Draft Dodgers In The Vietnam War

Many people in the 1960s and early 1970s did not understand why the United States was involved in the Vietnam War. Therefore, they had no desire to be a part of it. The Selective Service System, which was used to conduct the draft, had aspirations of directing people into areas where they were most needed during wartime. However, people took advantage of the draft system’s deferment policies to avoid going to war. Others refused induction or simply did not register. There were also people who left the country to escape the draft. The Vietnam War proved to be an event that many Americans did not agree with, and as a result, citizens took action to elude the draft entirely or to beat the draft system.

During the Vietnam War, Americans were selected for military service by a government agency called the selective service. Those young men between the ages of eighteen and twenty six were forced into an involuntary process called the draft. Protesting against conscription or “the Draft” had always been a part of wartime America. Though for many citizens the Vietnam War would be the drawing line. Mentioned in What’s Your Number? an article written by Historynet, the first drawing of numbers using a draft lottery system to select who would and would and would not be drafted for the Vietnam War took place on December 1, 1969 (Historynet 2009). This marks the beginning of turmoil and uncertainty for those men born between the years 1944 and 1950

Along with Canada’s lack of contribution, Canada’s political figures do not consider Canada a peacekeeper. The previous Prime Minister Stephen Harper had his own opinion of Canada and peacekeeping. Stephen Harper says “(Canada) out of the peacekeeping business”. The fact that the Prime Minister explicitly stated that Canada has no relevance to peacekeeping is mind boggling considering how relevant Canada used to be. When Canada’s own prime minister makes a statement about their prominence it proves how much Canada has changed. Although through Justin Trudeau,

During the Vietnam War 27 million American men registered for the “Draft”. A American man was required to register for the draft at the age of 18. Men between the ages of 18-26 years old fought in Vietnam unless they were in college or Medically disabled. 80% of the middle and lower classes fought in the war, and about ⅔ of the men were volunteers to fight.

At the Battle of Vimy Ridge, Canadians gained self respect when they realized the greatness of their accomplishment. At the peace talks in Versailles, Canada earned its own seat. On top of that, Prime Minister Robert Borden signed independently. Canada’s nationalism became recognized in society. The link between Canada and Britain began to fade away but our link with the USA heightened. Canada located the national war memorial at Vimy after it was donated by the people of France. The memorial recognizing all who fought for our country placed where we were reborn as a

When people look back and remember the First World War, they often remember the assassination of Franz-Ferdinand, the sinking of the Lusitania, or the Zimmerman telegram. Not often do they recall the role that Canada played in the war. However, Canadians were a significant factor of the Allies’ success. Although Canada only possessed two Navy warships at the time and was known for being a peaceful country, she supplied over 60,000,000 shells to the Allies’ troops and endured over 67,000 casualties and 173,000 men wounded across multiple battles. With that said, it could also be argued that internal political conflicts in Canada afflicted their overall contribution to the war. In fact,

To say Canada played an important role in World War Two would be an understatement. Canada’s significance in the war will forever be remembered as one of the greatest, and the Battle of Hong Kong is a prime example of just that. The fact that Canada provided troops even with the optional not to, and the struggles the troops endured not only on the battlefield, but as prisoners of war, and the amount of physical and moral support the Canadian soldiers gave to the British soldiers in Hong Kong is proof that Canada was a major contributor in World War Two.

When Britain called on Canada to help in World War One, Canadians dutifully volunteered. Many Canadians thought that this would be a glamorous adventure that they could not miss. However, Canadians were in for a rude awakening as this glamorous adventure turned out to be more than they bargained for. This was a new kind of war, one that cost Canadians dearly.

The war united many Canadians in a common cause even though the war widened some divisions and took a great toll on Canada. Few had expected the long struggle or heavy death toll. Even though the war was one it came at a cost; compulsory military service, broken promises to farmers and organized labour, high inflation, deep social divisions, and the suspension of many civil liberties. Some women had received the right to vote, but other Canadians recent immigrants associated with enemy countries had seen this right rescinded. Directly after the war Canada was hit by the cost of the war, riots divisions plagued the country for years to come.

During his 40 years of public service, he has impacted Canada quite strongly. He had a significant impact on establishing cultural and social identities for Canada through global relationships. Before becoming Prime Minister, Lester Pearson proposed UN peacekeeping to solve the Suez Crisis. His proposal to create ‘UNEF’ resulted in the de-escalation of the crisis, and substantially, armed forces being withdrawn. Pearson’s actions won him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1957; Canada’s first.

Canada played a vital role in the Vietnam War, and what many people did not realize that if Canada had not taken a supporting part in the War, the communist forces most likely would have won the War quicker and there would have been more casualties. The Vietnam war was one of the most laborious and oppressive wars in American history. When Vietnam got its independence from France there was a division between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The south was anti-communist, and thus supported by the United States (US) and the North was a communist state, supported by The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

The Vietnam War was a historically significant moment for Canada which followed the First and Second World War. This was due to Canada’s large involvement in helping the South of Vietnam in their war efforts. Canada plays a large roll in this war costs and their manufacturing for war materials. One must first know how the war began before understanding how Canada contributed.

“Over the past century, Canadian attitudes towards the use of force and the exercise of military power in support of national aims have fundamentally shifted”. This is a quote written by Major Todd Strickland in his article, titled, “From the Boers to the Taliban: How Canadians Attitudes towards War Have Changed”. This article reviews Canada’s history within the wars and also Canadian’s thoughts on war. The Afghan war began in 2001 and is still ongoing today. The war began due to the terrorist attacks that took place in the United States on September 11th, 2001, also known as 9/11. The purpose of this war was to invade Afghanistan and to disassemble an organization, known as the al-Qaeda terrorist organization. Another objective was to

Dorn, A. W. (2013, December 21). Canada evolves from peacekeeper to war-fighter. Retrieved from The Toronto Star: http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2013/12/21/canada_evolves_from_peacekeeper_to_warfighter.html A. Walter Dorn is a professor of defense studies at the Royal Military College and the Canadian Forces College. He has written this literature for a mature audience based off the level of reading required to understand the text and based off the topic. The article talks about different situations in which Canada has changed from a peace keeper to a war fighter. This information will be extremely useful when writing my essay because it covers many situations in which Canada has evolved from a peacekeeper to a war fighter. There isn't a noticeable bias but there could be one based off the author thinking that Canada is now a war fighter and is no longer a

It was in the weary war years of Mackenzie King in the 1930’s when the development of Canadian foreign policy started to take shape. Before that period Canada did not have an independent foreign policy with no international presence whatsoever and Canadian people saw themselves as part of the British dynasty. The first period in the formulation of Canadian foreign policy was in fact the ‘absence’ of policy and it was World War 1 which gave birth to foreign policy. Sixty thousand Canadians were lost which left Canadians wary of international development especially when there were very few military objectives. Canada had minimal control over her own troops and negotiations with the British were a challenge. Our troops were under control of the British and negotiating with the British was challenging. Looking back, there was almost a sense of absurdity about WW1. Therefore, Canadians came out of WW1 with a stronger than ever desire for independence. The Statute of Westminster, 1931, was the last of the Imperial Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain applicable to all dominions. It granted Canada,