At the height of the Vietnam war, seven out of 10 Americans saw it as the largest issue in the nation at the time, but during the height of the recent Iraq war, only one-to-three out of ten Americans saw it as the most important issue (Newport). Why was the response to the Iraq war so much lower than that of the Vietnam war? Should it have been higher? Protesting a war is one way to show your disapproval for it, and the more protests a war had, the more it’s considered an important issue to the public. Both the Vietnam and Iraq war had a number of protesters for many varied reasons. The reasons for protest of the Vietnam war were much more justified: The was was poorly fought leading to many unnecessary American deaths and things like the mandatory …show more content…
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 …show more content…
The Vietnam war had a much louder display of protest for many justified reasons. One the other hand, protest for the Iraq war were a fraction as big and loud and not as many reasons to protest against the war were present. Vietnam protests were mainly focused on what was happening at home during the war. The draft was a large issue at home for many because it was going to affect people’s lives for the worse, and they didn’t know if they could continue their education of job when they came back or if they would come back. Another issue at home was the Civil Rights movement, whose participants were worried that the government were forget about promises made to them because of the larger issue of the war. Nonetheless, the case was different with the Iraq war with a lot of protest focusing on issues where we were fighting and not at home. There wasn’t much justification for invading Iraq after we were already heavily involved in Afghanistan at the time. People were also concerned about the lives of both our own soldiers and the Iraqi civilians that were put in harm's way. Not only were there more reasons to protest against the Vietnam war, but the protesters against it were also much louder. Things like the draft greatly affected many college students causing organized protests at universities across the nation. Civil Rights activists were already actively protesting around the country
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
The Vietnam War and Iraq wars have many more similarities then the common American would think. Both were fighting gorillas in a foreign land in a way that the soldiers were never trained or prepared for, against a foe that despise America as a whole. However I believe the biggest difference is the American publics view and attitude toward each of the two wars. As well as the attitude of the soldiers in each of the wars in 2001 after the September 11 attacks we had people like Pat Tillman give up a career in the NFL and volunteer for the Army. The uprising of pride and numbers plumped to the start of that war. That is greatly different then the attitude during Vietnam when the US government had to institute a draft to help the numbers in soldiers. While people in the streets chanted “hell no we wont go”
The Vietnam War made impacts on the movement back home. As in 1967 Martin Luther King Jr. even went against his own beliefs of not speaking out about the war he began preaching that it is truly sad to see African American people and the poor who can not make a living, being drafted (Doc C). Not only were they being drafted they were also dying at a much higher rate then just about every other group in society (Doc C). MLK also stated that these individuals were fighting to establish peace and rights over in Vietnam, while they did not even have these for themselves (Doc C). During the Vietnam years there still was some of the American population who supported the war, but would not speak out publicly about supporting the actions. This group was given the name the silent majority. Richard Nixon while in office spoke out about the group saying that the silent majority needs to speak out publicly as all the messages going around about the war are negative (Doc G). He also said in his speech that even though some people may not like the war everyone should help in the mind of creating peace in South Vietnam and that without everyone coming together in the nation that the US military could be defeated in the war (Doc
The Vietnam conflict has been known for being the most unpopular war in the history of the United States. The war of 1812, the Mexican war and the Korean conflict of the early 1950's were also opposed by large groups of the American people, but none of them generated the emotional anxiety and utter hatred that spawned Vietnam. The Vietnam war caused people to ask the question of sending our young people to die in places where they were particular wanted and for people who did not seem especial grateful.
Vietnam was unlike any other war America had been a part of before. First and foremost, most people consider the war a loss for America. The main objective of the war was to stop the spread of Communism to South Vietnam. American troops were able to accomplish this task but as soon as they were pulled out and sent home, the North invaded the South and took over. In the end Communism had spread to South Vietnam. Returning troops are generally welcomed home like the heros that they are. Take World War 2 for example, the troops coming home for combat were welcomed with parades all across the country, but not after Vietnam (COL. Jack Jacobs, U.S. ARMY (RET.))
Vietnam was the longest war in American history and the most unpopular American war of the 20th century. This is probably the war that caused the most dilemmas for policymakers, and American citizens. The War caused many people to lose their lives over fear and unnecessary destruction. The war caused problems within the United States as well. Many American people did not want this war to happen, and so they protested it when the soldiers would return home from Vietnam.
