U.S. HISTORY I Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

U.S. HISTORY I - Essay Example The war itself did not have a starting point, but began in a series of steps and a number of American Presidents had a part to play during the period. With the French fighting a loosing battle to retain control of the Indochina colony and Vietnam, the then US President Harry Truman, offered a small economic and military support to the French. But after the Vietnamese defeat of the French and the northern half came under communist rule, the threat of the southern non-communist half also falling under northern control was unacceptable to the next US President Dwight Eisenhower who sent military advisers to train the South Vietnamese army. The domino effect that communism might have on Asian nations was the main reason why the US became involved in the war. In order to prevent the Communist Vietnamese from gaining control, the United States in 1965 sent military forces to Vietnam to keep the weak South Vietnamese government in power of their region. America had other political ambitions tied with economic ones. Trade domination in the Asia Pacific region would open US markets to Japan. The British who had rubber plantations in Malaya would be comforted with American presence in the region. Aid would enable France to send back their troops back to Europe to assist rearmament of West Germany permitting the US to have an upper hand at the cold war. The prevention of the spread of communism was the primary focus for the US. Communism to America meant disregard for democracy, human rights violations, military hostility and the creation of closed economies that rarely traded with the West. All this the US took as a threat t o freedom and liberty. Following John F Kennedy’s assassination, the next US president, Lyndon B. Johnson committed the US into the Vietnam conflict with prolonged bombings of North Vietnam. The war took a heavy toll on the Vietnamese who lost 3 to 4 million lives on either side, along