Impact Of Vietnam War On American Culture

“In August of 1964, in response to the American and GVN espionage along its coast, the DRV launched a local and controlled attack against C. Turner Joy and the U.S.S. Maddox , two American ships on call in the Gulf of Tonkin” (Brigham 2). This resulted in the United States government giving Lyndon Johnson the ability to make war under the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. President Johnson then gave orders to perform air raids on Northern Vietnam pushing the United States further into the war. Compared to 1962 when only 9,000 soldiers supported the South Vietnamese, by June 1965 82,000 soldiers occupied the country. The number only continued to rise exponentially, and by 1966 370,000 soldiers had been sent in to prop their South Vietnam allies. President Richard Nixon withdrew American soldiers from Vietnam and as part of the “vietnamization” of the war. Over and 60,000 American soldiers had been lost in a war to preserve the status quo, not to win.

At the time of John Kennedy’s assassination there were 16,000 troops that were stationed in Vietnam -Brigham, 1. U.S. policymakers had to face the fact that there still needed to be more troops deployed into Vietnam to maintain the ultimate south

During the decades prior to the eighties the two most important issues the U.S. was facing were the war in Vietnam and civil rights. This era changed the way the public was able view the events, there was television and photography which allowed the world to see for the first time what war was about and journalism was not always unbiased. This era was an era of advancement, where many protested the war, there were the civil rights movement activists striving to gain equality for all regardless of color, sex, age, or race.

The increasing number of troops and military efforts involved with Vietnam and the seemingly optimistic reports reported by the government were the primary factors that caused the Tet Offensive and Counteroffensive. The American government had become increasingly involved with the Vietnam war. From 1965 to 1967, over 400,000 soldiers were sent to help the South Vietnamese forces. This massive increase in the amount of soldiers was frustrating to the American people. Johnson’s approval rating fell to a mere 40%, half of what it had been in 1965.  (“Vietnam War (1959-1975)” ; Axelrod 1). When the American soldiers returned home from Vietnam, it was often heard that they were spit on, and

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.

The Vietnam War, lasting for approximately 20 years, was the longest and one of the most controversial wars in American history. Not only did the war take a heavy toll on the American troops fighting abroad, but it also led to riots and tension amongst Americans on the homefront. Two presidents devoted to winning the war against the spread of Communism in Vietnam as quickly and effectively as possible were Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. Although Johnson was a Democrat and Nixon was a Republican, their foreign policies in Vietnam were similar because they both kept secrets about the war from Congress and because both of their foreign policies were disliked by the American public. However, they differed because Johnson escalated the United

By 1969, U.S. involvements in the war, more than 500,000 U.S. military recruits were involved in the Vietnam conflict. American techniques of warfare and the U.S. stopped in Vietnam in 1973, failing to achieve its goal because Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, fell to Communist rule in 1975 ("Vietnam War").

Ending the war in Viet Nam, Richard Nixon believed himself the consul to succeed in presidency. In less than a year, Nixon effortlessly worked hard to bear troops on Northern Viet Nam and settle negations. Moreover, Nixon rallied troops, secretly settling B-52 bombings in North Vietnamese base camps in Cambodia. He began bringing diplomatic pressure onto the Soviet Union in order to persuade Northern Viet Nam to settle for negotiations. Nixon then used Vietnamization to strengthen forces for U.S troops in South Viet Nam. Furthermore, Nixon set up conferences in Paris, France for negations between North Viet Nam, South Viet Nam, and the United States. However, these public peace talks became “Propaganda Theater” to both sides. This lead to secret meetings in order for successful agreements to occur. In the end, it took until 1975 for the war between the United States and Viet Nam to be considered “over.”

