Effects & Aftermath of the Vietnam War

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The Vietnam War was the first major war American’s had suffered defeat. The Vietnam war was a war of confusion, competition and biasness. The outcome of the war was far greater than an upset American nation, but a severe breakdown of the Vietnamese culture, economy, environment and government. It also had a tremendous impact on American society even up to present day. It was unclear from the beginning of the war if the American’s should even be involved. It was a war between Northern and Southern Vietnam but the U.S saw it as an indirect way to challenge the USSR’s sphere of influence in Southern Asia and to prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism. The Vietnam War completely changed the way the United States approached military action and helped establish the role of the United States within the new world order.

The Vietnam conflict started when Ho Chi Ming introduced communism to Vietnam. The citizens of North Vietnam wanted Vietnam to be a communist country, but the citizens of South Vietnam didn't. In response, South Vietnam decided to separate from North Vietnam. North Vietnam didn’t fully agree with the way that South Vietnam dealt with the situation, and thus the Vietnam War had begun.

In Vietnam, friendly fire was common. The United States soldiers often shot innocent civilians. When the U.S viewed the brutality of the war and the torture of countless Vietnamese citizens through journalism, the President knew the public’s reaction was to such a point that he would never get re-elected, therefore he didn’t run, and his party lost the election.

The United States failed to see that in a democracy, people vote for what they want, and they were not allowing the people of Vietnam to be communist. One ...

... middle of paper ...

...ened if the president hadn’t gone to war in Vietnam.

Works Cited

Bennett, Gary F. "Agent Orange." World Book Student. World Book, 2010. Web. 21 March 2010.

Gilbert, Marc Jason. "Vietnam War." World Book Student. World Book, 2010. Web. 21 March 2010.

Harvard, Sitikoff. "The Postwar Impact of Vietnam." Modern American Poetry n. pag. Web. 21 Mar 2010. .

"Vietnam War." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (March 21, 2010). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-VietnamW.html

Willbanks, James. "Vietnam War: United States (Opponent Overview)." United States at War: Understanding Conflict and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2010. .

Wood, John (1990). Vietnam and The Indochina Conflict. Macmilan. New Zealand. Pg 80-92, 95-99.

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