America Should Never Have Entered the Vietnam War Essay

more money to spend on music and fashion, and so they had more say in

A major socio-political factor in the incremental decision of America to intervene in Vietnam was the perceived threat of

In the middle 1960s, every male in America had to register for Selective Service Draft at age 18. He would then be eligible for the draft and could be inducted into the Army for a period of two years. If you were a college student, you could receive a deferment and would be able to finish college without the fear of being drafted. However, once finished with college, a students name would be put to the very top of the draft list and could be deployed at anytime. The anti-war movement was about young men being drafted and then sent into war that most Americans did not believe threatened the security of the US. The Vietnam War was America’s rebellious war, a war without popular support

Young men were drafted into war; however, people were able to dodge the draft through various circumstances, conscientious objectors, most prominent being that they were part of a peace church, the government also allowed for those in college to stay and continue their education. This meant that a disproportionate amount of soldiers fighting in the war came from working class families, and so a rift was created between working class and college educated, who predominantly opposed the war. Throughout the 60s anti-war protests broke out, and people would burn their draft cards in the street. That angered those who felt that the action was un-American, and directly combated the struggle of the military personnel across the seas. Nixon, after having won the election in 1968 actively opposed the anti war movement, he even linked dissent with treason, and refused to pull troops from Vietnam. Despite the outcry of voices demanding an end to the war, Nixon and his vice president Agnew sided with the “silent majority” putting those who opposed in a minority, so that when the war continued it appeared as if it were all part of the democratic

Reasons for United States' Involvement in Vietnam In this essay I will be writing about why America got involved in the Vietnam War, between the 1950s to the 1960s. This was a steady and slow process with many deaths all because of communism. It was very costly and bloody. This essay will focus on political reasons, military reasons and economy reasons.

University students and ALP opposed conscription. Students had more freedom then ever before so they started taking part in large Anti - Conscription and Anti - Vietnam War rally’s and protests

Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, believed that if Vietnam was to fall to communism like its neighboring country of China, then “communist aggression against other free peoples in the area” would surely resume (Dulles, 54). John Dulles’ idea of containment was heavily acted upon once the Soviet Union was on a global crusade to spread communism. Because China had just been overtaken by communism, America feared that under China’s influence Vietnam would also grow to become communistic. Vietnam’s past reveals their “monkey see, monkey do” mentality, adopting China’s Confucian social and political values. America felt that in due time, Vietnam would predictably mimic China once again.

As many as two million Vietnamese civilians were killed during the Vietnam War(Spector). Would this number have been different if certain things off the battlefield in United States did not occur. The Vietnam War was a war between the communist regime of North Vietnam leaded by Ho Chi Minh, and the non-communist South Vietnam. The United States fought with the south in fear that if all of Vietnam became communist then the domino effect would occur and all of Asia would turn to communism. The war began in 1954 and ended in 1975 when communist forces took over the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon(Vietnam). This was two years after President Nixon, the thirty seventh President of the United States ordered the withdrawal of U.S forces in Vietnam(Vietnam).

To start, the war began because of the Gulf of Tonkin conflict and resolution, which involved a lie convincing the public that the Northern Vietnamese attacked us first even though the opposite occurred (Tucker). This lie that started the war caused it to be questioned from the beginning. The country also had events like the Civil Rights Movement which was happening and actively trying to cause social reform. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, said that because of the start of the Vietnam war, there may be no chance for the government to reconsider programs it had halted in order to focus on the war effort ("Profile: Legacy of anti-Vietnam War protests"). This entire group of people wanted to expand their freedoms and rights, but were abruptly pushed aside by the government. This caused them to protest even louder, not just for their rights, but also against the war that was clearly getting in the way of their rights. Another reason that persuaded a large number of people to protest the war was the draft. The draft was reinstated when the United State’s military began to reach the bottom of the barrel on volunteer soldiers to fight the gruesome war because many people weren’t on board with the overall goal of the war or had other reasons to not join the fight. The draft was used to force randomly selected citizens to join the military whether they

detailed information about the United States’ complete involvement in Vietnam for Secretary of Defense McNamara. This report revealed that under the administrations of President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson there was significant military buildup in Southeast Asia. Maxwell D. Taylor writes “that our position in Cambodia, our attitude toward Laos, our actions in Thailand, and our great effort in South Vietnam do not comprise a compatible and integrated U.S. policy for Southeast Asia.” This statement provides a reflection of the United States’ progress in various aspects of Southeast Asia.

Discomfort on the part of the society of America began to become more apparent and on October 15, 1965 one of the first demonstrations against the war occurred in New York City. More than 25,000 people attended the event of protest. World War II veterans against the war at Vietnam began getting harassed by supporters of the war and the negative image Vietnam would portray started coming into focus (2). The rallies of those against the war continued throughout the nation during the entire length of the war and from 1969 to 1973 “the original negative image of the Vietnam veteran was born” (3). A division amongst society quickly became apparent in those against the war and those for or fighting in the war at Vietnam. Avoiding the draft was practiced by numerous individuals who did not want to be succumbed to the negativity of America. American citizen, Adam Edwards said of the draft situation, “As I look back at it now, I would have postponed my schooling and gone with my initial feeling of joining the war. I was not in fear of what could happen in Vietnam but rather how much the community around me would have disapproved of my participating (4).

However, it wasn’t until Johnson began his massive bombing campaign against North Vietnam in 1965 that the Antiwar Movement actually found its roots . Words like “counter culture” and “pacification” were added to the American vocabulary. It was the beginning of the hippie generation, the sexual revolution and the drug culture. The country’s youth began demanding answers to America’s high profile presence in Vietnam. They wanted to know why peace talks were organized and continually failed. They wanted to know what they were fighting for. Extensive media coverage brought the violent and bloody guerrilla war home each night to every American living room. People realized that the glowing reviews of the war effort their government had been releasing were sanitized and far from the truth. Once the draft was introduced young people on college and university campuses all around the country began to organize protests against the war. Student organizations like the Students for Democratic Society held rallies and marches, the first of which it happened in April of 1965 . Activists, celebrities and musicians and many

The responses from the allied troops were mainly of hatred for the very harsh yet beautiful environment and an ambiguous response to the Vietnamese people. It is understandable the grudge troops held against a gruesome environment shrouded with innumerable killings in an alien culture, but the brutal racial discrimination perpetrated by Americans was still very prejudicial. There were, however, acts of kindness and charity to Vietnamese, yet at the same time, these glimpses of humanity were overshadowed by the greater bloody conflict. The varying responses of the allies were clearly evident through well-known films, stories and writers.

United States of America’s containment policy was created to stop communism from spreading. However, North Vietnam was communist and it was taking over South Vietnam – similar to Korea’s struggle today. Like the European’s in the book, America got involved in Vietnam where they weren’t welcomed. The soldiers were blinded by their ignorance and social prejudice.

The Vietnam War was one of the worst wars in the United States history. The reason for the United States involvement was due to the start of communism in North Vietnam. The citizens in South Vietnam feared the control of North Vietnam and were worried that the north would take control of the south. The communist North Vietnam had support from the Soviet Union and China, making the South Vietnamese vulnerable to the north. In their time of struggle the South Vietnamese were able to receive aid from the United States. The North Vietnamese had set up a series of radar stations along bays and islands on the Gulf of Tonkin. On August 1, 1964 the U.S.S. Maddox was posted on a surveillance mission to study the North Vietnamese defenses