January 1969, Richard Nixon entered the executive office picking up the pieces Lyndon Johnson who had left while the Vietnam War was still in effect. Many Americans had the expectation that Nixon would be the “peaceful president”, visualizing he would put an end to this war in Southeast Asian and bring back home our troops. A policy Nixon redefined was the American role in the world by suggesting to limit the U.S resources and commitments. Therefore, Nixon’s set his efforts to end the war since the withdrawal from Vietnam was not an immediate option. Also, Nixon had his radar on Moscow and China because according to George C. Herring, they felt that they must release the United States from the war in a way that would uphold United States credibility with their friends and foes alike. During Nixon’s term in office, he tries a number of different strategies in his effort to end the war, but to this day, one can see that Nixon only prolonged the war when it could have ended earlier.

The Vietnam War loomed predominantly over three U.S. presidencies. When John F. Kennedy came to the presidency, he immediately inherited Dwight Eisenhower’s commitment to assist Saigon in its struggle

With the free hand recently provided by Congress, Johnson presumed that escalation would help to protect his soldiers. He ordered the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy to begin an intense series of air strikes called “Operation Rolling Thunder”. He hoped that the bombing campaign would demonstrate to the South Vietnamese the U.S. commitment to their cause, and its resolve to halt the spread of Communism. Ironically, the air raids seemed only to increase the number of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army attacks.

When Rolling Thunder failed to weaken the enemy’s will after the first several weeks the purpose of it began to change. Bombings then tended to be directed at the flow of men and supplies from the north (Karnow). Damaging as it was to the north, Ho Chi Minh still maintained the same course. Operation Rolling Thunder was a desperate attempt to convince the North Vietnamese to initiate negotiations and hopefully a ceasefire. This operation showed that LBJ was ineffective and ignorant. He was blind to the fact that the North Vietnamese were obviously going to retaliate because of Operation Rolling Thunder.

In 1958, Communist-led guerrillas, eventually known as the Viet Cong, began to battle the government of the South Vietnamese. The United States then sent 2,000 military advisors t support South Vietnam’s government. This number grew to 16,3000 by 1963. The military force slowly deteriorated. By 1963 the fertile Mekong Delta was lost to the overpowering Viet Cong. The war rose in 1965, when President Johnson issued commencing air strikes on North Vietnam and ground forces, which had risen to 536,000 by 1968. The Tet Offensive by North Vietnam turned many Americans against the waging war. President Nixon, following Johnson, promoted Vietnamization, the withdrawing of American troops and handing over the great responsibility of the war to South Vietnam. Protesting of the war dramatically increased, especially after Nixon’s attempt to slow North Vietnam forces and supplies into the South by sending American forces to destroy supply bases in Cambodia in 1970, which violated Cambodian neutrality. This provoked antiwar protests on many of the United Stats’ college campuses. In 1968 through 1973 attempts were made to end the ongoing conflict through diplomacy. Then in January 1973, an agreement was reached. U.S. forces withdrew from Vietnam and the U.S. POWs were released. In April 1975, South Vietnam surrendered to the North and Vietnam was once again united. The Vietnam War ended, but it took the lives of 58,000

In 1965, the United States of America officially enter the war against North Vietnam. After the Gulf of Tonkin incident where North Vietnamese attacked two U.S. ships on August 2nd and 4th, 1964, this event was a chance for U.S. President Lyndon Johnson to give authority for U.S. to enter war in Vietnam. United State involvement in Vietnam War was an approach to seize the communist aggression. A campaign authorized by President Johnson called “Operation Rolling Thunder” which started on February 24th, 1965 is a series of extensive bombing directed towards the North Vietnamese predicted to be eight weeks long until the North Vietnamese surrender to U.S. power. However, this campaign lasted two years longer than expected.

The conflict in Vietnam for the United States started when President Dwight D. Eisenhower went along with the domino theory and sent in military advisors in South Vietnam to stop the communist movement from taking place in South Vietnam. The Vietnam conflict was between the communist’s and the United States. North Vietnam was led by Ho Chi Minh, and Ho Chi Minh led the Viet Cong, a guerilla group to help spread communism. The United States were supporters of the South Vietnam because they wanted them to maintain their government rather than falling to the domino theory of communism. After Eisenhower’s term ended John F. Kennedy became president and took control of the situation of Vietnam but on November 22, 1963, Kennedy was