The Vietnam Lotteries

Many people in the 1960s and early 1970s did not understand why the United States was involved in the Vietnam War. Therefore, they had no desire to be a part of it. The Selective Service System, which was used to conduct the draft, had aspirations of directing people into areas where they were most needed during wartime. However, people took advantage of the draft system’s deferment policies to avoid going to war. Others refused induction or simply did not register. There were also people who left the country to escape the draft. The Vietnam War proved to be an event that many Americans did not agree with, and as a result, citizens took action to elude the draft entirely or to beat the draft system.

On August 7th 1964 the United States Congress passed into law the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which, for all intents and purposes, officially brought the United States into the Vietnam War. Following this resolution, a draft was instated to increase the number of men that could be sent to war. Shortly after men started to be signed into conscription for the United States Military, a public outcry started over the use of a draft to increase military size. The draft was found to be unfair to American Citizens because certain groups of men were severely disadvantaged, the draft was illegal in many ways, and veteran’s future lives were harmed, among other reasons.

During the Vietnam War, Americans were selected for military service by a government agency called the selective service. Those young men between the ages of eighteen and twenty six were forced into an involuntary process called the draft. Protesting against conscription or “the Draft” had always been a part of wartime America. Though for many citizens the Vietnam War would be the drawing line. Mentioned in What’s Your Number? an article written by Historynet, the first drawing of numbers using a draft lottery system to select who would and would and would not be drafted for the Vietnam War took place on December 1, 1969 (Historynet 2009). This marks the beginning of turmoil and uncertainty for those men born between the years 1944 and 1950

During the Vietnam War 27 million American men registered for the “Draft”. A American man was required to register for the draft at the age of 18. Men between the ages of 18-26 years old fought in Vietnam unless they were in college or Medically disabled. 80% of the middle and lower classes fought in the war, and about ⅔ of the men were volunteers to fight.

In the 1960s the United States suffered through the horrible tragedy of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. This left most of the American families heart broken. This showed other countries that the United States can be conquered. In the 1970s, the United States had faced some serious economic problems. One severe problem was inflation, meaning the cost of goods and services were increasing. These rising prices created a problem for all the families in America. Later there was a conflict in Vietnam, the Vietnam War. This turned into battle ground for the Cold War because “Communist countries such as the Soviet Union and china armed North Vietnam” (Pierce, 2005). Given that the US opposed the spread of communism, they had to go in and fight. This made tensions high between the US and the USSR.

The United States military eventually became one of low morale and deteriorating race relations. This was contrary to the image we liked to have of our military. Young Americans found that the draft and the war violated their moral and religious ideas (Accettola 169). In the United States, young men should have been able to practice religion and have their own ideas without restraint. Through deferments, exemptions, legal technicalities, and noncombat alternatives, the draft rewarded people with money and power (Stoner and George 77). The draft was contrary to American ideals in that it unfairly rewarded some who had more than others. The draft hurt military efficiency by substituting motivated volunteers for unmotivated draftees. It was bad for troop morale and performance, so it endangered the mission (Bodenner). The draft endangered the American mission in Vietnam by lowering morale and performance, therefore endangering the United States as a

When the draft was first introduced, the government envisioned it as a way to instill a sense of civic pride in society. However, the citizens of the United States saw it as an intrusion on their rights. Widespread public opposition concerning the military draft was seen throughout the nation ranging from draftees refusing to report for duty, to the many large well-known protests. James Robbins states, “a conscripted military would not be more just; it would simply universalize injustice by removing individual choice from the equation”(qtd. in Military Draft 6). The injustice of removing an individual’s choice is unconstitutional and is intrusive to person’s rights. This

After the defeat of the Axis powers in World War II it was apparent that the victors would come out as the new world powers. With the United States and the Soviet Union being the strongest nations of the victorious Allies they were the two countries who emerged as the new world powers but their views varied drastically. The Democratic United States and the Communist Soviets butted heads about each others views and the U.S. wanted to halt the spread of communism so it couldn’t get to the rest of the world. The U.S. adopted a policy of containment to keep communism in the USSR and the other places it had spread. The U.S.’s main goal was to prevent the spread of communism and they did everything

The need for war has always been a debated point in human ideology. Countries choose to war over money, culture, terrorism, and many other issues. During the 1965-73 America drafted 1,728,344 individuals to the Vietnam wars (National Vietnam Veterans Foundation, 10 Aug 2015). With these escalated statistics an important question is raised on the morality of mandatory military service. This essay will discuss the dangers of drafted military services and how it harms personal freedoms, mental health, and it's effect on military movements and success.

