The Camelot Era of the Kennedy Years
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John Fitzgerald Kennedy was President of the United States for less than three years, yet in that time he had a major impact on the country and on foreign and domestic policy lasting for a decade or more. Some of his actions produced effects that were beneficial, and others can be seen now as less effective, notably his enmeshing the country in the Vietnam War. Kennedy's presidency began in a spirit of glamour and change and ended in the assassination of an American president. The country shifted from a period of hope to a period of tension, paranoia, conspiracy theories, and a growing distrust of government. The United States became involved in the situation in Vietnam during the Eisenhower Administration, but it was during the Kennedy Administration that U.S. involvement increased and American troops were committed to the support of South Vietnam. Herbert S. Parmet describes the Kennedy years as follow: "Camelot" began with smoke from a defective rostrum and closed with a burst of gunfire in the street of an American city. So ended just over a thousand days of elegance, alluring prose, chivalrous masculinity, and drama (Parmet 3). Yet, no administration simply ends as abruptly as this, for its policies continue to have consequences, its problems have to be addressed by its successors, and its triumphs continue to serve the people long after the administration itself is out of office. This has been true of the Kennedy Administration as of oth
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cause the people supported the Viet Minh and identified Ho Chi Minh as the leader of their independence movement (Scheer 274-275).
Once the French had withdrawn, the U.S. was drawn in slowly to fill the vacuum. This move was based on the belief first that it was essential that a Communist takeover of the region be stopped and second that it was possible to stop it without engaging in an all-out war. The National Security Council ordered that everything that could be done should be done to maintain a friendly non-communist government in South Vietnam and to prevent a communist victory in elections there. The CIA worked to prop up the Diem government, but it fell early in the Kennedy years. This set a pattern whereby the U.S. would attempt to institute reforms and the government of South Vietnam would resist, accepting U.S. help while refusing to alter certain other policies. The U.S. was thus drawn more and more into a policy that was not working:
Although it was not yet recognized in Washington, the Eisenhower administration's commitment to making South Vietnam another "showcase" of communist containment was already crumbling. Despite its best intentions, America had become inextricably associated with a repressive governme
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2634
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)
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