The Cold War and what people thought of the Vietnam War in the beginning - Writing Wednesday
Hello everybody and welcome back to another blog post,
The Cold War had developed over time after the war. The USA saw Stalin's invasion of Eastern Europe as a threat to the capitalist system. As a result, the USA introduced the Marshall Plan in 1948, in a desperate bid to contain the Communist system of the USSR. This was the first sign of tension between the Capitalist west and Communist east.
In 1949, China turned Communist and the brutal ideology spread to the north of Vietnam. The USA, after the invasion and spread of Communism in other countries, became worried that south Vietnam and neighbouring countries would turn Communist too. In a second bid to contain Communism, the USA sent money,supplies and military advisers (soldiers) , to help the southern Vietnamese government.
The north was led my the communist leader, Ho Chi Minh and the south was led by the unpopular, corrupt, and brutal leader, Ngo Dinh Diem. Diem did not like the Buddhist population and often treated them badly. Due to this, people in south Vietnam were often rebelling against him. In 1958 and onwards, the south became increasingly under attack by the communists in the south. They were known as the Viet Cong. In 1963, 16,000 military advisers (soldiers), were sent to fight the Viet Cont under president J.F Kennedy. Diem's government was overthrown and from that point on, there was no strong capitalist government.
In the Gulf of Tonkin, a US navy ship was attacked by the North Vietnamese. This was the perfect excuse for the USA to wage war against them and in 1965, Lyndon B Johnson was given permission by the US congress to wage war on the north. The first major contingent of US marines arrived.
In 1968 onwards, the USA became more and more involved and over half a million troops were sent to north Vietnam. It would cost them $77 billion a year.
It is safe to say that in the first part of the Vietnam War, the USA was happy with the way things were going. This is understandable because for a long time, many people in America were encouraged to want to stop the spread of Communism and after the end of the Second World War, people didn't want another Hitler and they were intimidated by Stalin. After the Soviet Union was dissolved, the evidence from the Soviet archives became available and stated that 1,053,829 people died in the gulag between 1934 and 1953. This is way more than the 6 million Jews killed under genocide in Nazi Germany. Due to this, we can understand why the USA felt intimidated by the Communists. The harsh dictatorship regime of the east meant that many people were not allowed to express their opinions and things like media and economic freedom were not permitted. In comparison, the Capitalist system allowed free expression of ideas, the media exposed the truths of the world and economic freedom allowed for free trade amongst people and allowed people to gain a profit. This was the system in place in the USA and consequently, many people thought that the Communists in the USSR, were threatening their way of living. However, as I'll later introduce, the media exposed far more than was expected and people began to see the truths of the Vietnam War, in the USA.
Who do you think is to blame for the Vietnam War so far? Let me know in the comments below and I'll be sure to reply to them. I ♡ hearing from you!
See you next time,
Bye,
XOX, Juliette
My social media handles:
My Instagram
My YouTube channel
My second blog:
The Book Hub
The Cold War had developed over time after the war. The USA saw Stalin's invasion of Eastern Europe as a threat to the capitalist system. As a result, the USA introduced the Marshall Plan in 1948, in a desperate bid to contain the Communist system of the USSR. This was the first sign of tension between the Capitalist west and Communist east.
In 1949, China turned Communist and the brutal ideology spread to the north of Vietnam. The USA, after the invasion and spread of Communism in other countries, became worried that south Vietnam and neighbouring countries would turn Communist too. In a second bid to contain Communism, the USA sent money,supplies and military advisers (soldiers) , to help the southern Vietnamese government.
The north was led my the communist leader, Ho Chi Minh and the south was led by the unpopular, corrupt, and brutal leader, Ngo Dinh Diem. Diem did not like the Buddhist population and often treated them badly. Due to this, people in south Vietnam were often rebelling against him. In 1958 and onwards, the south became increasingly under attack by the communists in the south. They were known as the Viet Cong. In 1963, 16,000 military advisers (soldiers), were sent to fight the Viet Cont under president J.F Kennedy. Diem's government was overthrown and from that point on, there was no strong capitalist government.
In the Gulf of Tonkin, a US navy ship was attacked by the North Vietnamese. This was the perfect excuse for the USA to wage war against them and in 1965, Lyndon B Johnson was given permission by the US congress to wage war on the north. The first major contingent of US marines arrived.
In 1968 onwards, the USA became more and more involved and over half a million troops were sent to north Vietnam. It would cost them $77 billion a year.
It is safe to say that in the first part of the Vietnam War, the USA was happy with the way things were going. This is understandable because for a long time, many people in America were encouraged to want to stop the spread of Communism and after the end of the Second World War, people didn't want another Hitler and they were intimidated by Stalin. After the Soviet Union was dissolved, the evidence from the Soviet archives became available and stated that 1,053,829 people died in the gulag between 1934 and 1953. This is way more than the 6 million Jews killed under genocide in Nazi Germany. Due to this, we can understand why the USA felt intimidated by the Communists. The harsh dictatorship regime of the east meant that many people were not allowed to express their opinions and things like media and economic freedom were not permitted. In comparison, the Capitalist system allowed free expression of ideas, the media exposed the truths of the world and economic freedom allowed for free trade amongst people and allowed people to gain a profit. This was the system in place in the USA and consequently, many people thought that the Communists in the USSR, were threatening their way of living. However, as I'll later introduce, the media exposed far more than was expected and people began to see the truths of the Vietnam War, in the USA.
Who do you think is to blame for the Vietnam War so far? Let me know in the comments below and I'll be sure to reply to them. I ♡ hearing from you!
See you next time,
Bye,
XOX, Juliette
My social media handles:
My Instagram
My YouTube channel
My second blog:
The Book Hub
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