CLEP US History II

Answer: A - The United States’ involvement in what became known as the Vietnam Conflict began during the Truman administration. Vietnam, then French Indochina, had been a turbulent region for decades prior to Truman’s presidency. However, requests to Presidents Wilson and F. Roosevelt to intervene were denied. In 1950, acting in accordance with his Truman Doctrine of containment, President Truman began to provide military aid and oversight in the region. Following Truman’s precedent of inhibiting the spread of Communism, Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy continued the nation’s presence in the region, making minor escalations as the years passed. By the time President L. Johnson was in power, America was engaged in an all-out military campaign, drafting soldiers into service. It became the most controversial military undertaking in American history, inspiring rampant protests and defining a generation of young Americans. The country’s active military involvement finally ended during the Nixon administration, but only after he, too, made significant escalations in the campaign.