Path+to+War

America fought a war in Vietnam during the Cold War but many people do not know why. Vietnam had been fighting in war since the day of their declaration of independence, September 2, 1945. The losing the Battle of Dien Bein Phu caused France to declare defeat on Vietnam. In the northern half of Vietnam, the communist part, was the leader Ho Chi Minh. The prime minister in the south, which was for democracy, was Ngo Dinh Diem. When the election was stopped, people knew that communism would spread which would not be good. So, the U.S. sent in help for the Southern half of Vietnam. The war in Vietnam was becoming a lot bigger in the 1960’s causing presidents Kennedy and Eisenhower to send in more military advisors. These people were known as adivisors because the U.S. had not declared war so they could not fight in combat.

After many years of the U.S. sending in advisors to Vietnam and the death of Diem, many worried that Vietnam would become communist. As a result, many countries near by would follow their lead and also fall to communism. So, when the U.S. ship, the //USS Maddox,// was supposivly on the navy's account, attacked by the north Vietnamese in the Gulf of Tonkin, the U.S. started to bomb Northern Vietnam. President Lyndon B. Johnson went to Congress and requested approval to take any and all steps necessary to defend the United States. Congress overwhelmingly approved. By March 1965, US troops were being deployed to Vietnam.