Unit 1 Essay: The Cold War from the Vietnamese Perspective

Unit Essay: The Cold War from the Vietnamese Perspective

To complete this project you must write an essay on the following topic:

The Cold War from the Vietnamese Perspective

In order to understand the Vietnam War, it is important to look at it in context of the events of the time it occurred in. Vietnam was a conflict that occurred during the Cold War, a 45-year confrontation between Capitalist and Democratic nations against Communist nations. During this conflict, in practicing the Truman Doctrine the US sought to "contain" communism and was constantly worried about the expansion of this system. At the same time, as the nations of Europe were trying to recover from WWII, Vietnamese nationalists like Ho Chi Minh saw this time as the best time to try for national independence from Vietnam's former colonial masters. While the US saw communism as a system that needed to be contained and prevented, the North Vietnamese viewed communism as a vehicle they could use to attain their independence. Based on your knowledge of the Cold War and the Vietnamese nationalist movement from this unit, analyze the Communist Victory in the Chinese Civil War, The Korean War, and the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu to write an essay explaining how the opposing viewpoints of the US and the North Vietnamese led to US involvement in the conflict in Vietnam.