The Vietnam War was an important event in U.S. history. The nation became involved in the war because of concerns relating to the Cold War. The Cold War, which developed after World War II, was based on an ideological struggle between the forces of Communism and the forces of democracy. The Soviet Union and the United States were the two leading "superpower" nations in this global struggle. In the postwar period, Vietnam was at risk of being taken over by Communist revolutionaries under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. America's political and military leaders wanted to prevent a Communist takeover in Vietnam. They feared that this would result in Communism spreading throughout the region of Southeast Asia. However, America's leaders did not achieve a quick and easy victory in Vietnam, as they expected to. As the war dragged on, a growing number of American citizens engaged in antiwar protests. In 1973, U.S. troops were withdrawn from Vietnam. It was the first time in the history of the United States that the nation had failed to win a war. The Vietnam War had notable impacts on the U.S., which were partly experienced in terms of the nation's global posture and consciousness of its role abroad. In addition, the war contributed to changes in domestic conditions along the lines of race, ethnicity, gender and class. This paper will examine the impacts of the Vietnam War and will argue that it had more long-lasting impacts on domestic affairs than it had on foreign affairs.
In the nineteenth century, Indochina (which included Vietnam) became a French colony. At the conclusion of World War II in 1945, Ho Chi Minh began leading a movement to achieve independence from the French. In 1954, the French military suffered a serious defeat in the battle of Dien Bien Phu. Following this, Vietnam was divided into two parts: North Vietnam and South Vietnam. U.S. leaders were worried that the Communists of North Vietnam would seize South...