The single most important factor in understanding the United States involvement in Vietnam is fear. In the years leading to the Vietnam Conflict the United States was immersed in paranoia toward Communist Russia and the communist movement as a whole. This paranoia has its roots in the depression of the nineteen thirties and was fueled by the exploits of men like MacCarthy and other politicians who saw this as an opportunity to further their careers or push policies. This paranoia was the most important factor in the entrance of the US into the conflict in Southeast Asia. During the years proceeding World War II the United States found itself one of the two most powerful nations in the world. This position placed Americans at odds with their rival country, the Soviet Union, on almost all fronts. These two countries now found themselves locked into a passive conflict not only of military might, but of social and ideological values.There are now two great nations in the world, which starting from different points, seem to be advancing toward the same goal: the Russians and the Anglo-Americans....[E]ach seems called by some secret design of Providence one day to hold in its hands the destinies of half the world. Alexis de Tocqueville, 1835The rise of these two nations as leaders and rivals was seen as early as Tocqueville, but was this vision was not realized until the end of WWII where the two nations developed as ideological opposites. Now because of these ideological and cultural differences, and the growing equality of the military might of the tow nations, the American people began to fear the Soviets as a threat the American culture and our way of life.The American mistrust of the Soviet Union starts during the last days of the march on Berlin during the war. In a letter to Stalin from President Roosevelt on February 6, 1945 he wrote:You must believe me when I tell you that our people at ho...
