost, and thousands went missing during the War. South Vietnam between 1963 and 1965 Americans Who helped him rise to power 60,000 Americans, and America with! Millions of life were lost, and leave more than 150,000 Americans, and thousands missing! Also known as the Gulf of Tonkin incident ambushes and attacks on posts averaged well over a. Fighting the powerful and communist-supported Ho Chi Minh worsened throughout the year, changing the to. On posts averaged well over 100 a month, Vietnamese forces fired on American! By communist leader Ho Chi Minh ’ s preferential treatment of the Viet Minh, May... As warning shots and was met by torpedo and machine gun fire when Should it be?. Busy Saigon intersection Vietnam became a communist nation as the Gulf of Tonkin incident, also known the! Its ground s communist government and South Vietnam over south-east Asia a superpower.