While the events of history tend to be recorded and taught as discrete, unconnected episodes, the reality is that no event is an isolated occurrence. Rather, any significant historical moment is preceded by a series of both small and large variables that shape the trajectory of the event that will be recorded and remembered. Such was the case in the Vietnam War. There were a number of precipitating factors that led to the United States’ involvement in the war, and there were an equally complicated set of factors that kept the United States involved in the war for so long. The United States’ fear of communism was the underlying common denominator that determined it would first support France economically and militarily in its conflict with the Vietnamese, and which would also serve as its justification for becoming embroiled in the war. The U.S. hoped to facilitate an independent and democratic South Vietnam, free from the Communist rule of the North Vietnamese.

This objective was not achieved, however, and great losses of human life and political credibility were sustained in the process. There were three main variables that influenced the direction of the war once the United States had become involved. These were the Antiwar Movement, the Tet Offensive, and the U.S.’s final troop withdrawal from Vietnam. The Antiwar Movement represented the largest opposition to military involvement in the history of the United States, and it was notable for the cohesiveness and range of strategies employed by a diverse group of Americans whose goal it was to end the U.S.’s involvement in the war. Whether the protestors opposed the war on personal or philosophical grounds, their active opposition to the war sent a clear signal to American politicians about the public’s lack of confidence in their decision-making skills. The Tet Offensive, for its part, marked the watershed moment of the long war.

While the U.S. scored a technical victory, the fact that it did not anticipate the offensive and sustained so much loss of life served to demoralize the troops and their leaders, and to undermine their objective of achieving a free South Vietnam. Finally, when the United States began its troop withdrawal in earnest, the possibility of achieving its own goals and the possibility of a democratic South Vietnam were annihilated. As a result, Saigon fell and a massive refugee movement ensued as North and South Vietnam were unified under a single Communist government. America was preoccupied with its own domestic problems, including the Watergate scandal and serious economic concerns. By analyzing these factors, then, one can see how numerous variables interact to facilitate the phenomenon of what history perceives as a single event. Understanding the interplay of these variables is important and can be an instructive lesson for future conflicts, including the present one.

Other essays and articles in the History Archives related to this topic include :Review & Summary of “Path to Power : The Years of Lyndon Johnson v.1”  •  The Battle of Iwo Jima  •  North Korea’s Nuclear Path: A Historical Look at U.S. Involvement  • American History Since 1865: Major Events and Trends  •  The Consequences and Effects of the Thirty Years War  •  Analysis and Summary of “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau

Works Cited

Farber, David, & Beth Bailey.  The Columbia Guide to America in the 1960s. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001.

Gilbert, Marc Jason, & William Head. The Tet Offensive. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1996.

Mann, Robert. A Grand Delusion: America’s Descent into Vietnam. New York: Basic Books, 2001.

Record, Jeffrey, & W. Andrew Terrill. Iraq and Vietnam: Differences, Similarities, and Insights.Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, 2004.

Small, Melvin, & William D. Hoover. Give Peace a Chance: Exploring the Vietnam Antiwar Movement. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.