HUMAN 1C Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: First Indochina War, Domino Theory, Civilizing Mission
30 Apr 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Jessica Mangold
HumCore
Professor Vo
Week 5 Lecture 1
4/30/18
Imperialism, Interventions & Vietnam
Introduction
- most Americans think about Vietnam solely through Vietnam War
- looking @different perspectives on Vietnam war
- Americans still trying to understand the war
- “Persistence of Memory” -> woven photographs by artist Dinh Q. Le
- artist who went to UCSB
- well-known Vietnamese artist from diaspora
- would print out photographs + wave them together
- concept of America intervening in Vietnam + introducing consumerism +
capitalism
- war usually taught from the perspective of Americans rather than Vietnamese
French Colonialism
*US were not first occupiers of the area
- French Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos) 1887-1954 (1620)
- introduced government + capitalized on resources
- felt sense of superiority + wanted to convert them
- had goal of civilizing them
- Vietnam: Tonkin (north), Annam (central), Cochinchina (south)
- put most of their energy into civilizing Vietnam
- preferred its location
- mission civilisatrice (civilizing mission)
- exploitive of the nation
- taxed that nation + oppressed them
- First Indochina War 1946-1954
- fighting for independence from French colonization
- Vietnamese won the war
*US was very concerned about decolonization during the time period
- afraid of other countries becoming communist
- wanted to support + intervene
- US actually tried to help the French during war
- Geneva Agreement 1954
- Vietnam divided into North + South
- were supposed to hold national election after 1 year -> never happened
- led to Vietnam War
US Imperial Intervention in Vietnam
- Vietnam War (1955-1975) (American War) (Second Indochina War)
- US sent political advisors at first
- sent military personnel to fight on front lines
- war ended April 30th, 1975
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- those in Vietnam celebrate independence
- those who moved in diaspora will be mourning loss of country
- Cold War (1947-1991)
- capitalist, democratic nations scared of communism + socialism
- US was afraid that if Vietnam fell to communism that rest of that area of Asia
would as well
- US funded + aided countries that aligned w/their ideas
- Soviet Union funded + aided communist countries -> ideological war
- domino theory (1954) + containment policy
- decolonizing nations & Third World
- Vietnam divided into North + South by Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
- North believed in Communism + were supported by China + Soviet Union
- South believed in democracy + were supported by US
- heavy fighting occurred in the South
- war spread into Cambodia + Laos as well
Vietnam War
- outlasted 6 different presidents
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
- introduced the domino theory
- afraid that if one nation fell to Communism then rest would as well
- JFK
- sent more advisors into Vietnam
- wanted to advise American public
- LBJ
- started sending troops to Vietnam
- Richard Nixon
- engaging further in the war
- spread into Cambodia
- war becomes even more popular
- Gerald Ford
- when the war ends
- works w/Kissenger to figure out how to end the war
- Jimmy Carter
- has to deal with all of the refugees coming from Vietnam after the war
What are the geopolitics of proxy wars?
- “Vietnam is a country, not a war.”
- many people were tired of occupation + colonization
- Americans took photographs of Vietnam to capture what it looked like outside
of war
- ideological war fought in small country -> who gets affected?
- funded by larger countries
- Vietnam used as place for people to fight over beliefs
Historiography and Iconography of the Vietnam War
- many sent to fight in the war did not know anything about Vietnam
- many had not been outside of where they were from
- had to kill many including innocent people
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Americans still trying to understand the war. Most americans think about vietnam solely through vietnam war. Persistence of memory -> woven photographs by artist dinh q. War usually taught from the perspective of americans rather than vietnamese. Would print out photographs + wave them together. Concept of america intervening in vietnam + introducing consumerism + capitalism. Were supposed to hold national election after 1 year -> never happened. *us were not first occupiers of the area. French indochina (vietnam, cambodia, laos) 1887-1954 (1620) Vietnam: tonkin (north), annam (central), cochinchina (south) *us was very concerned about decolonization during the time period. Vietnam war (1955-1975) (american war) (second indochina war) Felt sense of superiority + wanted to convert them. Us actually tried to help the french during war. Put most of their energy into civilizing vietnam. Sent military personnel to fight on front lines. Those who moved in diaspora will be mourning loss of country.
