VIETNAM WAR ASSIGNMENT:
STRUCTURED NOTES
MAIN TARGET POINTS:
Cohesion and Division
Social, Political, Economic(minor)
Differing and Changing perspectives of the impact/ conflict
Impact/Effects on groups/individuals
Consequences of Australian involvement
Continuity and Change
HYPOTHESIS
FOCUS QUESTIONS
NATURE, ORIGINS AND PROGRESS OF THE VIETNAM WAR ON AUSTRALIA
• By far one of the greatest influences of the Cold War on Australia was revealed in the Australian involvement towards the Vietnam conflict.
• The Origins of the conflict in Vietnam stem from various different factors, these of which include:
Vietnamese aspirations of nationalism and independence: These aspirations derive from colonial rulers such as Japan and France.
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Evidently, the foundation of Australian society was beginning to be questioned and the anti-Vietnam rhetoric as a catalyst for social reform was ultimately appointed. Thus it is apparent that the social impact of the Vietnam conflict was greatly divisive on any levels opposed to cohesive.
“The Vietnam War was perhaps the main spark, with the whole social movement of the 60’s and 70’s that converted Australia into a more tolerant, liberal society, willing to question authority and find our own place in the world”
-The Age, 30th April, 2005
• The turbulence caused by Australia’s involvement in the war was also a major catalyst to the social impacts caused by the Vietnam conflict. These include:
The debate over conscription
A movement away from the consensus about foreign policy
A culturist rise in anti-authoratarianism and
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The 1980’s saw a major social impact in distinct pockets of urban Australia, with Places such as Northbridge in Perth conveying Vietnamese identity as being strongly maintained.
POLITICAL IMPACT: The Vietnam War had a significant effect on the political landscape of Australia both domestically and internationally:
• Politically, Vietnam had a huge impact on Australian life. It affected every government from Menzies to Fraser and was a major factor in the elections of 1966 to 1975. From being an issue that galvanised many Australians to support conservative governments, the fear of communism gave way to a growing tide of unease about Australians fighting a war that was too little understood and was sending men too young to vote possibly to their death.
• Perceptions about the conservatives being out of touch resonated through the Vietnam conflict and its irrelevance. Gough Whitlam was a major beneficiary in 1972 from such a perception and although the Australian withdrawal was virtually complete, Whitlam ended the gaol terms of those who had objected at the cost of incarceration.
• Domestically (Cohesive):
1973 Voting age lowered from 21-18 Due to conscription at
The novel, A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of America’s Last Years in Vietnam, written by Lewis Sorley, is an important and influential book that sheds light on the often neglected final years in Vietnam from 1968 to 1975 and revises our knowledge of the war and its conclusion. Lewis Sorley is an American intelligence analyst and military historian. Sorley spent much time interviewing those who have served in Vietnam so that he could gain information on their experiences and how the war truly was for them. This novel includes live stories from those willing enough to share their experiences. Sorely explains throughout the novel that Vietnam may not be as we thought it to be, but actually much more.
In A Viet Cong Memoir, we receive excellent first hands accounts of events that unfolded in Vietnam during the Vietnam War from the author of this autobiography: Truong Nhu Tang. Truong was Vietnamese at heart, growing up in Saigon, but he studied in Paris for a time where he met and learned from the future leader Ho Chi Minh. Truong was able to learn from Ho Chi Minh’s revolutionary ideas and gain a great political perspective of the conflicts arising in Vietnam during the war. His autobiography shows the readers the perspective of the average Vietnamese citizen (especially those involved with the NLF) and the attitudes towards war with the United States. In the book, Truong exclaims that although many people may say the Americans never lost on the battlefield in Vietnam — it is irrelevant.
Australia got involved in Vietnam in an attempt to stop the spread of communism in South Vietnam and protect is position in the Asian Pacific; this is a key event in Australia’s history as it changed the course of Australia’s allegiances and almost lead to warfare on Australian soil. Though relating cause and effect by using numerous historical sources I will assess the key reasons why Australia got involved in the Vietnam War. Robert Menzies parliament address in 1965, an article from The Conversation describing the events 50 years later as well as multiple extracts from “Contested Spaces” by Thomas Cantwell and key extracts from the History textbook all illustrate the main reasons why Australia was keen to get involved in the war in South
Cabramatta was modest until the Vietnam War had ended in the 1970 's. After the Whitlam government had passed the Racial Discrimination Act, and the White Australia Policy was dropped and Vietnam migrated in Australia and placed in Cabramatta as a refuge from the war( Cabramatta). Cabramatta is known for its rich culture and variety of population living in the place. However, The largest Vietnamese community in Australia is found in Cabramatta (source).
