How The Vietnam War Affected American Culture

Secretary of State John Kerry once said “I saw courage both in the Vietnam War and in the struggle to stop it. I learned that patriotism includes protest, not just military service.” The Vietnam War was a conflict that lasted from 1956-1975 which the United States participated in along with the South Vietnamese who fought against the Communist North Vietnamese. Many Americans strongly disapproved of the war which caused many protests and riots. The war lasted 25 years killing many people and eventually the North Vietnamese won. The Vietnam War was important to Americans back home because it tested the citizen’s right to free speech, effected future foreign policy, and created many issues for returning veterans.

The Vietnam 1 Running head: SOCIAL EFFECTS OF THE VIETNAM WAR The Vietnam War's Effects on American Society Halley E. Moore Metro High School- St. Louis The Vietnam 2 Abstract The Vietnam War had a profound effect on American society. It changed the way we viewed our government, the media, and our Constitutional rights. Because of this shift in perspective, the country was torn apart and yet still came together in new and different ways.

The Vietnam War was, and continues to be, one of America's darkest moments, one that nearly tore the nation apart. In order to stop the spread of communism in Europe and Asia, the United States aided French imperialists and their reoccupation of Vietnam. At first, the U.S took a position of neutrality to both countries, but by early 1947, they began fighting in support of France. This war, lasting over 20 years, became the longest and most unpopular war in the 20th century. Overall, the Vietnam War was detrimental to the United States because it caused a massive debt from the 1960s to the 1990s, turned the American people against their government, and many troops were neglected and despised upon their return.

During the time the United States was in a war, the American public was sharply divided creating another war among its people. The war had transformed America to a different place with its defeat. It had far-reaching consequences and impact on most aspects of American life from the economy, culture to domestic politics and foreign policy. The Vietnam war created a time of uncertainty because so many had lost their trust in the government. With the end of the Vietnam war, the United States left with a humiliating defeat and shockingly high casualties.

The Vietnam War was a major controversy for the United States compared to World War 1 and World War 2. With both of the previous wars that the United States had been a major part of they had brought the people of the country together to fight  and work hard to show their support to the soldiers that were fighting. During these two wars we saw the rise of women in the workforce as they came into the picture of taking the jobs that the men held while they went away to fight in the way. And then there was the avid signing up to fight. Men as young as teenagers signing up to fight in both of these wars. The difference is that with the Vietnam War it was met with disdain from the public and also the soldiers as well. With this war people

The war in Vietnam was a very contestable event for America and an overall major impact of the cold war. Fear of the spread of communism was on the rise again as Ho Chi Minh, the leader of North Vietnam wanted to unite the country under one communist leadership. The United States entered into the war to prevent this spread of communism to further their reputation of containing it as they have done in the past. While there are positives to the war in Vietnam, it seems as if there are more negatives in the situation which include massive casualties on both sides, chemical warfare, and a divided nation back home.

The Vietnam war heightened social, political, and economic tensions in America because there wasn’t a clear reason for fighting in it. In World War Two, the reason was clear. A evil dictator was trying to take control over the world, so the solution was to stop him. In Vietnam America tried to stop a political idea from spreading by attacking it. As said in Document E, “It is like sending a lion to half an epidemic of jungle rot”. While in WW2 people were happy to fight and work for their country, with half of the population contributing in some way to the war effort, according to Document F people drafted would purposely fail the tests to get out of fighting. Document B, the song “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die”, the singer makes fun of how

Throughout America’s history, few things have left the nation in such controversial turmoil as the Vietnam War. With an American death toll of almost 60,000 troops, the Vietnam War has gone down in infamy as one of the most tremendous struggles Americans have faced both overseas and on the home front. Because of the tumultuous controversies caused by the war, Americans split into two social factions – those against the war and those who supported it. During the years of 1961-1975 - the era in which the war had its greatest effect on Americans - the population of citizens from 18-35 years old and the Presidency were both affected irreversibly.

Vietnam was an entirely new type of war for the United States. It still remains morally and historically problematic in today’s society. The Vietnam War had a tremendous impact on American society and culture, primarily because it was the first war to be televised. The American press played a significant

The Cold War era proxy war known as the Vietnam War wrecked global havoc during 1955-1975. Although the destruction on the ground occurred in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, the bloodshed of the war was just one part of a much larger worldwide communism versus capitalism battle headed by the United States and the Soviet Union. For the U.S., diplomatic and military policies had never before been so tightly intertwined with domestic policies. The war in Vietnam had such an impact on the home front in America that the term, “The Vietnam Syndrome” is still repeated to this day. The war, which is sometimes seen as a part of the larger anti-communist policy of ‘containment’, is largely to blame for the near destruction of three presidencies, as well as causing numerous political and social divides, a detrimental effect on the U.S. economy, and a credibility gap that caused distrust between government and the people. The focus on the war meant that many domestic issues such as the civil rights movement, the war on poverty, and Johnson’s ideology of the ‘Great Society’, were neglected by the government and therefore limited in their progress. The overall domestic impact of the war in Vietnam was largely negative and extremely divisive.

The Vietnam War's Effects on American Society Abstract The Vietnam War had a profound effect on American society. It changed the way we viewed our government, the media, and our Constitutional rights. Because of this shift in perspective, the country was torn apart and yet still came together in new and different ways. The Vietnam War's contraversiality spurred a great many sources of protest, against our government's use of power, how far we could stretch the rights of free expression, and primarily against the violence of the war itself.

The Vietnam War was marked by brutality, death, protests, and psychological tolls. No war caused such great division among the American people like the Vietnam War. The war was extremely costly, and it left long-term effects on people all over the world. As a whole, the American people agree that the Vietnam War was a waste of time, money, and life.

As America was fighting a war for freedom in another country, unruly teens were fighting their own at home. Cultural change, the explosion of free love, youthful rebellion, and a new liberal mindset all seemed to have one underlying device in common; drug use. The late 1960’s into the early and mid-70’s found the perfect environment for recreational drug use. Music and arts celebrated this lifestyle, as well as free thinkers and their idiotic philosophies about spiritual elation through mind altering narcotics. Lack of family structure with so many homes transformed by the Vietnam War also left young teens without guidance, and an economy with little to offer to the up and coming generation. As the next few years passed and the free love generation began to grasp the concept of working for a living, showering on a regular basis, love with commitment (or antibiotics), and cultural change through policy, they brought to the workforce a new dynamic not previously prevalent. Recreational drug use had become part of society. Vietnam War veterans also brought their own demons home with their return, opiate addictions were a common occurrence (Carson 2012).

Changes in societies have occurred since the very first civilizations and continue to occur today. Each society is a reflection of the art and music, as well as the people and their values and beliefs of the people of the time. The social structure of the people is very much shaped by the events that occur during that particular generation. Often in history major events such as wars and natural disasters are the defining factors that influence and shape that particular society. Here in the United States our society is certainly no exception. It has been constantly changing since the very early days of the Pilgrims. One such event that shaped

The Vietnam War began in the year 1954, after the ascension to power of Ho Chi Minh, who was a communist leader in North Vietnam. The leader was spreading communism, and because the United States wanted to stop the spread, it sent military troops to aid South Vietnamese to stop this vice. The war saw about 3million people die with the inclusion of 58,000 American soldiers. About 150,000 people were wounded during the war. In 1975, South Vietnamese government surrendered the war after the communist forces forced them to surrender. Vietnam unified communism and became a Socialist Republic. Although decades have passed since the occurrence of the Vietnam war, the American culture, which was partly born as a result of this war, is celebrated