The causes of the vietnam war revolve around the simple belife that communism was threatening to expand all over southeast asia. An overview of the vietnam war database of k12 resources. The war was fought between the north vietnamese and the south vietnamese throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The united states opposed communism in both korea and vietnam, and the soviet union supported communism in cuba and nicaragua. When japan surrendered at the end of world war ii in 1945, ho chi minh s forces took the capital of hanoi and declared vietnam to be an independent country, the democratic republic of vietnam. The major causes and consequences the vietnam war had its beginnings at the end of world war ii.
North vietnam received economic and military assistance from the soviet union and the peoples republic of china. The causes of the vietnam war trace their roots back to the end of world war ii. More important, the war is the outcome of postworld war ii american policy toward the. The causes of the vietnam war history learning site. More specifically, the war took place from 1955 until 1975 but it didnt escalate for until the 1960s. In vietnam, the americans actually fought therefore in the cold war game, the ussr could not. Growing up during the vietnam war, i was surprised when the north vietnamese communist were able to ultimately win the war against the south. To b rin g a broad spectrum of pe r spectives to bear on the causes, origins and lessons of the war, the com mittee has invited. The cold war for the united states was continuation of an anticommunistic expansion policy, and for the soviet union was an extension of their anticapitalistic policy. The vietnam war was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states.
The north had the support of communist allies including the soviet union and china. According to the last update in 2008 from the national archives, there were 58,220 u. One of the most significant realities of the war in vietnam, a fact. Over the next decade, hundreds of thousands of young people become radicalized in. The outbreak of the war began when a french colony named indochina, which included vietnam, laos and cambodia, was invaded by the japanese during world war ii. A french colony, indochina vietnam, laos, and cambodia had been occupied by the japanese during the war.
The republic of korea, australia, new zealand, thailand. France refused to recognize hos declaration and returned to vietnam, driving hos communist forces into northern vietnam. Trade, war, and migration american involvement in the war in vietnam was the result of its cold war strategy. All their names were honored on the vietnam veterans memorial wall in washington d. An investigation into the causes of the third indochina war. However, to support the communist cause, the soviet union armed its fellow communist state, china, who would, in turn, arm and equip the north vietnamese who fought the americans. Eventually, both the united states and north vietnam committed their regular military forces to the struggle.
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