Economic Impact of the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

A Short Analysis of the Economic Impacts of a War that Changed a Generation

The Vietnam War is a very recent conflict. It is remembered not just by grandparents, like World War Two, but many still have living parents who recall with horror the ordeals of this war upon this country, many of which were emotionally exhausting, as well as financially and economically depleting. Many individuals, especially veterans, do not like to discuss the war, for it was not only an embarrassment for this country, but also a painful ordeal through which to live, as countless numbers of young Americans died. This, then, is where the emotional part comes in; the Vietnam War pictures alone, many of the award-winning, for instance, show the horrors of the war firsthand, and are often difficult to look at. One could say, however, that this is the price of war.

He would be wrong. This particular war changed a generation and urged a short period of peace upon this country because of its victims, whether they were soldiers laying in the fields in a faraway jungle, or a family starving in the aftermath of a war that left many shell shocked emotionally and thereby unable to provide for their families upon their return. This paper will thus discuss the consequences of an unnecessary war, and will focus specifically on the economic standpoint before, during and after this conflict.

The United States truly entered the Vietnam 'situation' in the late 1940's, when it began providing aid to the Vietnamese. According to historical data, "Between 1945 and 1954, the Vietnamese waged an anti-colonial war against France and received $2.6 billion in financial support from the United States." (Digital History, 2012) Further according to this source, the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu, mainly due to this aid from the U.S., and this ensured independence for the former colony. Yet any hope for peace was short-lived, as Vietnam became temporarily divided between an anti-Communist South and a Communist North. By the mid-1950's, however, the South of the country, due to continued American aid and military backing, refused to give in to the Communist north and hold elections. It was then that the South Vietnamese began to battle the North, known as the Viet Cong. Due to this situation, the U.S. sent in both military advisers and troops. (Digital History, 2012)

It is interesting to note this 'before' period of the true conflict that so deeply immersed the United States. For a country that had just come out of World War Two, it was quite unusual, if not brave, to begin providing for another country's struggle. Yet the economic costs, mainly also because of the increased production/wealth of the Second World War, were not felt too deeply just yet. For this reason, the U.S. continued its involvement in Vietnam well into the 1960's and 1970's.

By 1963, however, the South Vietnamese began losing with the loss of the Mekong Delta to the Viet Cong. Despite the escalation of the war in 1965, many losses were still incurred. By 1968, Americans began waking up both to the physical consequences of the war, as well as to its economic ones. The billions of dollars funneled into a hopeless victory were taking away from the economic progress of America during the 1960's and 1970's. The public, and especially college students, began to riot when further troops were sent to South East Asia, and thus began the beginning of the end of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The results were tens of thousands of deaths, hundreds of thousands of casualties, a battered economy followed by a gas crisis and a painful scratch on American pride. (Stoll, 2012)