Cold war ideological and geopolitical conflicts shaped U.S. policy in Vietnam through a determination by U.S. government to not allow Communism to have any influence whatsoever no matter the cost. There was a strong desire by the United States government to show the world that it still had prestige in terms of reestablishing its credibility throughout the planet. As Isserman and Kazin stated, “The use of credibility as a rationale for American involvement became a self-fulfilling

However, the cause of war was unclear among different countries. The United States’ knowledge about Vietnam was rooted in a broader concern about communism, rather than colonialism. Occurring in the midst of the Cold War between Russia and the United States, when communism was a major concern, the United States felt an obligation to join the war to prevent the spread of communism. During this time, United States president, Lyndon B. Johnson, was concerned with the Domino Theory, stating that if one country came under the influence of communism, the surrounding nations in the region would fall under the influence of communism in a domino effect. Afraid that Chinese influence would win the war and make Vietnam a communist nation, the United States joined the war supporting South Vietnam and protecting the surrounding Asian nations from falling under the influence of communism.

The United States thought if they stopped communism in Vietnam, it would stop the spread of communism. At this time, America saw itself as

Riding on the democratic stallion of equality with triumphant fervor from World War II, the United States of America prioritized the containment of communism as its foreign policy outlined by the Truman Doctrine in 1947. The U.S eventually found itself in the middle of rising communist nations in the Pacific and European theaters. In an increasingly expensive and hopeless effort to prevent communist Ho Chi Minh unifying Vietnam under the red flag of the hammer and sickle, America officially sent troops to the Southeast Asian nation in 1965, though Congress never legitimately declared war on Vietnam. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the ongoing Vietnam War had substantial repercussions on the society and economy of America that resulted in a loss in global authority. Economically, inflation became conspicuous because of a monetary imbalance of higher exports compared to imports. Socially, soldiers were psychologically damaged from their experiences, while citizens actively protested against the war with success.

The Vietnam War was the result of the First Indochina war from 1946-1954 between the French and the Vietnamese who did not want to be ruled by a foreign country. Through out the 20th century, the fear of communism within the United States (U.S) was a demonstration of international influences and political apprehension. The fear of communism was due to the large difference between capitalism (U.S) and communism (China and the USSR) because of their economical structure where America had independence over their economic production unlike communist countries such as China and the USSR where their economic production is controlled and shared equally between the people. Prior to WWII, the French occupied Vietnam as a colony until 1954 when the French lost a major battle with the Vietnamese, the French had no choice but to evacuate all troops from Vietnam which resulted in the split between the North and the South. During this time the north gain support from other communist countries such as China and the USSR and the south by the U.S. America supported the south because of the fear they had on the ‘domino effect’ (that all the countries in south east Asia will turn communist) since China, under Mao Zedong (1893 – 1976) was a large influence of communism to other countries, spreading to North

The United States usually views itself as a champion when it comes to foreign affairs, but one particular enemy went down in history books as a strong challenge: Communism. The Vietnam War was a conflict between Communist Northern Vietnam and ally Viet Cong (from the South) against United States-supported Southern Vietnam. The war began in 1954 when Ho Chi Minh and his Communist Viet Minh Party gained power in Northern Vietnam, which was virtually a reflection of the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Later, President Dwight D. Eisenhower created the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization in September 1954, eventually propelling troops to enter the South. This was one of the biggest justifications for the U.S. entering the war, as there was a social and moral “need” to contain communism, but many were reluctant for harsh action. John F. Kennedy later followed in Eisenhower’s footsteps by sending over more military advisors and aid to help the Southern Vietnamese armies train. Bitter opposition and protests characterized American society during this time, as the war resulted in over 3 million casualties by the hands of over 500,000 deployed American soldiers and other parties. In 1975, Communist forces got control of Saigon and the war ended with the United States’ defeat. The Vietnam War was an unnecessary struggle, as Communism could not be contained, and ultimately brought harm to the American people due to the amount of casualties, cost, and betrayal by