According to polls that were taken, 60 percent of Americans believed that involvement in the war had been a mistake, while 20 percent believed that an immediate withdrawal of U. S. combat troops. ("Digital History.") In January 1969, Nixon began devising his plan to evacuate the soldiers out of Vietnam while achieving peace in Vietnam. Although Nixon wanted get out of Vietnam quickly as did everyone else, he wanted to exit without being seen as cowards and not seeming as if the United States abandoned South Vietnam. Eventually, Nixon vowed to the American people that he would withdraw American forces gradually over a period of time, while also taking the proper precautions to strengthen the South Vietnamese government and military forces. ("Nixon Declares Vietnam War Is Ending.") Nixon assured the nation that this plan of “Vietnamization”, which was the US policy of withdrawing its troops and transferring the responsibility and direction of the war effort to the government of South Vietnam, would safely allow the United States to cease its involvement in Vietnam without giving South Vietnam the chance to fall to communism. Nixon commenced enforcing his master plan in June 1969 by withdrawing the first 25,000 American troops from Vietnam. To ensure the United States citizens that he …show more content…
North Vietnam was run by a harsh dictator named Ngo Dinh Diem and South Vietnam was run by a leader that was noble, wise, and powerful man named Ho Chi Minh. The Vietnam War commenced in 1954 after Ho Chi Minh rose to power. More than 3 million people, including a shocking 58,000 American soldiers, were, unfortunately, killed in the Vietnam War, and surprising, more than half of the deaths alone were innocent Vietnamese civilians. ("Nixon Declares Vietnam War Is Ending.")By 1969, more than 500,000 U.S. military soldiers dedicated their lives in the Vietnam conflict. Growing opposition to the war in the United States led to harsh debates and arguments among the American nation, both before and after President Richard Nixon ordered the withdrawal of U.S. forces. In 1975, communist forces attacked and gained control of Saigon, ending the Vietnam War, and the country became united as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.. In December 1960, Diem’s opponents within South Vietnam formed the National Liberation Front, or NLF, to overpower and destroy the regime in North Vietnam.. By 1962, the U. S. military presence in South Vietnam had reached some 9,000 troops, compared with fewer than 800 during the 1950s. (“American Experience: TV 's