In the 1800's, before communism was perceived a threat, the French began colonization of Vietnam. Their original goal was to "exploit Vietnam's natural resources and open up new markets (Neher)." The French also sought to civilize and Christianize the Vietnamese so that colonization could be more easily attained. During World War II the Japanese invaded Vietnam and forced the French to remove their troops and any colonization efforts. However; in 1945, after World War II the French attempted to regain their lost colonies in Vietnam. In order to resolve this conflict the Geneva Conference was called. It was during this conference that the French agreed to withdraw their troops and a partition line was drawn at the seventeenth parallel.

As communism spread and the United States' us

The fear of communism drove the United States for many years. The country was obsessed with finding the answer to avoiding the dark fate of communism. While many believed our involvement in Vietnam to have been unnecessary, if we hadn't become involved who knows what kind of world we would live in now.

assassination in 1963, Lyndon B. Johnson became president. Despite his election campaign that "American boys should not fight Asian wars" he orchestrated massive bombing campaigns and escalation of military forces once in office (Neher). By 1966 over 200,000 American troops had been sent to fight in Vietnam. The United States policies in regard to Vietnam were to "support a non-communist government (Mission)," "help the government establish necessary forces for security (Chronology)," "to encourage support for Free-Vietnam (The Vietnam War)," and finally "to aid in the rehabilitation of a country ravaged by war (The United States)." American credibility had now become the major rationale for war.

On the night of January 31, 1968; 70,000 North Vietnamese soldiers launched the Tet Offensive, which later proved to be one of the greatest campaigns in military history. In this series of attacks, thirty-six out of forty-four provincial capitals were hit. Despite the fact that it ended as a military loss for the North Vietnamese, the Tet Offensive was still a huge psychological victory and made a "profound impression on the United States, who were astounded by the power of communism (Tet Offensive)." The Tet Offensive is seen as a "great turning point" of the war and from that point on the war cost the United States two billion dollars a month (Tet Offensive). The United States, now fully aware of the immense tasks facing the government

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1182
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)