The Causes Of The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War began in 1954 after years of conflict stretching back to the 1940s between the communist regime of North Vietnam and South Vietnam. North Vietnam was attempting to make South Vietnam a communist country; since we are a democracy, the United States opposes the views of communist countries, and because we feared the spread of communism the United States became involved as an ally of South Vietnam. The war ended in 1975, resulting in disastrous effects on Vietnam and America. The assertion of the United States in this war rose controversy among Americans, and I disagree with our involvement in the Vietnam War because of the United States’ reasons to fight.

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

A terrible conflict left a mark on American History that had never been seen before. For the first time in the countries’s history people were not proud of their governments role in a war. Protest engulfed the Nation as people were disgusted with choices made by their leaders and the subsequent actions carried out by their soldiers. When the soldiers came back home they were not greeted with the praise that prior generations had gotten. They were given little attention and in some cases hated. This conflict of course was the Vietnam War.

The Vietnam War began in 1955, but it wasn’t until the 1960’s that the nation witnessed large protests against the war. A process called the draft sent many men over to fight against the communists in Vietnam. This “draft” meant that many men would not have a choice about whether or not they wanted to participate in the war. The U.S. government made that determination for them. Twenty years of combat, in some of the worst conditions possible, resulted in the loss of many American soldiers. There were many protests in the United States that helped open the nations eye towards protesting and how protests affect the war. The Kent State massacre was a big turning point for protests, it made many Americans see that the protests were not just hippies, and people of drug culture spreading peace, but a powerful movement to

“All of a sudden I heard them shooting, then I saw people dropping to the ground. Then I dropped to the ground,” said a victim of the 1970 Kent State shooting (Adams). The Vietnam War was a controversial war for the United States that was long and costly. The war was the start of communist North Vietnam against South Vietnam. As an ally of South Vietnam, the US supported them in the war. American involvement in the war led the communists of the northern part of Vietnam against the more democratic south. Opposition to the war in the US divided the American public. Many protests occurred on college campuses a few resulting in multiple injuries and deaths. The Kent State shooting was a focal point of the anti-war movement. The Kent State protests

The Vietnam War greatly changed America forever. It was the longest war fought in America’s history, lasting from 1955 to 1973. The Vietnam War tarnished America’s self image by becoming the first time in history the United States failed to accomplish its stated war aims, to preserve a separate, independent, noncommunist government. The war also had great effects on the American people. It was the first war ever broadcast on television. The public was able to see what happened on the battlefield. One of the chief effects of the war was the division it caused among the people. Not since the Civil War had America been so divided. This war would have lasting affects on the United States.

The Vietnam War took place in between 1947- 1975. It consisted of North Vietnam trying to make South Vietnam a communism government. The United States later joined this conflict because of the stress North Vietnam was putting to South Vietnam to become a government that America did not want. The main reason why America joined was because of a theory called the Domino Effect. America and Russia were going through what has been dubbed the Cold War. The Domino Effect is the theory that communism will spread form one country to another. United states does not want this because our

High-profile opposition to the Vietnam war turned to street protests in an effort to turn U.S.

The Vietnam War changed the culture of the United States. Many Americans viewed the Vietnam War as the most useless and ignoble fight the United States had ever entered. It was long, it was horrible, and there never seemed to be a good enough reason why America was involved. Although the majority of the United States support the war at its birth in 1965, it eventually gave rise to what could be described as the most wide-spread and outspoken anti-war sentiment in the history of the United States. Young men called draft-dodgers would avoid service by traveling north to Canada (Source B). Protest groups formed on university

A lot of Americans believed that we were involved in the Vietnam War for no reason and the war itself would not accomplish anything for the U.S. and it would not affect us. Since Vietnam never attacked or hurt the U.S. in any way naturally, Americans did not think their people had a reason to get involved with this war. Americans did not think it was fair that our troops were being sent to Vietnam to die for no reason. This is the U.S. started to draft many men. Most of the people drafted in the U.S. came from low class, poor, or working class families. They had no say in the matter, which was very unfair and oppressive. This was another major reason as to why this war was so unpopular. Men who didn’t want anything to do with the war, if drafted, had to fight. Also, many Americas started to challenge the governments action and thought process as to why they would get involved in a democratic war to free the South Vietnamese people from the North Vietnamese Communist aggression. This is when the questions and protests started to

The Vietnam War was one of the longest wars in modern history, which begun in 1954 and ended in 1975. Within 21 years, 1,450,000 lives were lost and tragedy was bought to Vietnam. The war was between the communist armies of North Vietnam who were supported by the Chinese, and the armies of South Vietnam who were supported by the United States. War broke out due to the North Vietnamese government and Viet Cong wanting to rejoin Vietnam under the communist rule. In order to achieve this, they saw that war was a necessity. South Vietnam remained a democratic nation so U.S.A strongly supported them, fighting to protect its sovereignty. That was the reason why the US fought the Vietnam War on the side

The Vietnamese War had no certain beginning. It was known as the second Indochina was and it took place throughout Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. This war lasted for about twenty years, which basically made it the longest war in U.S. history. While the war had no certain beginning, it was estimated to have begun around November 1995. The war then ended to the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1973.

The Vietnam War was unsettling to Americans, causing a divide in the nation. Hundreds of thousands of men were drafted to fight overseas. Americans were confused as to why, after a decade of fighting, there was no victory in this lengthy and costly war. Military policy was difficult for Americans to grasp and presidents were unable to put an end to this dragged out war. As more troops were deployed to Vietnam, more Americans protested. It was a time of political and social upheaval, where Americans lost faith in their government. American soldiers were also disenchanted. One Vietnam veteran explains,

Let’s start from the beginning, the start of the Vietnam War started way before the fighting and war actually happened. The start of the Vietnam War really started at the end of WWII. Tension grew between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union were a communist government, and the United States was very firmly against that. The United States had a fear of communism growing and that sparked the urge to get our foot in the door, and stop it. (Vietnam at War, Bradley) Northern Vietnam was also a communist government which of course meant they sided with the Soviet Union, which means we did not agree with North Vietnam. South Vietnam was not a communist government and they did not agree with the rules and the intentions of North Vietnam. This is where problems began.

During the 1960s and 70s Americans were fighting a horrific battle in Vietnam resulting in countless deaths and hundreds of violent protests. On November 1, 1955 America joined a war against the Viet Cong; the war didn’t end until April 30, 1975. Lasting 20 years, the Vietnam War caused the deaths of almost 60,000 Americans and over 150,000 injuries. The 60s and 70s were home to much chaos including the Vietnam War, violent protests against war, as well as the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.