Did Vietnam Play A Role In The Cold War

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A. PLAN OF INVESTIGATION This investigation explores the question: To what extent did Vietnam play a role in the development of the Cold War between 1964 -1975? Essentially, the role of Vietnam in the Cold War was a proxy war between 1964 -1975, where North Vietnam secured alliances with the Soviets whilst South Vietnam allied with America. The scope includes the effects of the Vietnam War on Vietnam, America and the Soviets between the years of 1964 -1975. The topics explored include the political and economic conditions of America, the escalation of the War including the Tet Offensive, and the success of North Vietnam in the War. The logical structure of the summary of evidence and analysis are in chronological order to the events of the…show more content…
• In the beginning of 1964, American citizens supported President John F. Kennedy but the views of the people shifted as they noticed the failing economy, and the next election favoured President Lyndon B. Johnson (Herring). • Johnsons’ government wanted to prevent communism within Vietnam, because there was ongoing speculation that if a neighbouring country in Asia fell to communism, it is likely that Vietnam will follow suit. This concept is termed the domino theory (Allison 8). • The Americans felt betrayed because the government did not focus on their economy or in creating the “Great Society” to maintain their superpower reputation around the world (Herring). Escalation of Vietnam War • Furthermore, the U.S. created a puppet government in South Vietnam after the dictator of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, was overthrown (Hunt). • The Viet Cong from the North, had launched a full-scale guerrilla revolution against the South Vietnam supported by America…show more content…
The origin of this book is from New York, United States and published by Routledge in 2008, about 20 years after the Cold war. The purpose of this source was to educate about the political and military situation in America, as well as North and South Vietnam between the years of 1964-1975. Also, it provides positive reasons for Vietnam’s alliances, even though this war ended poorly for America. The value is that this secondary source uses pictures of primary documents (from U.S senators and officials in the Vietnam War) is to assess President Lyndon Johnson’s and Richard Nixon’s political views on the spread of Communism and their tactics used in the Vietnam War. Some limitations are that the primary documents were written from the U.S. senators about their description of the situation, focusing on the South Vietnams progress during the war, understating the strength of the

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