The Antiwar Movement: The Vietnam War Movement

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 War protests and antiwar movement first began in 1964, gained national prominence in 1965, peaked in 1968, and remained strong throughout the rest of the war. In the beginning, the antiwar movement started out with only a small minority of fervent college students, peace activists, hippies, liberals, and pacifist religious groups who tried to make their voices heard. This opposition originated from people who did not agree with the American government’s actions regarding involvement in the war. Americans were opposed to the Vietnam War because they young men resisted enlistment in the war, citizens argued

After memorable protests by antiwar vets, an attempt by 20,000 activists to shut down the federal government in Washington failed. But a few weeks later, the release of the Pentagon Papers drove public opposition to the war even higher. Spreading public opposition should have been a victory for the movement; instead, it threw it into crisis (Zimmerman 2017). Activists were moving on to complete deferred professional or academic goals. Many who remained realized that a majority of Americans had turned against the war but they felt unable or unwilling to join because the military required them to put their lives on the line. A new strategy was needed, and a fourth stage of the antiwar movement emerged (Zimmerman

The Anti-war movement started during the 1960s and shaped America’s public opinion on conflicts for years to come. As in all American conflicts, the will of the people controls the actions of the military. Without Homefront support, the American war machine dies. American pop culture during the 60s and 70s, sought to change public opinion against the Vietnam War. Through blatant Anti-war lyrics to their actions, the popular artists and musicians of the era changed the mindset of a generation to oppose the military actions in Vietnam.

Many Americans believed that the war ravaged country of Vietnam, had to be resurrected from grave. Beginning in 1964 and growing in later years, anti-war protests began forming. Outrage from civilians erupted when President Johnson issued the draft, as he felt the Americans needed to take a more aggressive action against North Vietnam. Young men refused to join the fight and protests emitted from college campuses and major cities such as Washington D.C. and New York. ((n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.texasgateway.org) and ((n.d.). Retrieved from http://avuth15.wix.com/thecoldwar are both primary sources illustrating anti-war protests, showing the outrage that America had towards the war. By 1968, the whole country had felt the war's impact. When the war finally ceased and the troops returned home, the protests, the actions by the government and the war itself, had taken a toll on the country. America's opinions were sharply turned against the war. The veterans who fought bravely in the war, returned to a nation that was bitter towards anything related to the war. Today, a Vietnam War memorial has been erected in Washington, to honor those who sacrificed their life for their country. As shown in ((n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.english.illinois.edu), the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built to honor the U.S defence members who died in service in South-East Asia. As a result, the social

In this essay I am going to discuss the impact of the antiwar movement on the course of the Vietnam War and ultimately the role the movement had in ending the war. My argument is that the antiwar movement did influence some Vietnam policies; however it did not directly end the war. First I will discuss the impact of the antiwar movement during Lyndon Johnson’s time as President, I will then examine the impact of the movement throughout Richard Nixon’s presidency, and then I will discuss the overall impact on both presidents’ policies; I will then consider the general opinion Americans had towards the movement and finally I will evaluate the role that the movement had in ending the war.

Between 1955 to 1975 over 58,000 people were killed and 2,338 of those courageous men were declared MIA. These men were practically covered up and forgotten about. The Vietnam war was the first televised American war which increase the involvement of public opinions. This caused an increase of civilian awareness and involvement in the war. This helped created one of Americas most hated war. Many antiwar movements were created including the Kent

James A. Baldwin once said, “The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose” (BrainyQuote.com). In the 1960s, “the man” was youth across the country. The Vietnam war was in full force, and students across the country were in an outrage. Society needed an excuse to rebel against the boring and safe way of life they were used to; Vietnam gave them the excuse they needed. Teenagers from different universities came together and formed various organizations that protested the Vietnam war for many reasons. These reasons included protesting weapons and different tactics used in the war, and the reason the U.S. entered the war in the first place. These get-togethers had such a monumental impact on their way of

