After World War II the United States (U.S.) struggled to counter
communist expansion by establishing a world order that fostered
capitalism. Key to success in the Asian-Pacific region was rebuilding
the Japanese economy as a capitalist power. Toward that end, the U.S.
indirectly supported the French during the First Indochina War to
recolonize and take advantage of the area’s raw materials. The French
failed and agreed in the Geneva Accords to partition the country with a
goal of reunifying North and South Vietnam. The U.S. realized the Viet
Minh would dominate and gain control of the country providing a
communist victory in the region. Unwilling to accept this, the U.S.
pressured Emperor Bao Dai to install Ngo Dinh Diem as Premier of South
Vietnam. This was based in part on Diem and his family’s Catholic
heritage, which led to pressure from leaders in the U.S. who were either
Catholic or sympathetic to the Catholic Church. Ultimately, influence
from the Vietnamese Catholic Church, the American Catholic Church, and
the Vatican would become a factor in the foreign policy decisions by the
Eisenhower Administration as they related to Vietnam. These decisions
led to direct involvement in Vietnam and eventually the Vietnam War.
OBTAIN DOCUMENT: The Influence of the Catholic Church on the Eisenhower Administration's Decision to Directly Intervene in Vietnam
