The U.S. Contained Communism in Vietnam - 1552 Words

In 1949, Mao Zedong led the Peoples Revolution, which established a Communist State in China. Communism has now been introduced to Asia. In this period, after World War II, Communism was a popular ideology being introduced throughout the world. Vietnam was one of the many countries under the threat of Communism. At this time, Vietnam was a French Colony. As time went on tension started to come between the French and the Vietnamese people. As tension increased so did the fighting between the French and The Vietnamese. Finally in 1954, The French decided that they could no longer withstand the revolts of the Vietnamese. The Vietnamese were now free of French rule. However, many problems still remained in Vietnam. After the war there was a†¦show more content†¦br brDwight Eisenhower, the President of the United States after Truman, wanted to support the South Vietnamese. At a news conference, Eisenhower stated, You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is a certainty that it will go over very quickly. Eisenhower believed that if the United States didnt step to the aid of the South Vietnamese, they would fall to the Communist aggressions, as would the rest of Southeast Asia. President Eisenhower and his staff then started to set up a plan for the support of Vietnam. Eisenhowers secretary of State, John Dulles, was determined that the Americans could build up South Vietnam as a Barrier to Ho Chi Minh (Ho Chi Minh was the leader of the communist party in North Vietnam) and his Communist followers. br brThe Vietnam conflict changed when John F. Kennedy took the Presidential oath of office in 1961. Kennedy had long been interested in Vietnam. As a senator, he had visited the country in 1951. Like Truman and Eisenhower, Kennedy felt the United States needed to contain the spread of Communism. Kennedy wanted to take more military action against Communist rebels. When Kennedy took office there were only 900 American military advisors in Vietnam. Diems Army of the Republic of Vietnam (known as ARVN) numbered 200,000 men, opposing a Viet Cong guerrilla force of only 17,000 men. The ARVN seemed unable to stamp out the Viet Cong (Communist rebels).Show MoreRelatedThe Vietnam War Was The War Essay1611 Words   |  7 PagesDuring the1950s North Vietnam was controlled by the Viet Cong (a National Liberation Front.) The Viet Cong were bullying South Vietnam, trying to make them a communist. Most of society will not stand up for the weaker person in a bully situation. The United States is not most of society; they believe you mess with someone your own size. 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