What Caused the Vietnam War

What Caused the Vietnam War?

The Vietnam War was caused by many factors that contributed to the warfare in Vietnam during the years of 1959 to 1975. Most factors were the beliefs held by people who wanted to change or to prevent Vietnam becoming an Independent Country. Many people suffered due to these beliefs and policies and that the Vietnam War is now considered as one of the most distressing moments in the 20th Century. So why did the US become involved in the Vietnam War? What was Ho Chi Minh thinking when he was fighting for Nationalism? Who was Diem? And why was the Vietnam War have such a devesting impact on both the US and Vietnam.

The civil war between the French and Viet Minh was a major cause of the war. It is said that the Vietnam War, or the Second Indochina War, was just a continuation of the First Indochina War. The First Indochina War started because of Vietnam's demand for independence from French colonial rule and France's refusal to allow it. The battle continued from 1946 to 1954 until the French suffered a humiliating victory at the hands of the Viet Minh at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. The French then assented to the demands of Vietnam and called for a Geneva conference with other world leaders as well as representatives of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. They drafted the Geneva Accords, which were a set of agreements that the Vietnamese and French would adhere to. The Accords stated that the country would be temporarily split at the 17th Parallel with Ho Chi Minh ruling the north and the Emperor Bao Dai decreeing the south until elections could be held in July 1956 to decide on the government for the re-united Vietnam. However the peace brought about by this Accord was short-lived as the agreements was broken by Diem and South Vietnam who refused to call for elections. Consequently,