The 1950s And The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was in many aspects one of the lowest periods in American history, being not just a military failure, but also contribute to social unrest and extensive political change in the mainland. In many ways, ‘The Forever War’ is an analogue of The Vietnam War, that, in abundant detail, explores the vast amount of opinions the veterans of that war had towards a new society, vastly changed from the one they left.

The Vietnam War was one of the most deadliest wars in America, many were killed and even more injured. The war began because of America’s efforts to stop the spread of communism. The Vietcong may of won the war but America showed that we will not let communism spread, the domino theory come into effect, and America’s faults in our war program and way to attack the Vietcong. The war was lost but from a overview of the war America learned from their lose.

The political instability in Vietnam from 1950 to 1975 between the communist North Vietnam and anti-communist South Vietnam during the Cold War era has led to the United States’ inevitable intervention in Vietnam. The main motivators for the United States’ incremental decision to intervene and commitment in Vietnam can be viewed as an accumulation of socio-political, political and economic catalysts. In recognition that there were many other factors that may have contributed to the U.S’s involvement in the conflict in Vietnam, this essay will largely focus on these three factors. As the cold war resonates, the American’s crusade was propelled by the fears of the domino theory and perception of Communist threat and expansion affected the

The Vietnam War played a huge role in the 1960’s, over 50,000 people were killed, and the war began from a dispute from two colonies. Vietnam came apart along with Korea by an agreement of the north and the south. When John F Kennedy became president there were problems between Soviet Union and the United States. Cold war was getting worse and worse; President Eisenhower had to resolve the issues with berlin and Dictator Fidel Castro. These conflicts would eventually lead to a cordial resolution. The progressive political organization did not last long they went about a lot of things violently.

Wars are a difficult place to be. “THE VIETNAM WAR transformed a generation” (Roberts 1). With all that happened during the war such as exposure to

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 Vietnam war brought many changes to the United States in the 1960’s and the 1970’s. Some of the changes were for the better of the country, take the rediscovered Women’s Rights movements and the ever growing Free Speech movements inspired by New Left, while most of the other changes brought on tensions between government and their people. The Domino Theory pushed our leaders to the edge. In order to stop the Domino Theory in Vietnam, the U.S. invaded. The war was useless for the American government to get involved with. Even Robert Kennedy described our presence in Vietnam as ‘... sending a lion to halt an epidemic of jungle rot.’ (Doc E) From new groups forming to rebel, to inflation and loss of trust in the Government, from 1960’s to

The war in Vietnam was a war against communism that tore apart the US. The United States of America plunged together with its allies and played a tremendous role as far as fight against communism is concerned. A huge number of American soldiers were deployed in Vietnam a practice that coupled with much unpreparedness. The soldiers were not aware what exactly they were up to in Vietnam. Most Americans at the time were very much against the act. It was one of the most deliberating wars America plunged herself into and the only one to have been lost. Most intriguing is the amount of publicity and media buzz created by the film industry. Vietnam War was the topic of many television networks, music and Hollywood. Journalist and veterans and scholar were never left behind and went ahead to produce tones of literature on the legacies and lessons to be learnt from the war (Hochgesang, Lawyer, and Stevenson). The exploitation of the soldiers and rejection of the veterans created just as much interest as the war had created. One such commentary came from George Kennan, who depicted the war as one of the most disastrous mission The United States has ever undertaken (Westheider 155-159).. This essay will establish the effects the war had to the US soldiers.

As communism began to spread steadily and gain more and more attention, Americans became immensely concerned in what most saw as a detrimental threat. President Eisenhower only added to the hysteria by outlining the Domino Theory: the theory that a political event, in this case referring to the spread communism, in one country will cause a similar turn of events in neighboring countries, like a falling domino that causes an entire row to fall down. Although the Vietnam War is seen by many as the only option to try to end the spread of communism, the specious outcome of the war was not effective enough to justify the amount of unethical decisions and situations that were allowed to take place. In 1961, under President Kennedy, 100 Special Forces troops were sent to South Vietnam and by 1963, just two years later, U.S military advisors and Special Forces had increased to 21,000 troops. We will soon see that this is just the beginning and in my paper I will outline the full record of events all the way to the end of the war, including the reasons for U.S involvement, unethical decisions that were made, America 's effort to end the war, and the lasting impact the war had on the United States.

This paper will be discussing the two movies The Green Berets (1968) and Apocalypse Now (1978), and argue how The Green Berets is a propagandist pro-war film depicting the unrealities of the Vietnam War while Apocalypse Now is an ambiguous anti-war film that shows the social and political absurdities of the Vietnam War.

The Vietnam war is described as a traumatic and confusing experience for government officials, the military, the media, and citizens. Its effects were long lasting on the perceptions and expectations during subsequent conflicts. The Vietnam war is often referred to as “the living room war”. This term came

Engelhardt goes on to show how the generation of Americans that grew up during the triumphant times of military victory in World War I and II created a “triumphalist” culture that set the stage for American failure in Vietnam. As Engelhardt shows, the Vietnam War was a turning point in many American opinions. Engelhardt adds how “The answers of 1945 dissolved so quickly into the questions of 1965”(Engelhardt, 10). He uncovers the doubt that ran through the hearts and minds of so many American soldiers and citizens back home. The questions that arose that Engelhardt mentions became too numerous for thousands of Americans back home.

The Vietnam War was a conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies in South Vietnam, the Viet Congs, against the western allied government of South Vietnam. The Vietnam War was also part of a larger regional conflict and a manifestation of the Cold War between democracy and communism. The conflicts of the 21st century will be one of the defining moments of the youth of the United States today when it is looked back on it several decades later; in much the same way the Vietnam War defined a generation of youth in the 1960s and the 1970s. Some questions that had arisen from the Vietnam War were how did the communist Vietnamese win against the Super Power of the United States? What were the social movements in

The Vietnam War was a 20 year war that changed the ways of how the American military operates. It was the Cold War’s largest war and it was the most notorious. American and Soviet Union armies avoided direct military confrontation, in fear of creating an all-consuming nuclear war. Vietnam had been divided into two halves, and the seed of this war was the communists wanting to take over and have the two Vietnam’s become a communist country. Large attacks on cities had become a turning point, causing the militaries to take action. This war changed the lives of many Americans and Vietnamese forever.