The War Of The Vietnam War

By the time the of its conclusion, the Vietnam War was considered as a waste of life and deemed unnecessary by the American population. Sending American men to die in a foreign country in the name of capitalism did not resonate well with agitated families. Government officials, however, held a different stance on the war. Among those government officials, was President John F. Kennedy. “[JFK] became president in 1961 having proclaimed Vietnam the ‘cornerstone of the free world in Southeast Asia’” ( Keene et. al., p. 788). President Kennedy, fully committed to preserving capitalism, replies to a letter from a distraught sister whose brother was killed in the war while also detailing the need for U.S. involvement in Vietnam. President Kennedy justifies the reason for American lives in Vietnam being due to, “[determining] that [Vietnam] must not fall under Communist domination” (Johnson 275), confirming Kennedy’s beliefs in a communist-free world. Although the Kennedy Administration opted for a “middle path” by

Amongst these reasons is the ineffectiveness of conventional military tactics, the overabundant loss of American lives and the loss of both militant and civilian Vietnamese lives, as well as the insurmountable opposition to the war itself. The most detrimental to the Vietnam War effort, however, was indisputably the lack of public support for the war. A country can hardly fight a war without the support of its people, let alone a war that requires an immense amount of resources and manpower. In addition to this, no prolonged conflict can be maintained by a country without the support of its people. The Vietnam War involved all of these elements. It was an intense conflict that required an unprecedented amount of manpower as well as supplies to be maintained. It was also an incredibly prolonged conflict that produced little to no progression and lacked any definitive goal to be progressed toward. Due to the powerful opposition supplied by the Anti-war Movement, civil leader, such as Martin Luther King Jr., and the general disdain for the war on behalf of the American public, especially later in the war, it became a necessity for the American government to retract from Vietnam. Conclusively, the public opposition to the war was the largest and most impactful cause of America’s withdrawal from the Vietnam War, resulting in

Vietnam, arguably the most controversial war America started, the war that generated some of the largest opposition movements in American history and the war ended with America losing. The Vietnam War has become the subject of ongoing discussion and debate because it had so many aspects about it that shocked and confused the world. Some areas of debate regarding the war include the assumptions that caused its escalation and the argument about whether the war could have ended on different terms. According to historians George Herring and Loren Baritz, Americas limited war theory and their arrogant beliefs about themselves were the main assumptions that guided the escalation of the Vietnam war and are also the reason why the historians did not believe the war would have a different outcome.

Between 1964 and 1975 the heightened tensions over the Vietnam war caused many americans to become divided on the actions taken by the government across seas. Americans questioned whether the government could be trusted. The feeling of betrayal and government secrecy created the “Credibility Gap,” in which many americans believed that the government no longer was for the people, but for anything else that would benefit the government. The Vietnam War exacerbated the gap between the pro-war traditionalists and anti-war liberals along with an increase in military action, causing controversy over government spending; as a whole these factors established a sense of distrust between the American government and its people.

America has won the War of Independence, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Indian Wars, the Civil War, and are back-to-back winners of the World Wars. With the amount of victories made, Americans might try to process the question of who won the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War never had a declared victor. America got involved in the Vietnam War during the year of 1965. The United States first became involved in the war by financially supporting France in the first Indochina War. After that, Vietnam was separated from France’s control. South Vietnam and France were America’s allies. President Kennedy sent roughly 2,000 military advisors to South Vietnam for support. Soon, it became a much more preponderant number. The “Tet

also pointed out when there was a shining point, or some progress actually made about poor white and black Americans, the military buildup in Vietnam overshadowed it all, so it was thrown aside. Of course, he was against the whole war and say “hear the broken cries of both sides”. This meaning, both the Vietnamese people, and the American have been suffering through this war and he called for peace. He also said that both sides opinions have not been heard, the North, South, and U.S., all go straight to war, and take in consideration on what the people actually think about the military usage. “Madness" was what Dr. King called the Vietnam War, and United States response to it, he said “Each day the war goes on the hatred increases in the heart of the Vietnamese and in the hearts of those of humanitarian instinct”. Another way of his opinion, he cared about both sides of the war and knew either side was able to stop it.Even laying out how the U.S. can stop it. The list written was, to end all bombing, declare a cease-fire in order to increase negotiation, prevent battlegrounds in East Asia, accept the role of the South Vietnamese, and to set a date to remove all foreign troops. In the span of the increasing Vietnam War, even with all this military action, it was clear this war was

Edward R. Murrow once said, “Anyone who isn 't confused really doesn 't understand the situation,” (Quotes About Vietnam War). The entire basis for the Vietnam War was to suppress communism. Citizens of the United States as a whole did not understand communism. Communism was a newer concept and had mainly been seen in reference to the Cold War with USSR. Often times with confusion comes anger. Many soldier were angry that they were sent to war, while others went out of curiosity. The story of Mary Anne Bell’s time in Vietnam is representative of the curious soldiers who volunteered for the Vietnam War.

