A presentation and overview of the differing political aspects involved in the Vietnam war during the 60s and 70s.

1. Politics: The Vietnam
War Era

2. Australia: Internationally
 Australia was a capitalist constitutional democracy, taking much of its
social, political and economic influence from the UK and USA;
 Australia, since WW2 had forged a strong alliance between itself and the
USA which resulted in Australia becoming involved in the Vietnam War;
 Australia was predominantly a conservative nation at the time, which
supported the war in Vietnam;
 Whilst not a major world player in the 60’s and 70’s, Australia still held
some importance with Europe and America as a political and economic
Ally.

3. Australia: Domestically
 Australia’s political system had 3 major Parties at the time of the Vietnam
War:
 The Labour Party: A mild left wing party which aimed to represent
workers. Many people feared its agenda was moving too far left, as
paranoia of communism grew.
 The Liberal Party: A mild right wing party which was able to hold power
through much of the late 20th century by inciting a fear of communism,
otherwise known as “kicking the communist can”.
 The Country Party: A mixture of left and right wing ideals, which aimed to
represent the rural Australian voice in politics, often in coalition with the
Liberals.

4. Australia: Into the War
 Liberal coalition government, led by Menzies:
 Australia entered the Vietnam war on the side of US forces in 1962 –
minimal initial involvement;
 Australia was part of the ANZUS treaty - responsibility to support the US in
war;
 A visit from Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966, rallied huge support for the war,
sprouting the slogan “ALL THE WAY WITH LBJ”;
 With growing fears of Communism, domino theory was adopted, and
drove many to support the war.

5. Domino Theory
 A political theory, that
made many US and
Australian citizens support
the Vietnam War through
fear.
 If one country fell to
communism, it’s immediate
neighbour would too.
 Spread until Communism
was “right on our
doorstep”.
Domino Theory Cartoon, USSR pushing the
communist dominos (The Liberty Conservative,
2017)

6. The United States: Internationally
 After WW2, the US emerged as the most powerful and influential nation, along
with the USSR;
 The US had built strong international ties both during and post WW2, which
contributed to their growing hegemony in the West;
 It opposed itself as “good” against the “evil” USSR, and Communism;
 The US government throughout the 50’s and 60’s backed international
revolutionaries in coups against socialist and communist leaders (Iran, South
Vietnam, Argentina);
 The US was essentially a political powerhouse contending with the East for
world dominance;
 The US’s initial involvement in Vietnam was part of its attempts to oppose the
spread of Communism in Asia.

7. The United States: Domestically
 The US political system in the 60’s was dominated by 2 major parties
 Republican Party: A right of centre party which initially supported the war -
conservative party, which also opposed extensive regulation of the economy,
and Communism.
 Democratic Party: Left of centre, yet still fairly moderate which also supported
the war in Vietnam, and escalated it heavily under LBJ. Strongly supported civil
rights and progressivism, yet was heavily divided towards the end of the 60’s;
 Going into War: US was led by Republican President Eisenhower in 1955. At
this time, domestic support for the war was moderate;
 In 1961: The Democratic president, John F. Kennedy escalated the US’s
involvement significantly - widespread support with growing fear of
Communism.

8. Colonialist Vietnam
 Vietnam was harshly ruled as a French colony from 1887 to 1954;
 During the French’s colonial imposition, the nation was economically
exploited in the name of a “civilising mission” to make Vietnam and other
areas of Asia “civilised” with western ideals and culture;
 Corruption and brutality was rife with French officials and systems in
Vietnam - led many to turn against the French and look to alternative
forms of politics to gain independence.
 Ho Chi Minh led the North of Vietnam to it’s independence following
WW2, but the French attempted to defend their colonial interests in
Indochina. War ensues;
 The French lose the Indochina War, and in 1954 through the Geneva
Agreement, the nation is divided into North and South.

