Negative Effects Of The Vietnam War

On March 16, 1968, over 300 unarmed civilians were killed in South Vietnam during an indiscriminate, mass murder event known as the My Lai Massacre. Conducted by a unit of the United States Army, the My Lai Massacre ranked one of most appalling atrocities carried out by US forces in an already savage and violent war. All victims involved were unarmed civilians, many of which were women, children, and the elderly. Victims were raped, tortured and beaten, even mutilated before being killed. The massacre was forever seared into the hearts and minds of the American people as the day “the American spirit died.”

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 is the longest war fought in America’s history (1954-1973). The Vietnam War occurred because North Vietnam followed Communist ideas and the United States followed democratic ideas. The North wanted to interfere with the South into becoming Communist but the U.S did their best to reduce or eliminate the North interference in South Vietnam. The Vietnam War was the first ever war to be shown on television. Although the U.S won the battle, the T.V exposed the horrors and struggles of the war. It seemed like the U.S was just killing random people for no reason. It made a lot of people question whether the U.S was the good or bad side. During the war, there was a theory “Domino Effect/Theory, that basically meant that once one fell under communism than the others would fall too. This war was extremely difficult because they were fighting in a forest. There were trees and bushes and everything would block the sight of the soldiers. So there was Guerilla Warfare which meant unconventional fighting, surprise attacks and ambush. Helicopters were extensively used. It was a fast in and an easy out. After the Tet Offensive, people started to distrust the government and increased the number of protests. There were war-hawks and doves. They were two completely different groups. One was anti-war and the other was pro-war. The war made a drastic impact in American Culture. Especially with the American people. The Vietnam War created division. (History.com)

Before we ask about My Lai Massacre, we need to know what is My Lai Massacre the My Lai massacre is My Lai massacre has indiscriminately shot unarmed civilians during the Vietnam War. The genocide was the duty of an officer of Charlie Company in the United States to lead a team in search of Vietnam. Their teams occupied a place called My Lai and slaughtered civilians under the direction of the high commander. Charlie Company entered South Vietnam in December 1967. In the first month there was no fighting, but in mid-March, five members of the team were killed by booby traps. Moreover, Vietnam’s 48th Battalion attacked US forces in the South Vietnam. The place of the incident occurred not far from where civilians live. This time, the US military was very angry and determined a massive counterattack the villages. Colonel Oran K Henderson orders Charlie Company to commit a massacre. The civilians who lived there were mainly woman, children and the elderly. American soldiers cruelly murdered and mocked them after receiving get permission. In the massacre more than 500 civilians were slaughtered and many women were raped and murdered. They attempted to conceal the events they had committed and led to an antisense sentiment that further divided the United States during the Vietnam War. However, some US military testimonies make their world known to their cruelty, including genocide and rape. In this paper, I will write down things about the behavior of the US

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 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.

A common modern belief is that war leads to a positive outcome within the United States economy. Despite this, the Vietnam War had a negative impact on the United States economy. The United States experienced an increase in the national debt as a result of the Vietnam War. This led to significant inflation in the United States. Inflation in the US caused by the Vietnam War then led to an increase in federal taxes in the United States. Therefore, the Vietnam War had many negative economic consequences for the United States including an increase in national debt, inflation, and federal taxes.

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

Kara Hinson The war in Vietnam started in 1955 and lasted until 1975. Many Americans believed it was a pointless war that had no meaning. The United States became involved in the Vietnam Warbecause they wanted to stop the spread of communism. This war took 50,000 lives and wounded 300,000 American men. Due to the My Lai massacre which killed hundreds of innocent and unarmed Vietnamese civilians, protests about the draft start all over the country, because of draft dodgers and draft deferment, and the government misleading people back home, this was known as the credibility gap, Americans are turning against the war in Vietnam. This leads to anti-war protesters, known as doves springing up across the United States demonstrating their opposition to the war.The Vietnam War is one of the most known wars in history, many innocent people were killed that had no involvement. United States soldiers came up with strategies to kill off the Vietcong, but occasionally the United States was not sure who were Vietcong and who were not. Napalm was a jellied gasoline that explodes when dropped in large canisters the napalm was usually dropped on villages. When the napalm was dropped on the villages, the Vietnamese houses and vegetation were destroyed. Napalm burned men, women, and children who were in the villages the clothes would burn completely off their bodies. Agent orange another substance used this was sprayed by an aircraft over the jungle. Agent

The Vietnam War can be considered as a hot battle that was part of an even greater conflict, the Cold War. It began with little political involvement and left the country divisive by the concluding years of the war. The atrocities that American troops experienced and committed helped shape the unpopular opinion on the war. The war in Vietnam became America’s longest running conflict that coincided with chaos, controversies and ultimately distraught citizens back home.

The impact of the Vietnam War upon the soldiers who fought there was huge. The experience forever changed how they would think and act for the rest of their lives. One of the main reasons for this was there was little to no understanding by the soldiers as to why they were fighting this war. They felt they were killing innocent people, farmers, poor hard working people, women, and children were among their victims. Many of the returning soldiers could not fall back in to their old life styles. First they felt guilt for surviving many of their brothers in arms. Second they were haunted by the atrocities of war. Some soldiers could not go back to the mental state of peacetime. Then there were soldiers Tim O’Brien meant while in

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.

For many Americans it is common knowledge to know about the Vietnam War; however, for some Americans the Vietnam War is ancient history, dishonorable, but irrelevant nonetheless. If people do not physically see the many horrors of war it is easy to forget; although maybe it is something we try to forget. However, there are some who may be able to forget there will be some, like politicians, that will not forget. The Vietnam War had a terrible impact on both the United States and Vietnam, and more importantly it would affect foreign policy for many years to come.

The ear in Vietnam had ended and on the 30th April 1975, the NLF took

To succeed politically within South Vietnam itself the United States had to ‘win the hearts and minds of public’. However the atrocities which had struck Vietnam, caused disarray with the public of Vietnam, one case where this is true was the Massacre at My Lai in March 1968; this was the killing of 300 villagers mainly women and children who were raped, murdered, and mutilated; this was carried out by American soldiers who thought the villagers were supposedly harbouring Vietcong. Lieutenant William Calley was charged with the crime but only served