The Vietnam Commitment

American involvement in the Vietnam War happened for many reasons. Some of people believed at the time that American involvement was necessary because if Vietnam fell to communism, then all of Asia might fall to communism with all of the Northern Vietnamese, Chinese, and Soviets trying to spread it. The United States was trying to fully be active in their "War Against Communism." Historians, however, say the war was part of a U.S. imperialistic plan. I believe that because of the continuing Cold War with Russia, it was important to protect Southern Korea for communism because, if not, and Korea fell to communism, it would appear that America wasn't committed to their cause, Russia was more dominant than the United States, and that we lost the Cold War (which was unacceptable).

The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb

The decision President Harry Truman made to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshama and Nagasaki sparks a heated debate between people of every position. Many critics say that what Truman did to Japan was unecessary (as the Japanese were in soon to surrender), and they say that the only reason Truman dropped the A-bomb on Japan was only to intimidate the Soviet Union in the beginning stages of the Cold War. While those explanations may have some validity behind them, I think Truman did the right thing by dropping the bombs in Japan. The purpose of war is to win it no matter what, and the quicker that you knock off the oppostition, the better the situation is for you. Truman was right to bring the American troops home quicker, and preventing any more casualties than necessary. If there was an underlying message to Russia in the dropping of the bombs, Truman was right in doing that too. Showing Russia that America is powerful, and has the audacity to put forth that power, was just good military strategy.

Causes of the Great Depression

The causes of the Great Depression have been argued over by economists and scientists since it started in the 1930s. The economists Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz came up with the theory of, "The Great Contraction," in their book , Monetary History of the United States. They explained that a drastic contraction of the currency (especially the Federal Reserve Board raising interest rates when they should've lowered them) caused the Great Dpression. I agree that this was the problem that contributed greatly to the depression because there was many factors. People were just discovering credit, and many took advantage of it. Debt accumulated astronomically with the high interest rates, causing people lose all their money. So, while it wasnt the only cause of the Great Depression, monetary contaction played a big role in it.