Vietnamese Farmers That Changed the World: The Impact of the Vietnam War on the Cold War

Abstract

The Vietnam War was the quintessential Cold War conflict between the United States and the Sino-Soviet supplied, nationalistic North Vietnamese. This war saw the world’s most wealthiest and dominant military force suffer a long, drawn out defeat to a poverty-stricken society of farmers, armed with nothing but an unyielding nationalism and outdated weaponry. This paper examines the United States’ involvement in Vietnam throughout the Vietnam War and also explores the ways in which the Vietnam War affected the Cold War. Beginning with President Harry S. Truman in 1945 and ending with President Gerald Ford in 1975, this paper examines the motivations behind each of the six United States Presidential Administrations during the Vietnam War and gives an in-depth explanation for the crucial decisions that were made by the United States Government over the course of the war. The effect that these foreign policy decisions and directives had on the Cold War atmosphere is also heavily analyzed. The faults and failures of the United States that led to their humiliating defeat in Vietnam consequently altered the Cold War atmosphere. In order to fully understand the Cold War, it is necessary to understand the Vietnam War and its impact on United States foreign policy.