The Vietnam War affected American foreign policy significantly, both during the conflict and in the years that followed. Many Americans lost faith in their government and its foreign policies as a result of the war's protracted, expensive, and ultimately disastrous military involvement. The conflict also caused a change in American foreign policy, emphasizing diplomacy and using a more cautious and practical approach. Additionally, as decision-makers strove to learn from the mistakes of Vietnam and advance peace and security globally, the war brought a fresh emphasis on human rights and democracy promotion in American foreign policy. American politics, society, and culture were all profoundly affected by the Vietnam War, which also led to a …show more content…
Also in 1969, when student body presidents of 253 universities wrote to the White House to say that they personally planned to refuse induction, joining the half million others who would do so during the course of the war. The conflict had a substantial effect on the economy as well, with unemployment and soaring prices adding to a sense of fear. The war also had a long-lasting effect on American culture, with many works of literature, music, and film capturing the agony and despair of the time. With continuous discussions over the place of the United States in the world and the use of military action to further foreign policy goals, the impact of the Vietnam War is still felt today. The Vietnam War's effect on the soldiers who participated in the fight was another significant aspect of the battle. Because of how cruel and horrific the war was, many troops who served had physical and mental health issues. In addition, a disproportionately large number of Americans from the working class and the poor were drafted into the military against their wishes. Another contentious topic included how Vietnam soldiers were treated once they got home, with many of them encountering prejudice and animosity from other
The reaction citizens had on the announcement of the invasion were very negative. “In what became the first general student strike in the nations history, more than 1.5 million students closed down some 1,200 campuses” (Danzer 962). People were so outraged they shut down colleges. Because of this, the draft was also abolished because men found ways of getting out of it. “Sympathetic doctors granted medical exceptions, change residence to be in zone with a lenient draft board, joined the National Guard or Coast Guard to stay in the United States, and enrolled in college to get a deferment” (Fagnilli 33).
At the time of the Vietnam War, Australia reinstated conscription to increase the ADF’s (Australian Defence Force) manpower. Though this legislation came with a stern opposition. Nick Irving who has a PhD in history comments within his article “Between 100,000 and 200,000 people thronged the streets of the country's capital cities, emphatically announcing that they did not support their government's involvement in the Vietnam War, or conscription of the nation's youth to fight it.”(Nick Irving, 2010, Online). This demonstrates the enormous amount of discouragement the public had within the matter of conscripting young men to go to a war many thought Australia should not have been involved in the first place.
The people who went to Vietnam during the war were changed by
How important were Drafts during the Vietnam War? During the Vietnam War drafts were a huge part of troops and their families lives. The draft was a way that we would make our troops bigger and better by forcing American men to fight in the war.. American men had to sign up for the draft at age 18. Men from the ages between 18 and 26 were the main chosen to go over to fight.
Draft dodging during the Vietnam War was not only ethical but also necessary for many opponents. On the other hand, some people believe that draft dodgers were not ethical because it was a form of cheating. Additionally, draft dodgers strain the military by making it more difficult to staff the war effort. The Vietnam War was a controversial conflict that lasted from 1955 to 1975 and caused significant social, political, and economic turmoil in the United States. Many people believed that the war was unjust and immoral, and refused to participate in it through various means, including draft dodgers.
Furthermore, many Americans argued against joining the war, as there were many problems in the education system and the economy. Although America supported the Vietnamese refugees by providing them a place to escape, many of them struggled
This policy impacted American history. The Vietnam War draft had a huge effect on American
In 1955, the United States entered the Vietnam War, a war that would last twenty years. This war had proved to be one of the deadliest wars of the time. During this time, it brought a great divide throughout the country. People felt as though the war was unnecessary and the government was sacrificing innocent lives. There were riots and peaceful protests throughout the country because many people wanted to war to end and were beginning to stand up for their rights.
Primarily, the Vietnam War situation incited a draft, yet, this draft took away the freedom of American citizens. The draft system oppressed American citizens' freedom since they had to join once drafted. The unavoidable nature of the draft caused many
When the Vietnam war started late in 1955, my grandmother, Margery (Marge) Affeld was 14 years old. As she recounted to me her memories of the war she recalled that she was already living in California, engaged to be married to my grandfather. As the interview continued she talked about her stance on the war and Americas reaction to the war. She spent most of her time however, talking about the change of American leadership throughout the war and how it consequently shaped and changed America's viewpoint on the war. Marge says, "I was not in favor of it, but was beyond college age
Once America was pulled into WWII the whole nation became close together through nationalism and they all had a goal to work together as a nation and defeat the axis powers and to help the effort in any way possible including the draft. “Americans from every group got together in the service having a common goal to defend their country and, of course, a common experience.” (Ruschmann 53). All the men who were drafted during WWII and Vietnam War had all shared the same experience whether that was if they died in the line of service or made it back to tell the tale, they all experienced the horrors of war and in a way it brought them together. The men drafted did everything together as one no matter what they looked like or where they came from or what they believed in they all were in the fight.
"In 1969, over half of the public did not support the war," according to polls taken (Stempel, 1988). Yet in 1969, over 280,000 Americans were drafted for the war. This was bad because the government was forcing Americans to serve in the Vietnam War, where they had the chance of injury and death, yet most people did not support the war. It isn't right for the government to force people to die for a cause they did not support. With each year, support for the war kept going down, which caused many protests and riots fighting for peace.
The media strongly influenced the opinion of the people with pictures, articles, and songs protesting the war. Streets were filled with anti war protests carrying signs and speaking their minds about their disapproval of the war. Anti war activists saw returning soldiers as"baby
There were hundreds of protests around the country as a result. Whenever the troops were finally able to return home, the same people who were protesting and fighting for them to come home turned their backs on them. The people who did not support the war felt that American troops were murderers because they were killing innocent Vietnamese citizens. Supporters of the war were turned on Veterans as well because they believed that they had lost the war.. Most vets did not get the military benefits guaranteed to all soldiers.
The Vietnam Memorial Fund analyzed the Vietnam draft stating, “an October 1966 report by the National Advisory Commission on Selective Service showed that only 1.3 percent of local board members were African American. By comparison, African Americans constituted 11 percent of the U.S. population, 16.3 percent of all draftees, and 23 percent of all combat troops in Vietnam in 1967” (vvmf.org, 2018). This obvious disproportionation was emotionally scarring for many, and the poor socioeconomic citizens aimed their anger towards the government. They started to put their opposition towards the war effort to extreme measures with draft protests, inflicting minor injuries on themselves, or fleeing to Canada to make them ineligible for combat. The media televised the abuse of soldiers at war.