• Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

How useful are sources a-c to explain why the United Sates became involved in the war in Vietnam?

Extracts from this document...


How useful are sources a-c to explain why the United Sates became involved in the war in Vietnam? The United States initially had no plans whatsoever to send troops to fight North Vietnam. They hoped to overthrow the Communist Government there by paying to fund and train a strong South Vietnamese army. However, by early March 1965, 3500 US marines and combat troops had landed in Da Nang. So how did America become so heavily involved in Vietnam? This is a question which has provoked debate amongst many historians studying this period in history. The 3 sources provided are useful in many ways, however some can be considered more useful than others. Source A is a speech made by President Johnson to the public a month before the start of Operation Rolling Thunder, that seems to suggest that he was pressured into helping Vietnam fight against communism. This is because every president since 1954 have helped South Vietnam by the use of armed forces. America had never lost a war. The reality that he might be the first president to lose a war persuaded Johnson to send more armed forces and fight the war against communism. America had helped South Korea to become independent of communism from the North. This action showed that America had a tough line on communism, for this reason it was hard for the Americans to ignore the communism attack in Vietnam. ...read more.


The Vietcong were continuously murdering top officials in the south as they intensified their campaign for an independent communist Vietnam. Source C is an extract from an interview with Professor Noam Chomsky who was an American journalist and highly critical of the war. He was also very critical of the US government, which adds to the limitations and the usefulness of the source. The interview was held in October 1982, around 10 years after the war had finished. Unlike the two previous sources, Chomsky is looking at the War in Hindsight, which could possibly distort his view on the USA's involvement after knowing the terrible atrocities that were caused making the source both useful and limited. Noam Chomsky argues that America's involvement in the war is misinterpreted this is evident in an interview in October 1982. It is thought that America fought against the North of Vietnam; however he suggests that America actually attacked the South Vietnam destroying the farming and peasant society. In the source the professor implicates strongly that the United States of America moved into Vietnam because it feared of an independent South Vietnam. Noam Chomsky also suggests that America dreaded the thought of South Vietnam reforming and improving its economy. He firmly believes that this procedure would undermine the American influence in the area. ...read more.


Because Chomsky is looking back in hindsight it makes the source limited and 'its official truth now' meaning that he is sympathising with the US public as they all were now aware of the Vietnam true nature of the war. In conclusion all the sources suggest reason such as the domino effect and the spread of communism. Each source is useful and limited, but out of all the sources, source B is the most useful. Source A is the official reason for why the USA became involved and was taken the election year and therefore would contain limitations in order to please the American public and win the election. Source B on the other hand is from the same election year but is the unofficial reasons. The source is taken from a private conversation and underlines the pressures Johnson had to face, from the president himself. Source C is also limited because it is taken after the war and could be argued that Chomsky was highly influenced by his knowledge. Source B is the most useful to explain why American became involved in the war because it gives the most truthful view from Johnson to why the USA entered Vietnam. Overall, they are all useful but because they have their limitations, it could have been more useful to use another source that was more reliable, such as an independent source that is very balanced and gives us a fair picture. 1391 words ?? ?? ?? ?? Max Nastasi-Grace Page | 1 ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text


Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related GCSE Vietnam 1954-1975 essays


    Despite this the source is very useful because it is not just a criticism of the war by a civilian but it intellectual opposition by someone who is dedicated to a cause and is well known for it. In fact, you could say, since there were American advisors in South

  2. Why did America lose the Vietnam War?

    It gives the reaction of an American soldier having just been told about the My Lai massacre. The soldier compares his comrades involved in the massacre to Nazis. I know that the My Lai massacre destroyed the ancient city, and killed around 400 civilians, mostly women, children and elderly men.

  1. American reactions to the vietnam war

    It provides some context by briefly explaining why the construction workers went on this demonstration, however some areas lack context as it isn't entirely clear as to why they reacted so violently to the war. It portrays a precise and detailed insight as to how the 'Hard Hat' construction workers

  2. How useful are sources A to C in helping to explain why the United ...

    The US feared that if one country fell to communism then the other neighbouring countries will also fall to communism, like a row of dominoes. As president Eisenhower said in 1954: "you have a row of dominos set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to

  1. Escalation of American involvement in Vietnam

    The publicity surrounding the My Lai massacre proved to be an important turning point in American public opinion. It showed the deterioration in the behaviour of US troops and undermined the moral argument about the need to save Vietnam from communism.

  2. Why did the United States become involved in the war in Vietnam?

    were being demeaned gave the Vietminh regime additional attraction. For instance Diem did not carry out land reforms which created resentment among the peasant populace because land was taken from peasant farmers and only 13 percent of the South Vietnam's land was redistributed and by the end of his regime, only 10 percent of the tenants had received any land, at a high cost.

  1. Free essay

    Study Source A. Do you agree with this interpretation of the problems faced ...

    Whereas the V.C were defending their country and their families so will be very motivated. The V.C had hidden stores of equipment in the jungle so they didn't have to carry it. The United States soldiers had to carry all their equipment.

  2. Why did America lose the War in Vietnam?

    The idea behind this was ?not to win ground or seize positions but simply to kill. To kill communists and kill as many of them as possible?, however the Americans did not know who the enemy were. The Vietcong did not wear uniforms; pretending to be civilians, so the Americans did not know who to kill.

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work