The Vietnam Era Essay

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

My report is on a book by Michael H. Hunt called Lyndon Johnson’s War written in 1996. Michael Hunt is a historian who works for the University of North Colorado and was also there during the Vietnam War. Hunt’s book was written to talk about former President Lyndon Johnson during the Vietnam war. The book’s purpose is to show us some of the causes and consequences of the Vietnam war on America and the Vietnamese people. It also shows us how resilient the natives were against the U.S. and their reasons for wanting to be a communist nation. The book is arranged chronologically from the 1945-1968, telling us how events like the Cold War brought to existence the Vietnam War.

There are only two comprehensive inferences that can be drawn upon when assessing the impact and legacy of the reporting of the Vietnam War on America and its media; the impact was enormous and its legacy unending. More than thirty years have passed since the American military withdrew from Vietnam, and in that time, the war has continued to permeate the cultural, and political landscape of America, impacting all subsequent war

The Vietnam War was one of the most hated wars in United States history, for the primary reasons that we did not win and the draft destroyed countless men, physically and mentally. The end result of the war did not justify the means and this made a lot of people very upset. This war was also the most televised war, showing incredibly gruesome, uncensored images on the evening news at dinner time. The political protest for the

It is important to note the amount of poor, black American soldiers who were sent to die. In Dr. King’s speech he makes an interesting observation: “…we have been repeatedly faced with the cruel irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same schools.” (MLK). Soldiers are fighting for liberty in another country, for a country that cannot even afford that supposed liberty to them. Dr. King takes it one step further, declaring the “war as an enemy of the poor.” It it is easy to see why. The United States spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the Vietnam war, meanwhile completely abandoning the poverty program in their own country. This resulted in poor men being sent in far more than any other group when comparing the proportions to the rest of the population. Dr. King notes that we watch them burn the huts of poor villages together in solidarity, yet they would never live on the same block in

While the Vietnam War raged on, other movements rose up, such as the Civil Rights 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, 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

Considering the fact that the Vietnam War was going on the period which civil rights

Martin Luther King was firmly against the war in Vietnam. He successfully and eloquently pointed out many of the injustices and hypocrisies of the war. First the war disproportionately affects the poor by drawing away government resources that would otherwise benefit the poor. Second, the draft pulled mainly from poor communities as those more affluent could avoid the draft through college deferments or other means. As a result, poor communities suffer more as young men die. “We were taking the black young men who had been crippled by our society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in southwest Georgia and East Harlem”. (MLK- A Time to Break Silence Par 5) Third, that the American use of violence to solve its problems was both immoral and also destined to fail and incompatible with American values of self determination. Fourth, by supporting anti-communist despots we undermine our message of peace and prosperity. “...as we increased our troop commitments in support of governments which were singularly corrupt, inept, and without popular support. All the while the people read our leaflets and received the regular promises of peace and democracy and land reform. Now they languish under our bombs and

Eisenhower made a strong pledge to support and protect American allies against the wide spreading communism by the Soviet Union. That was the start of the Vietnam War and it would last 20 years later until President Ford took over as commander-in-chief. The peak of the war came around the so called “Hippie Era” which was during the 1960s. During this time Americans all over the country gathered to protest against this war with the famous line “Make peace not war” leading the charge into Washington. During and after the war a majority of people changed their views on how the government governs and their role in their everyday lives.

     The United States was unjustified in its involvement in the Vietnam War because, in my opinion, the U.S had little justification to sacrifice thousands of innocent youths for political ideals. It was the longest and most unpopular war in which the United States fought. Many Americans on the home front protested their government’s involvement in the war. Many young Americans felt that there was no reason to fight for a cause they did not believe in, especially in such a strange foreign country. The civil rights movement also strongly influenced many of the war protests. This was because such a large percentage of minority soldiers sent over to fight were being unfairly treated. The African American soldiers

The Vietnam War was undoubtedly “a different kind of war” and is said to be one of the most controversial wars in America's history, this event influenced many lives such as soldiers, families, and innocent people. The Vietnam war tarnished America's reputation by becoming the first time ever America has failed to complete what was started, to stop communism from spreading in Asia. The Vietnam War affected Americans in many ways and divided Americans as a whole. Men were “drafted” without getting a choice, affecting them and their families. Then there was trust that the Americans lost from their government because they kept certain incidents hidden, which happened in a town called My Lai. Then there was The Great Society were programs that had a goal to eliminate poverty and racial injustice and money for those programs were being taken to give to the war. The draft, distrust because of My Lai and taking away money from the Great Society programs all made a negative impact on Americans and the way the Americans continued with their daily lives.

While war of any size has the potential to produce global implications, the Vietnam War perpetuated unprecedented effects of civil unrest and political discourse across America. While there are several aspects of American life touched by the Vietnam War, this post is going to focus on the effects it had on the presidency and the population between 18 and 35 years old during the time period of 1961 to 1975. It is this time period of American History that many consider to be the most unsettled and important.

In the 1950's, the United States had begun to send troops to Vietnam and during the following 25-year period, the ensuing war would create some of the strongest tensions in US history. Almost 3 million US men and women were sent thousands of miles to fight for what was a questionable cause. In total, it is estimated that over 2 million people on both sides were killed.