The Cold War in Asia: Crash Course US History #38

In which John Green teaches you about the Cold War as it unfolded in Asia. As John pointed out last week, the Cold War was occasionally hot, and a lot of that heat was generated in Asia. This is starting to sound weird with the hot/cold thing, so let's just say that the United States' struggle against communist expansion escalated to a full-blown, boots-on-the-ground war in Korea and Vietnam. In both of these cases, the United States sent soldiers to intervene in civil wars that it looked like communists might win. That's a bit of a simplification, but John will explain it all to you.

Want to learn more about the Cold War? Check out these other videos from Crash Course:
USA vs USSR Fight! The Cold War: Crash Course World History #39:

The Cold War: Crash Course US History #37:

George HW Bush and the End of the Cold War: Crash Course US History #44:

The Cold War and Consumerism: Crash Course Computer Science #24:

Post-War Rebuilding and the Cold War: Crash Course European History #41:

Chapters:
Introduction: The Cold War in Asia 00:00
The Korean War 0:28
Eisenhower's Election 3:05
Cost of the Korean War 3:20
Mystery Document 4:18
Ho Chi Minh 5:19
American Involvement in Vietnam 5:55
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident 7:02
Operation Rolling Thunder 8:13
Fighting in Vietnam 8:41
Public Opinion and the Vietnam War 9:38
Nixon's Plan to Leave Vietnam 10:34
Anti-War Sentiments 11:19
The End of the Vietnam War 11:52
Credits 13:09
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[朱闻悦]

A Chinese student has climbed over the Great Fire Wall and is currently enjoying the Great Crash Course lol😂

[huaningwang]

Actually the Chinese are watching! I was very surprised the last time I went to Beijing and found my uncle watching Crash Course World History. He's a big fan.

[luisageorge]

"But the Vietnamese weren't fighting for communism. They were fighting for Vietnam" I didn't expect you guys to know this :)

[flagcoco]

I'm glad John brought up the fact that Ho's primary concern was to see an independent Vietnam.  Ho was a nationalist who, as a young man in France, when to Versailles to petition the Allies after World War One to declare French Indochina free, to which he was laughed out of the room.  Understanding the West didn't take his request seriously, he turned to the USSR, which was all too happy to help.  In the 20s and 30s he learned techniques for propaganda and guerrilla fighting, waiting for the right time, which came in 1945 after the French military had left to fight in Europe and the Japanese ran amok; when the Japanese left, between that time and the reinstallment of the French by the Allies who believed France had suffered enough in WWII and shouldn't be deprived of her colonies.  It's an oversimplification, but the communists led by Ho were the most powerful faction and, with help from the Soviet Union, were able to keep France from retaking the country.  After Dien Bien Phu in 1954, the war only changed in that the US took over from France, and as France saw the war as a reconquest, the US saw it as a crusade against communism. For Vietnam, they had been fighting the Chinese and the French for a thousand years for independence, and THAT is what the US government couldn't wrap their heads around; they saw Vietnam as just another Cold War theatre, Yankee vs. Russkie.  The reason why the war became unpopular is because Americans not only didn't see the need to die there, some actually did their homework and realized the struggle for democracy was secondary to Vietnam; independence was their goal, and that should have been something every American could empathize with.  This theme of not understanding the cultures we go to war with had been a common thread in our foreign policy ever since, which is why we can't win these wars we keep fighting, because we don't bother to understand the people and their history.  Ho was a nationalist and a Vietnamese patriot who, because the Allies didn't take him seriously, sought help that would.

[Cyranek]

what is this man's shirt collar doing?

[TheTigerfan]

"We love you China. Just kidding. You're not watching because of the Great Firewall!"

Me, showing my Chinese students this in our history class in China: "Well, that's awkward."

[valkyrie]

Really needing a Crash Course on The Vietnam War itself. This was great.

[ducdoan]

The relationship between Vietnam and America was really bad during the Vietnam war. However, not a lot people know we had a really good relationship before that. During WW2, when the Japanese replaced the French and occupied Vietnam, the Viet Minh worked together with America, rescued American pilots and reported Japanese troop movement. We were allies, fighting together against the Japan Empire. The Vietnam Independent Declaration in 1945 was written based on America’s 1776 Declaration of Independence.

[rustwolfian]

As a Vietnamese i approved the content in this video, a lot of people misunderstood the reason why we were fighting but you nail it Crash Course, good job and awsome video as as always

[CNX]

You know I realized something, in world history class, we never learn about the history of Southeast Asia. And the many wars and kingdoms in Southeast Asia.

[kimarous]

This taught me more about the Vietnam War than I ever learned from school. Granted, I'm Canadian and the study of American wars is minimal at best hereabouts, but it's nice to finally "get" what that conflict really was.

[gabbybirraroblox]

Me:Why does Vietnam like the USSR
Friend:Easy, they were Communist
Me:No because they were SoViet

[crashcourse]

In which John Green  teaches you about the Cold War as it unfolded in Asia. As John pointed out last week, the Cold War was occasionally hot, and a lot of that heat was generated in Asia. This is starting to sound weird with the hot/cold thing, so let's just say that the United States struggle against communist expansion escalated to full-blown, boots on the ground war in Korea and Vietnam. In both of these cases, the United States sent soldiers to intervene in civil wars that it looked like communists might win. That's a bit of a simplification, but John will explain it all to you.

The Cold War in Asia: Crash Course US History #38

[trungd]

Hi, I'm Vietnamese and I live in Vietnam. I really want to watch this video when I found out this Crash Course series. I would like to share that understanding history is really complicated, but we should keep reading and asking questions. Born in 1993, it is hard for me to imagine where I live used to be fierce battleground. 

[trantrungnam]

"But the Vietnamese weren't fighting for communism . They were fighting for Vietnam" 
I cry everytime i heard this ;_; Like seriously ;_;

[jblackburn]

11:34 onwards is gold.
"How did that work out Stan?"
"Ahhh.... not great."

[hiepdoshin]

As a Vietnamese, this is the first time ever I could identify a Mystery Document.

[chaelisa]

I'm so sad. My teacher bothered exactly 5 minutes to explain this topic and quickly moved on to the next one. Like, I waited 11 school years to learn about my CULTURE and you give me 5 minutes??

[mordant]

I still trust my government... to repeat history

[gjkeenan]

It’s interesting that the Korean War is seen as “the forgotten war” is very much an American thing. In Ireland, we learned about Korea, Vietnam and the Cuban Missile Crisis as one whole unit of study in Cold War history.