Vietnam played such a big role in the history of America, specifically in the 1960's and 1970's, that it is easy to forget which we were comprised in that country the decade prior.
Starting in the 1950s, maintaining a non-Communist South Vietnam became crucial in the American efforts to contain communism.
What was the nation's justification for its actions in the South Vietnam in the 1950s and its determination to abide by the outcome of free elections there only if those elections yielded a non-Communist leader?