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
Many of the young people protested against the war in Vietnam because they did not want to go while ww2 people gladly went to war. WW2 gave women the chance to work in the workforce and help in the battlefield women were nurses or pilots. During the Vietnam war many wives lived on military bases waiting for their husbands to return. Women also helped in the military but not as much as in ww2 they were also nurses or pilots. Women in both wars became more independent by working or having to raise a family alone. When many males went to fight in ww2 many African Americans were also given the chance to work in the workforce without being discriminated against. In ww2 black platoons were segregated while in Vietnam it did not matter because everyone was going through the same thing and were all trying to make it out alive. The Vietnam war is reported by the media by showing footage on tv and giving causalities reports nightly when families ate dinner. Many children lost a part of their innocence when they would see all the caskets with families around them mourning the loss of a loved one. WW2 had limited media coverage which kept people from being discouraged. Vietnam had a more negative effect in the home front than ww2 which had a positive
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 public was on board the war train for the first few years of the war, until they found out what it was actually like in Vietnam. Public view of the war immediately changed negatively. When the news reached the soldiers in Vietnam, reactions were mixed. While they could understand why the people didn't like the prospect of war, they were still killing-even when they didn't want to-for their country. Some soldiers didn't know how to respond. One solder wrote to his mother and told her that for one second he felt as if he was on vacation because it was so beautiful in Vietnam. Another one told his mom “not to worry, there is nothing I can't handle”. While the soldiers could handle the physical horrors happening to them, it was the mental stuff that was breaking them down.
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. These changes in the behavior of society have
The Vietnam War affected greatly the media. This is because the media was mainly used to communicate and spread word about protests and social gatherings. The media was also used by Americans to ensure that their views were heard. This ensured the protest outcome was better. The productivity of protests became increased as more media joined in to relay messages during the protests. In such protests, the government would violate the constitutional rights of the American citizens by preventing them from speaking their minds. This, as stipulated by the constitution on the bill of rights, barred them from enjoying the right of free speech. At that point, the Americans realized that the constitution was bigger than the administration of the government, and they protested even more to ensure that their constitutional privileges were not
The War not only affected those in Vietnam, but those still at home in America. Americans had split into two groups, known as the hawks and the doves. The hawks were people who supported the war and wanted the country to be victorious in its fight with Communism. The doves were the people that disagreed with the war. These were traditionally students, and people of the younger generation. Many veterans when they would return home, would join in these mass protests. One popular protest, which took place at Kent State University, resulted in 9 wounded people with 4 dead. The police at Kent State took action against a mass protest by opening fire. This is the evil that is created through war. Without the Vietnam war, there is no protest at Kent State. Without the Vietnam war, the college kid’s lives are spared. Without the Vietnam War, thousands of lives could have been saved. Neil Young said it best in his song Ohio. Ohio discussed the brutality of war but mainly the police brutality against the kids at Kent State. Vietnam was a tragic stain in American history.
The Vietnam War was one of the most hated wars in United States history, for the primary reasons that we did not win and the draft destroyed countless men, physically and mentally. The end result of the war did not justify the means and this made a lot of people very upset. This war was also the most televised war, showing incredibly gruesome, uncensored images on the evening news at dinner time. The political protest for the
The Vietnam War was not only a war abroad but also a war at home since many people within the United States believed that we should not be evolved in this war, especially since it was a civil war in Vietnam. One of the main reasons for the unrest at home was due to the draft of young men who did not want to fight for a war that they did not believe in. Many young men age 18 and over were drafted but some of the young men who could afford a higher education were able to go to college and avoid the draft but once they graduated they would be in danger of being drafted so many of the college students were protesting to end the war that they did not believe in or want to go and fight in. (The Sixties, n.d.) As the war crept along the college students protested more and even burnt their draft cards to show their disapproval of the war. The war at home took a bad turn on May 4, 1970 when a group of college students at Kent State started protesting. The governor ordered 750 members of the National Guard to stop the demonstrators. The National Guard troops ordered the protestors to break up and when some of the protestors refused and started throwing rocks the troops fired into the crowed killing four students and injuring nine other students. (Davidson et al., 2005) According to Wells, (1999), “The