Which US President started the Vietnam War?
2007-11-01 06:58:23 · 12 answers · asked by Danno_D_Manno 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
We had OSS there during WWII and we were friendly with Ho Chi Minh (he provided intel on the Japanese and helped in finding downed US pilots). Ho wanted US assistance in gaining full independence from the French.
Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy sent 'advisers' to assist the Republic of Vietnam against Ho Chi Minh and the north in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s. The US provided about 80% of the supplies the French were using in the war against Ho Chi Minh.
Johnson escalated it on a huge scale in 1965-66.
Truman and the US freaked out after China fell to the communists in 1949. Suddenly, Vietnam was important.
Red Scare begins.
2007-11-01 07:05:20 · answer #1 · answered by LatexSolarBeef 4 · 10⤊ 3⤋
What Started The Vietnam War
2016-09-29 05:44:12 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The initial support from the US went to the Republic of Vietnam when Ho wanted us to help him overthrow the French and become independent, under Truman. Ike sent the first advisors, when the French left we just stepped in and escalated...
2015-10-24 09:05:07 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The US was involved in one way or another since just after WWII. The question is a very complicated one.
Johnson greatly escalated the war. Nixon brought it to an end, with a peace treaty. Congress later cut funding for our treaty obligations and South Vietnam fell, during the Ford administration.
2007-11-01 07:17:17 · answer #4 · answered by American citizen and taxpayer 7 · 5⤊ 2⤋
Basically J F Kennedy sent in the Green Berets and the ground war began and killed almost 60,000 Americans alone.
2016-09-06 02:10:01 · answer #5 · answered by James M 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Actually it was started by the french after Truman recognized the French as having colonial rights to it.
However Eisenhower was the first president to send troops to Viet Nam in 1954. onward and upward from there though.
2007-11-01 07:10:14 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋
booman is right, a small number of advisors went under Dwight D. but the escalation began under JFK and really took off under Johnson. Important to note is the military won ever major battle that took place but as General Giap (N. Vietnam) said, the American anti war movement gave the north the will to hold out because they knew it was only a matter of time before the American gov't was forced to withdraw by the anti war groups. It was right after TET which was a disaster for the north when the anti war media turned it into a PR victory for the north when he realized this.
Thumbs down if you'd like but it wont change the truth.
2007-11-01 07:08:33 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 8⤊ 6⤋
Eisenhower was the first to send advisers to S.Vietnam.
It was under LBJ that the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was signed by Congress in 1964.
2007-11-01 07:06:03 · answer #8 · answered by Global warming ain't cool 6 · 5⤊ 2⤋
Advisers are not troops, so therefore it would be JFk and Johnson to Democrats were the first to send troops.
2015-12-12 07:43:07 · answer #9 · answered by Lynn 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Eisenhower, Kennedy sent a lot of troops there but supposedly was going to call it off, but then he got assassinated and Johnson continued and sent even more troops in.
2007-11-01 07:30:55 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 7⤊ 2⤋