Vietnam War

Photograph of Private First Class Russell R. Widdifield in Vietnam, 1969 The United States became involved in Vietnam to stop the spread of communism as part of Cold War containment policy. We assisted the French in their efforts to defeat an insurgency led by Ho Chi Minh. After the French were defeated, we supported the pro-Western government of South Vietnam in their efforts to resist the communist North.

At first our assistance to South Vietnam was in the form of advisors and financial and military aid. However, by the end of 1964 American forces were involved in direct ground combat. Gradually, the U.S. took on the major portion of the fighting with massive bombing campaigns and over a half a million troops stationed in South Vietnam by 1968.

As the war dragged on and American casualties began to mount, the anti-war movement gained steam. Originally centered among college students opposed to the draft, other Americans began pressuring the government to withdraw American troops as the 1960s closed. The divide over the war was intense. Opponents saw Vietnam as an unnecessary and unjust war. Supporters viewed it as a key aspect of containment and often viewed anti-war protesters as unpatriotic.

When President Nixon took office, he began a gradual withdrawal of American troops. By the end of 1973 all American combat troops had been removed from Vietnam. Without U.S. support, the government of South Vietnam fell rather quickly and communist rule was established in the Spring of 1975. The United States "lost" the Vietnam War not by being defeated on the battlefield, but in that the American public tired of the war and we eventually withdrew.

Read this Boundless reading on the Vietnam War and view the presentations on the Vietnam War below.

So here is the question that you will consider.

Was American involvement in Vietnam needed to check the spreads of communism during the Cold War or was it an unnecessary entanglement in a foreign civil war that cost too many lives and dollars?

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