has adapted to the jungle and the way of life in Vietnam, he would be

In 1963, the United States sent in 2,000 military advisors to support the South Vietnamese government in the war (Digital History). At the beginning of the war, many Americans believed that defending South Vietnam from communist aggression was in the country’s favor, although as the war continued, that opinion drastically changed (“The Antiwar Movement”). In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson escalated the war by starting air strikes on North Vietnam. Later on in the war, the 1968 Tet Offensive turned many Americans against the war. This was a large series of attacks resulting in many South Vietnamese and American casualties (Digital History). President Richard Nixon served from 1969 to 1974 and when he was inaugurated the nation was deeply divided by the war and over what was going to happen next. As the war continued more and more Americans grew impatient over the increasing amount of casualties and escalating costs throughout the war. There were large gatherings of anti-war protesters that helped bring attention to the public resentment of the US involvement in the Vietnam War. By the late 1960s, peaceful demonstrations became violent and the anti-war movement was rapidly growing (“The Antiwar Movement”). Protests across the country were part of opposition against the military draft and US

Vietnam during the 1950s through the 1970s was a horrifically dangerous war zone that one would not even wish involvement upon their worst enemy. The Vietnam War was not like any other war that the United States had been a part of in the past. It was horrendous and unsafe for anyone involved, whether it be troops of either side, or innocent children who could not help but be caught in the middle of a war zone. For the United States, Vietnam was an expensive involvement, but not only solely for monetary reasons. Many lives were lost on all sides, combative and noncombative, young and old. As the war progressed, a strong anti-war, anti-violence attitude began to formulate and grow in the United States. Groups like the VVAW, the Vietnam

The Vietnam War which was very important in the history that has shaped the country that we know today.The conflict in Vietnam was very controversial and brought out two different groups ,the doves and the hawks.The United States put troops in Vietnam to try and stop communism and the domino theory.The downside to the involvement was the opposition to the war.Billions of dollars was spent when the congress gave Johnson a blank check.The general public was also mislead by the media and the government.Another reason for opposition was that the army even turned onto the civilians in Vietnam thinking that they were the Vietcong.

When you think of anti-war movements and pacifism during the Vietnam War, you typically think of peace, love, and hippies. However, there was so much more to the movement, and it impacted an abundance of lives. Even though there were people who opposed the war, there were a few that supported the government, and the reasoning for the United States involvement in this conflict. However, many people viewed the Vietnam War in negative ways, which lead them to execute acts that made a huge statement to the rest of the country, and both the US and Vietnamese governments. Despite unity in opposition to the Vietnam War, Pacifists and anti-war groups were unalike in their reasons for opposing the war, the draft, and how they expressed their opposition

The beginning of the anti-war movement started off much different from what it became during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Before the movement was ever solidified as an “anti-war”, the movement began during 1955 and seemed like any other peace advocacy.(2) During this time participants focused on banning nuclear testing, an issue that arose because of the Cold War. After the 1963 nuclear test-ban treaty, the movement began to focus on issues in Indochina. As the military presence began to grow in Indochina, and a potential war was at risk the peace movement gradually transformed into an anti-war movement. Although it was relatively small in 1960 having only a dozen organizations who were mainly radicals and students by 1970 the size grew

The Vietnam War's controversy 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. "There were said to be three stages of the antiwar movements. "The first phase (1964-1965) was idealistic. The second phase (1966-1968) was more pragmatic, a period when young people characteristically protested not on principal, but out of a desire not to be drafted and killed. The third phase (1969-1972) coincided with the de-Americanization of the war"(Jeffreys-Jones, 43). The administration received disapproval in its acts. Soldiers returned home from battle not to be renowned as heroes, but as killers. Although, some soldiers abroad even took part in the anti war movement; "The antiwar movement spread directly among the combat troops in Vietnam, who began to wear peace symbols and flash peace signs and movement salutes. Some units even organized their own demonstrations to link up with the movement at home" (Schlight, 45). "Many college professors, businesspeople, parents of draft-age youth, religious leaders, doctors, lawyers, politicians and entertainers also voiced their objections to American involvement in the Vietnam War" (Jeffreys-Jones, 77).However the war turned out to be a failure and the moral of American society was low. We see a reflection of that now with the war in Iraq. The support of the war