The USA became involved in Vietnam because of a cry for help from the Vietnamese president of that time, Ngo Dinh Diem, or at least, they used it as an excuse for what they did. The Americans saw it as a prime example to the rest of the world of how capitalism could conquer communism. They didn't worry that they might not actually be able to conquer the communism in Vietnam. Of course, the American view was that the enemy were only a bunch of peasants and farmers who had been given little or no training. The quote 'It'll all be over before Christmas' from World War I times springs to mind.

Vietnam was part of French Indo-China. Since 1930, they found themselves opposed by communists, and by 1940, the League for Vietnamese Independence was founded. This was also known as the Vietminh.

After the second world war, French control had been severely weakened. A movement for independence led by Ho Chi Minh was growing in strength. It was called the Vietminh. The French started finding themselves fighting a guerrilla war against the V

This was the reason that President Eisenhower of the USA refused to sign the Geneva agreement. The USA didn't want to be part of anything that had the slightest chance of turning communist. He and his advisors thought that communism was spreading like 'ink on blotting paper', and Vietnam would be next.

By 1955, France knew they were fighting a losing battle. They signed a treaty in Geneva, allowing for Vietnam to be split in two, with a North/South divide at its 17th parallel. The reason for this was because France had been in control of most of the South, and the Vietminh held the North since the beginning of the conflict. It was also decided that the split would be a temporary one. In 1956, elections would be held to reunite Vietnam again under one government. Ho Chi Minh agreed to the Geneva decisions because he felt that the Vietminh would win any general elections.

In short, the USA became involved in Vietnam because they wanted to stop the domino theory. They felt that they could stop the toppling in Vietnam, and use it as a showpiece to show how capitalism could defeat communism.

Then ca

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Approximate Word count = 746
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)