The Vietnam war took a major death toll in Vietnam, United States, South Korea, Thailand, New Zealand, and Australia. Just in the U.S., “more than 58,000 American soldiers were killed while more than 150,000 others wounded”. On both sides, there were almost 2 million civilians dead and 1.1 simply on the Vietnamese side. The My Lai Massacre, where soldiers brutally killed Vietnamese children and mothers, presents an example where the war mentally changed the soldiers in the war in a very horrendous way. On the other hand, the United States took brutal losses in the Tet Offensive, where the Vietcong slaughtered over 100 towns and twelve United States air bases.
The Vietnam War lasted twenty years, it started in 1955 and didn’t end until 1975, during this time over three million people were killed and many more were injured. Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War began in 1962 and continued until many years after the war. The first refugees fled from South Vietnam in 1975, they travelled by boat to seek refuge from countries like Australia, many people saw Australia as a safe country to move to, with their families, an continue their lives away from their destroyed
The Vietnam War was a war the United States should have never been involved in. The “Domino Theory” was a direct cause of the war. The war resulted in much death; innocent civilians and young Americans were killed. The Vietnam war also resulted in rioting, distrust for the United States government, and the loss of many lives. 58,000 Americans were killed and 300,000 were wounded.
During World War 2 (1939 – 1945), Australia had a variety of impacts on both its government and its people. The war had a great effect on the place of indigenous people in Australia as indigenous men and women joined services throughout the country. The Aboriginal Australians, both the men and the women had contributed in the second Great War. Meanwhile, when the Aboriginals of Australia had jobs during World War 2, Australia’s economy boomed with the help of the war as many Australian troops had gone out to fight for the British. The economy had boomed during the period of the Second World War as Australian products could be produced as well.
Though the Doves presented logical and well-thought through arguments, I agree considerably more with the Hawk’s perceptions over the Vietnam War. It was crucial in the achievement of world peace and aimed to help Vietnam through a detrimental
On November 1st, 1955, a country divided into two, North and South Vietnam will soon have a war known to many countries around the world. The Vietnam War, or the Second Indochina War occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. At the time, Vietnam had a dispute on what the country should be, Communistic or Republic, which had led war breaking out. North as the Viet Cong group while the Republic Of Vietnam group was South; eventually unexpected events started to unfold, leading towards the end of the war. To this very day, The Vietnam War has changed the ways how many civilians live their lives, especially my family.
Australian women had a very broad range of duties and responsibilities during World War II. Their roles also changed a lot for a long time during 1939 to 1945. There are some factors that show how their roles changed. These factors are participation in military services, education to work in skilled employment and transformation of attitudes and beliefs of society.
In world war 1 the battle of Gallipoli gave Australians, as a nation, a chance to introduce them selves to the world, and to show Australia 's honourable independent nations morals. The landing on ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) cove on the 25th of April, 1915, ended up being catastrophic and took the lives of 136,425 young men originating from 6 different countries. The campaign took the lives of 8704 young Australian bread men. Though the movement was a calamitous defeat for the allies. Nevertheless, the Gallipoli effort gave time for Australian young men to see other lands and to observe and learn about very different cultures, from the Anglo-Saxon influenced society which they were raised upon.
Australia’s experiences of World War II were significant for Australia and impacted on the shaping of our national identity. Australia 's response to entry into World War II in 1939 differed from Australia 's entry into World War I in 1914. Reasons for this includes attitudes towards war changing after gaining the knowledge and experiencing consequences of World War I, the conditions and lead up to World War II as well as Australia’s strong support for Britain. Firstly, the attitude of Australians changed due to World War 3I proving that war was not glamourous or exciting like it was assumed. During the lead up to World War II Australians had already struggled to survive through the depression and were now required to survive at war.
The big failure America in the Vietnam War is the shameful history of tragic scene for arrogant American, whose pain is still difficult to ease. The crucial event also had a profound impact on today 's international situation. It is believed that the failure included political, economic, military and cultural background and other aspects, which are that common. When it comes to the controversial subject, I hope to put forward some fresh views from where I stand. 1.
I find Ho Chi Minh’s letter far more persuasive than Lyndon B. Johnson’s. Using ethos, pathos, and logos, he forms a solid argument that supports Vietnam’s stance on the war. He appeals to one’s emotions by expressing the injustices faced by his people, writing, “In South Viet-Nam a half-million American soldiers and soldiers from the satellite countries have resorted to the most barbarous methods of warfare, such as napalm, chemicals, and poison gases in order to massacre our fellow countrymen, destroy the crops, and wipe out villages.” Words such as “massacre” and “barbarous” highlight the severity of these crimes, and invoke feelings of guilt and remorse in the reader. Chi Minh uses ethos to support his logos, or logical, views on the