Introduction
The Vietnam War was to a large extent a point of realization to the USA that both communism and the USSR was a major threat. The USA greatly underestimated the Northern Vietnamese government and due to the USA underestimating the North, the North and the Viet Nam Cong-San (Viet Cong) were able to greatly disrupt and damage the USA. This damage was a result of this war being seen by thousands of US citizens as well as in several other places around the world. Damage and disruption was also done to the US economically and socially, as thousands of conscripted soldiers dead as well as there being mass internal resistance to the war and particularly to conscription. Due to guerrilla attacks by the Viet Cong who were supported economically by the USSR and China although they claimed they were a socialist group rather than a communist one. Many events show that communism was a threat such as the Tet Offensive when the south were ambushed, as well as the many guerrilla attacks throughout the war mainly stemming from the Ho Chi Minh trails. The tet offensive was the real point of realization because thousands were killed and America was completely unaware that such happening would occur thereafter the USA pulled back from the war as they had realized that communism is a threat in Asia and dreaded the domino effects occurrence. Although many historians classify this as the biggest loss of the cold war meaning they took the realization positively. In opposition many believe the USA only withdrew due to the fact that they has this mass internal resistance in addition to their own political and economic problems and not because of the realisation of communism posing a threat. The opposition believe that the Vietnam War could have been won quickly because of the many technological advances in items such as weapons the USA had come to.
Interpretation and discussion of finding
The US took a small Asian country , Vietnam for granted. They saw the Vietnam war as one that could be won quickly. However they soon realised that defeating the viet cong and North would be difficult due to the tactics they used. The USA was particularly surprised on January 30, 1968 when the south was attacked (source G) due to this time being one of celebrations in the Vietnam as it was their new year. (source F) this was the first time the USA experienced a loss in Vietnam. Another crucial factor that effected the USA and made them see communism as a threat was the guerrilla warfare (SOURCE C) that the Viet Cong used. They also had a trail that also then helped the Vietnam get away from and ambush American soldiers throughout South Vietnam going on for miles.(source B)
However the US went into the Vietnam War in fare of the domino effect. They didn’t want to see the spread of communism in asia ( Source D) this implies that the USA was already aware that communism was already a threat. In contrast to this the USA went into the Vietnam war with the idea that this war could be won quickly and by this we clearly see that the USA did not see the Communism and North Vietnam as a threat as they had won or fixed all prior Cold Wars such as the Cuban Missile Crisis. This war was though , very different to the usual warfare than the USA was used to and it had a very crucial effect on both Vietnams people and land ( source A)
Further more damage to America occurred which adds to the US seeing communism as a threat was the mass resistance for the Vietnam war both internally and externally. The Vietnam war started one of the greatest anti-war protests yet. ( Source J ) This resistance has taken place in many places and by people such as . ‘Students, government officials, labor unions, church groups and middle class families increasingly opposed the war as it climaxed in 1968′(source j) A group of resistance that stood out above all other resistance groups was the internal mass resistance of the Black Power Movement. This reflected how the war was a threat as their focus needed to be more on internal economic, ethnic, political and cultural problems. As the BPM in relation to the CRM resisted the conscription of soldiers particularly that of Black soliderss .( Source I)
In addition to the mass resistance and the loss the amerians in Vietnam were experiencing( source H) there were economic problems. After all that the USA had undergone they decided to withdraw from the war they relazised that communism was a threat and signed a peace treaty (source B). Many historians argue that America had not learnt as they went back into asia for the Thailand war ( source H ). They did however we see this by the amount of soldiers that were sent and the brief time they were in Thailand.
Conclusion
In summation the Vietnam War was to a large extent a point of realization to the USA that communism and the USSR was a threat. This is seen by several factors in this essay such as the USA underestimating the USSR and others such as the Tet Offensive, the Civil Rights Movement and its resistance as well as the Black Power Movement to the war particularly black soldiers being conscripted into this war. Other problems that were discussed are the Guerrilla warfare and all in all the realization came from the contributing factors of all the anti-war protests and the fact that both the USSR and China backed North Vietnam from the USA.
essay-2018-05-24-000EKk