The purpose of the Vietnam War, was to end the awful spread of communism. As Ho Chi Minh (North Vietnam’s communist president) fought to which spread North Vietnam’s political uses to Southern Vietnam. With this, the American Military Advisors sought to believe that a fall of Southern Vietnam to communist hands, would then lead to a total takeover of neighboring nations to fall under communism. The effect of the neighboring nations falling, was known as the “Domino Effect”. It all began when The Northern half of Vietnam, with the Vietcong Army, invaded the Southern half of Vietnam to spread their political rule of communism to the rest of their country; seizing it from France’s established colony. Dwight D. Eisenhower, in which was an American politician and General who served as the 34th President of the United States from 1953 until 1961. (Wikipedia), spoke of this theory of the spread of communism know as the “Domino Effect”. He stated in The President 's News Conference of April 7, 1954, that without the United States entering the Vietnam revolution, there would be a risk of communism spreading to the Southern Half of Vietnam. He stated that if this was successful, it proves that the domino theory, “A communist victory in one nation would quickly lead to a chain reaction of communist takeovers in neighboring states” (History.com). Which forcefully put America in a position in which government officials felt the need to involve America in the Vietnam war by sending a

As Nicholas Lemann once said, “Everything is pretty much the same on the surface. Underneath, everything is different. We have no center. Our parents did… People like me assumed the American enterprise was noble, rebelled against it for a time, and then joined it, not out of sincere belief of our parents but there was no choice. That’s why today, although we’re better educated than they were we vote less. It’s why… we feel no loyalty to our employers. Its why marriage and children scare us… When that is the way you are, how do you conduct your life?” The Vietnam War killed over fifty eight thousand Americans and over 61% of the men killed were 21 years or younger. Most Americans are conflicted with the fact whether the Anti War Movement

The Vietnam war was probably one of the most, if not the most unpopular war in US history. Civil disobedience began before the war was even in full swing. Men would refused to register for the military draft. And when they actually had registered for the draft the men began to publicly burn their draft cards. As if that wasn’t enough of a sap in the face to the government they began to not just burn their draft cards but actually sent them back to the government. In response to these refuses the government began to prosecute the men who refused; by the end there were over thirty-three thousand imprisoned for refusing the draft. When their pleads for peace were not heard, citizens then turned to the use of horrific actions. United States citizens began to commit suicide in order to be heard. In Washington when pentagon workers finished their day and were leaving, they were met by Norman Morrison. Morrison was so fed up with the war that he drenched him self in gasoline, lit himself on fire, and proceeded to burn to death in public to protest the war. Sadly, enough this was not the only suicide case, a year later Alice Herz fallowed in Morrison’s footsteps and also set fire to herself. Then when bombings in North Vietnam began to take place, US citizens gathered in Boston to protest. But this wasn’t just any normal protest, during this particular protest over one hundred thousand (some think the number was actually closer to two million) citizens attended and peace rallies

Another big difference in this war was that the Vietnam War was had more disapproval and was more expressive within the American public, unlike the Korean War. The ANITWAR MOVEMENT started in the 1960s this group was never enacted until this era. There was not a group like this in Vietnam, but there were many groups that opposed the war. The main object of these revolts was the American military presence in Indochina. The ANITWAR MOVEMENT caused an influence not only socially, but also in the realm of television, which indirectly had influence in the war as well. The television played a big role in how the influence of the ANITWAR MOVEMENT and how important it became for the era itself. The ANITWAR MOVEMENT truly had one of the most intense effects on the war and how it was viewed for the American public. For example, “it served as a network of communication through which people in one part of the country discovered that others elsewhere shared their feelings about the war, and saw how they could demonstrate those feelings publicly” (164). The ANITWAR MOVEMENT main concern was to convince the American public that the war should be stopped at all cost. Their message was being sent out through many television providers, which would reach the American public.

The Vietnam War was another United States attempt in containing Communism in southeastern Asia. To this point in the Cold War, containment dominated U.S. foreign policy and already led the U.S. into a war, Korea. In 1964, The North Vietnamese attacked the U.S.S. Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin. Soon after the attack, the U.S. Senate crafted the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave President Johnson the ability to engage in the Vietnam War (Phillips). President Johnson immediately sent thousands of troops directly into Vietnam. The highest amount of American troops committed to Vietnam was 542,000 (Phillips). In January 1968, both sides agreed to a truce during the Tet holidays, which celebrated Vietnam’s new year. However, the Viet Cong organized a massive surprise attack in many cities in South Vietnam. This attacked has been named the Tet Offensive and shocked the U.S.. Even though the Viet Cong suffered many causalities, it showed the inability for the U.S. forces to adequately fight a war on foreign soil. This attack dismissed the fact that the U.S. was winning the war and changed the outlook on the war. Bringing the television into middle class family’s homes changed the way people got their news. This sparked outrage in the U.S. and caused the increased effectiveness of the anti-war movement. The Presidents policies began to change was the war dragged on and this ultimately led to the unification of Vietnam under a Communist government, which was the fear of many because

Throughout the 1960’s, the United States of America was in the midst of change, advancements, and struggle. It was America vs. the Soviet Union, always trying to one up each other in both weaponry and space technology, but the main conflict was the spread of Communism. As the battle between Communists and Non-Communists raged on, America attempted to do everything in its power to stop the spread of communism all around the world. This is what lead to the gruesome war that lasted over a decade in Vietnam. A great deal of social changed happened all over the world, but particularly in America as the Vietnam War dragged on. As people became more aware of the atrocities going on in Southeast Asia, the endless domestic support turned into

American soldiers arrived in My Lai on March 16, 1968. These soldiers were members of

President Kennedy saw the Vietnam situation as America’s fight to stop the spread of communism. Kennedy, who was young and well liked by the American people, did not really see much protest from the American people. He wanted equality in America, and supported open-mindedness in his country; at his assassination in 1963 only 15,000 troops were in Vietnam. His successor, Lyndon B. Johnson greatly increased the number of troops that went to Vietnam, reaching 500,000 in 1966. Television allowed the American public to see what these soldiers were facing and that this was a senseless war. Too many men were coming home in American flag draped coffins, causing many Americans to rebel and move to the new hippie counterculture.