When big, powerful nations take over small, weak ones, and claim them for their own, it's called imperialism. Imperialism has shaped the world—it's the reason English is spoken in the U.S., Spanish is spoken in Mexico, and Portuguese is spoken in Brazil.
It's also why the whole mess in Vietnam started.
France owned Vietnam (can a country really "own" another? In the real world, yes. Philosophically, we're not sure.), and, when Vietnam fought for their independence, the U.S. sided with France. That caused some bad blood, to say the least. So, you can imagine that America's involvement in the Vietnam War (courtesy of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution) could be seen as having possible imperialist motives…
Questions About Imperialism
- Did the U.S. get involved in the Vietnam War in order to reclaim territory for itself, or perhaps for its ally France?
- Did the U.S. fight in Vietnam to take revenge against that nation for fighting against French imperialism?
- If territory and power was at stake in Vietnam, why didn't France get involved for a second time?
- Is America's claim that it has no desire to take territory in Vietnam convincing? If the war had turned out differently, might Vietnam have become a U.S. territory (like Puerto Rico or Guam)?
Chew on This
America had imperialist intentions by getting involved in Vietnam, hoping to score some territory and military strongholds.
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was a means to intervene in a politically unstable country, and protect the region from the threat of communism, with no hidden motives of imperialism.