Johnson escalated the war.
Tonkin Gulf Incident
President Johnson's policy was to do what was necessary to defend South Vietnam against being conquered by North Vietnam. This involved a continually increasing number of US troops, which was described as escalation. Or as Tom Paxton put it, Lyndon Johnson told the nation Have no fear of escalation I am trying everyone to please Though it isn't really war We're sending fifty thousand more To help save Vietnam from the Vietnamese.
Hawks in the context of the Vietnam War were individuals who supported a more aggressive approach towards the conflict, advocating for increased military intervention and escalation of the war. They believed in the necessity of using military force to achieve victory in Vietnam.
The term "escalation" is the accepted historically accurate term. But what really happened was the shifting of a "guerrilla" war in South Vietnam (RVN=Republic of South Vietnam) to a "conventional" war in South Vietnam AND open warfare against North Vietnam on or after the Tonkin Gulf sea battles (called incidents) on 02 & 04 August 1964. Vietnam was so touchy, that special terms had to be applied by the US administration, some examples follow: 1. The two sea battles in August 1964 were called "incidents." 2. The invasion of Cambodia on 01 May 1970 was called an "incursion." 3. Vietnam War is sometimes called "Vietnam Conflict"; which would also make the US Civil War a "Conflict" since it was not a declared war either.
No one really knows that answer..Answer:There was no "first shot", rather an escalation of incidents and pressures. See Link
Tonkin Gulf Incident
No US President wanted to be the FIRST to lose a war.
One event that caused an escalation of troop involvement in Vietnam was the incident in 1964 at the Gulf of Tonkin.
The most common request made by US commanders during the Vietnam War, was a constant request to the President for: More men. (40,000 men a month were being drafted by 1968). This was called the "escalation of the war."
President Johnson's policy was to do what was necessary to defend South Vietnam against being conquered by North Vietnam. This involved a continually increasing number of US troops, which was described as escalation. Or as Tom Paxton put it, Lyndon Johnson told the nation Have no fear of escalation I am trying everyone to please Though it isn't really war We're sending fifty thousand more To help save Vietnam from the Vietnamese.
To put an end to the communist threat that was uprising in Vietnam, which was started by Ho-Chi-Mihn. Also to support the democratic South vietnam.
The students for a democratic society, in 1964, focused on the escalation in the Vietnam War. They also focused on the civil rights movement.
Hawks in the context of the Vietnam War were individuals who supported a more aggressive approach towards the conflict, advocating for increased military intervention and escalation of the war. They believed in the necessity of using military force to achieve victory in Vietnam.
President Nixon was associated with both the escalation of and end of the Vietnam War.
With the massive build up of men, from 1965 onward, 500,000 men at the peak of the war.
The Vietnam War really began with the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which was the attack on the USS Maddox by Communist North Vietnamese naval forces. This was the impetus for the justification of a war, as well as the escalation in terms of the numerical increase of American forces in South Vietnam. The first major battle between US and NVA forces was Operation Starlite in late August 1965.
escalation. Keep Calm and Carry On, good PLATO friend.