9. South Vietnam
 An anti-communist political group formed it’s own government in Saigon in 1949, led by
emperor Bao Dai;
 Premier Diem held a referendum asking the Vietnamese people if they wished to
become a republic – In Saigon 133% of the registered population voted to remove Boa
Dai;
 The US increasingly supported Diem and the South with money and military support as
he was anti-communist;
 Diem launched several attacks on the remaining Viet Cong in south Vietnam, but his
refusal to relax rigid social control and deal with wide-spread corruption made it
difficult;
 Diem was assassinated in 1963, which marked the beginning of a steady decline in
stability and legitimacy for the South Vietnamese government;
 The state was mostly run by an everchanging assortment of military leaders who
attempted to solidify their power amongst the turmoil of war.

10. South Vietnam
 Through the late 60’s, civil liberties were curtailed along with the intensification
of anti-communist efforts.
 The US forced the South Vietnamese government to hold an election in 1967.
The election saw a 83% turnout, electing Nguyen Van Thieu as president.
 This was an immense step towards the South regaining stability and properly
implementing democracy.
 It can be argued that this implementation of democracy was a greater
movement for progressive change than the North’s revolution, as it was for the
rule of the people, rather than from above, which the communists had
imposed and the French before them had also imposed.
 The North Vietnamese won the war a few months before a second election
would be needed to be held.

11. North Vietnam
 Following the Geneva Accords of 1954, North Vietnam was under control
of Lao Dong, and the Communist Party;
 The Vietnamese communist state shared many features with other
Communist nations, like: A Politburo, large party membership, and
provincial branches;
 Ho Chi Minh was a figurehead, and ideological symbol. The official party
ideology was “Ho Chi Minh Thought” – An amalgamation of Marxism,
Leninism and Chinese communism applied to Vietnam;
 The North was far more politically and ideologically defined than the
South.

12. North Vietnam
 The process of land reform was used to assert political control and bring
retribution to the previously oppressed peasants;
 Landlords in rural villages were humiliated and their property redistributed to
the poorer peasants. They were often beaten and as many as 50,000 were
executed;
 Through 3 year plans, the North Vietnamese made leaps and bounds in
production and industry with the support of the USSR;
 “Re-education” camps were also established for those who opposed the
communist ideology. This process caused up to 500,000 deaths;
 The reunification of Vietnam under communist control was a priority for the
government, and a final offensive was ordered on Saigon in April of 1975. The
South were completely overrun - Thieu resigned;
 By 1976 all of Vietnam was officially unified as the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam, and communist policy was implemented nation-wide.

13. Effects of War on Politics
 Vietnam – Following the victory of North Vietnam, the entire nation was
unified under a communist government, and is still to this day. There is one
political party, which controls most of the nation, and civil liberties are limited
by the government.
 America – The Vietnam war for America was an immense turning point were
people began to greatly distrust their government, and huge civil unrest
resulted in the form of protests and riots. This led to the voting age being
lowered to 18, a restriction of a Presidents power to engage troops, and to an
extent; an end to wars not supported by the people.
 Australia – Australia was effected by the war much in the same way as America.
Radical protests occurred, the Liberal party were removed after 23 years in
Government, the voting age was also lowered to 18, and people as a whole
began to become more anti-war.

14. Bibliography
 Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2018). Republican Party | Definition, History, &
Beliefs. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Republican-
Party.
 Turner, Robert F. (1975). Vietnamese Communism: Its Origins and
Development. Hoover Institution Publications. p. 143.
 J. Llewellyn et al, “French colonialism in Vietnam”, Alpha History, accessed
[10-04-2018], http://alphahistory.com/vietnamwar/french-colonialism-in-
vietnam/.
 Hall, R. (2017). 50th Anniversary: South Vietnam’s 1967 Presidential
election. [online] Australia's Vietnam War. Available at:
https://vietnam.unsw.adfa.edu.au/50th-anniversary-south-vietnams-1967-
presidential-election/.