Throughout the history of the United States, there has been no shortage of wars. However, no war has had as big of an impact as the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War sparked some of largest anti war movements in United States history, and considering the size of the protests it is no surprise that the anti War movement began to link up with other movements at the time, specifically the Civil Rights movement. In the 1960s and 1970s, the United States saw a stark connection between the anti Vietnam War protests and the ongoing Civil Rights Movement. Many of the protestors supported both campaigns since the War negatively impacted the Civil Rights Movement.
In its initial years, the Vietnam War had huge amounts of help originating from US citizens. We thought that the war would not take long at all and would make new American Casualties. Their thoughts started to change once they understood that the legislature had sugar coated how "well" the war was going when in actuality, it wasn't looking good. Major offensive attacks were launched by the Viet Cong on major bases.
Vietnam was as an unnecessary war. American soldiers risked their lives for a war that
“Our present course [in Vietnam] will not bring victory; will not bring peace; will not stop the bloodshed; and will not advance the interests of the United States or the cause of peace in the world.”
As the Cold War raged on, the United States continued to try and contain the spread of communism. A popular belief during this time was the domino theory, which stated that if a country fell to communism, the surrounding countries would also fall. Therefore, the United States began sending aid to the South Vietnamese in order to resist the communist North. However, this quickly escalated into more and more troops being supplied, and the Vietnam War began to take shape. The Vietnam War would be marked by failure in both military and political leadership, angering the American public at every turn. The unpopularity of the government’s actions, social unrest marked by movements and protests, and the poor management of the economic side of the
In a time of drastic change in America, adding such a controversial war to the mix of social issues seemed to many like an inappropriate decision. The Vietnam War, which lasted twenty years, from 1955 and 1975, was the battle for liberation of South Vietnam from North Vietnam. The communist North Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh, was backed by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and communist China in an attempt to overtake the South Vietnamese who were led by the Catholic minority, Ngo Dinh Diem. Before 1960, his corrupt and brutal ways were beginning to wear on his people. By 1963, the United States has decided that Diem must go and authorizes and assassination (Osman, 2 October). The controversiality only starts with John F. Kennedy’s decision
The Vietnam War started when French invaded Vietnamese territory and took it as their colony in 1887. Later in 1954, Vietnam was officially split into North(communist) and South(capitalist) Vietnam. The Viet Minh was the communist group who wanted to declare independence from France. The U.S did not want communism to be spread and that was the reason why they joined the war and supported the South. For the United States, a communist Vietnam meant the spread of the Soviet Union influence abroad the Asia’s territory (domino theory). However, later on most Americans changed their minds and the war became unfavorable at home. Then, President Gerald Ford officially ended the Vietnam War in 1975. The Vietnam War expanded divisions between the American
America’s policy of containment, which lead to the further development of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshal Plan, aimed to contain the spread of communism and when Vietnam was being threatened by a communist regime, the Vietcong, America extended its policy of containment to Asia. (Source B)America extending its policy of containment to Asia meant that it would support the South Vietnamese government by supplying military aid and advisors and American troops to assist the South Vietnamese in preventing a communist takeover. (Source A)America was scared that the ‘Domino effect’ would occur in Vietnam, which was the theory that if one country fell to communism, which in this case would be Vietnam, all the countries that besieged it
The Vietnam War was an ongoing war between the Republic of South Vietnam and the Communist country of North Vietnam. There were various U.S. policies established in the Vietnam War that affected the outcome of the war. These policies included the Domino theory also known as the containment policy, the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, and Vietnamization. All of these U.S. policies significantly affected the Vietnam War in many different ways.
1964 saw the United States enter into one of the longest war it had ever been involved in, up until that point the war was known as the Vietnam War. The then President of the United States Lyndon Johnson had campaigned vastly with the deception that he had become a person who believes that war and violence are unjustifiable. However, he later accepted the view that the war was unavoidable for the United States to be involved in due to the case in the Gulf of Tonkin. Therefore, without any form of proof or belief around the matter the Gulf of Tonkin incident was a sure explanation or excuse for the implementation of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. So, immediately Congress approved the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution they gave President Johnson access to full military power, which went ahead to propel the United States into a rather long,
On August 4, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson notified the citizens of America that U.S. navy ships had been attacked by North Vietnamese gunboats in the Gulf of Tonkin. (110) Johnson reported that this attack had been “unprovoked”, when in fact the U.S. destroyer had fired first. (110) After this supposed attack President Johnson asked Congress to pass the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. President Johnson used this resolution to wage war in Vietnam. (110) The tangle of government deceptions and lies began to unravel as public confidence in both President Johnson and the American military effort in Vietnam began to weaken. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution and the song “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’-To Die Rag” display two different views of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. The Tonkin Resolution represents the Americans’ support for the Vietnam War while the song “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’-To Die Rag” represents the anti-war movement. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution portrayed U.S. motives as maintaining peace and security in Asia, while the song “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’-To Die Rag” depicts that the American
“Our defeat and humiliation in South Vietnam without question would promote recklessness in the councils of those great powers who have not yet abandoned their goals of world conquest.” Since America’s beginning, they have been fighting for one thing: freedom. Communism is known to be an evil in the way of freedom. If America allowed this evil to spread, it would slowly gain more power and threaten the American democracy. Nixon makes sure to tell American citizens that it is their responsibility to defend the world and stop the control of communism.
The North Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong were fighting to reunite Vietnam. They viewed the conflict as a colonial war and a continuation of the First Indochina War against forces from France and later on the United States. The Americans government viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam. This was part of their broader global policy, ultimately aiming to stop the spread of communism in the
I began to follow in my father footsteps combined with my own beliefs and experiences and focus my beliefs on the fact that Vietnam had a right to govern itself free of Colonial rule (historyleaarningsite). I was determined to break down the old order that governed Vietnam. I wanted to “see the old order in ruins and the West learning the limits of power – that gunboat diplomacy and colonialism were finished” (Halberstam). This was the great push that help me to convert to communism.
men for every one I kill of yours. But even at those odds, you will lose and I will win” (Vietnam War Quotations). Vietnam is in Southeast Asia with the population of 96 million. The country border China, Laos and Cambodia (The World Factbook: VIETNAM). Vietnam used to be ruled by France but later declared independence after World War II under Ho Chi Minh. During the Geneva Accords of 1954, Vietnam was divided into the communist North and anti-communist South (Spector). The Vietnam War was the longest war in the United States history because it lasted for nearly twenty years. It caused the death of millions of Vietnamese and Americans. The Vietnam War is also known as the Second Indochina War. It takes place mostly in Vietnam, but also happened in Laos and Cambodia. The United States was a big role in the Vietnam War. They feel like it is necessary to be involved. A few reasons that caused the United States to be allied with South Vietnam are communism, Truman Doctrine, and reunification.