Americans tend to back up the president when faced with a threat from abroad yet the nation turned against the president with U.S involvement in Vietnam war. The Vietnam war taught the United States that it is impossible to win a long war without the majority support. The war to most Americans was to defend South Vietnam from the aggression of the communists but the prolonged war made more Americans grow weary of that (attitude or thought) . Social movements defined by Goodwin and Jasper are “ conscious, concerted, and sustained efforts by ordinary people to change some aspect of their society by using extra- institutional means.” Ordinary people from different backgrounds have a common goal, that they plan to fight for, by using methods …show more content…
There is some debate about the consequences of protest.” The anti-war movement were organizations that held demonstrations about their ideals against the government. The lasting effect of these demonstration were sometimes questioned to be radical or not. This allowed the nation to think about what these organizations had to say and see if they share any similarities to their cause. The student movement first organization; Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) is traced back to Port Huron, Michigan, in 1962, where the basis for the movement known as The Port Huron Statement was created. The SDS wanted a future where universities would lead in combing civil rights, peace, and labor movements to challenging academic, corporate, military, political, and racial hierarchies. Once hierarchy is broken they would replace by a democracy. The Students for a Democratic Society brought together many different people and groups such as; students, pacifists, civil rights groups, women, religious leaders, and others …show more content…
Unlike the SDS, they were libertarians, liberals and radicals which strengthened and weakened the movement and recourse able to gain. The variety of organizations such as Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam (CALCAV),National Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam (MOBE),Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (SANE), and SDS made it challenging for the movement to have similar goals and share a unified message. The nations formed negative views of the antiwar movement when a tiny portion of radical activists started coming arson, bombings, property damage, and provoking public authorities. The organization Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam according Hall “ used moral and economic pressure to try to persuade them to end production of war materials.” The CALCAV tired to stop big companies from making war goods as one of their passive methods in order to stop the war. They used a peaceful way instead of a violent way to spread their message. The campaign to stop these companies was a failure but was successful at a local level. MOBE also did a peaceful way of spreading their message by using rallies and teach in which were seminars that informed the audience of the war. According to Danver “MOBE supported draft resistance and black liberation, sent a delegation to meet with President Lyndon
The 1960’s was a time society fantasized of a better world. However, the horrors of the Vietnam War soon became evident; the mass amounts of death occurring because of the war became a reality. It created a “movement”, especially in American colleges, in order to stand up for what they believed to be “right”. By 1970, many Americans believed sending troops to Vietnam was a mistake, however there were also various individuals becoming increasingly critical of the student antiwar movement
Vietnam was a highly debated war among citizens of the United States. This war was like no other with regards to how it affected people on the home front. In past war’s, the population of the United States mainly supported the war and admired soldiers for their courage. During the Vietnam War, citizens of the U.S. had a contradictory view than in the past. This dilemma of not having the support of the people originates from the culture and the time period.
One of the most telling aspects of the antiwar sentiments was the effort made to avoid being drafted into the conflict. The popularized term of “draft dodgers” came into use for those individuals that used means, such as “fle[eing] to Canada to avoid the drafts.” Many of those actually drafted for the war were poor working class men, considering the fact that “a lot of draft-age men received deferments were from wealthy and educated families,” perpetuating the idea that “U.S. draft policies were unfair” (Bia). This belief was illustrated by public demonstrations, making it blatantly obvious of not only the dissatisfaction due to the draft itself, but also the underlying antiwar sentiments. Never before in American history had there been such disconnect between those requiring troops and those being enlisted in the army. This would further expand to encompass those that were originally deferred. Yet there was still distaste from all classes, furthering how the draft itself was just another way by which the delegation was not serving the preferences of the people. The draft was furiously opposed by a variety and majority of peoples, furthering the already present, and mounting principle-agent
The Vietnam War (1965-1975)was fought between the North and South Vietnam. The North was called Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the South was the Republic of Vietnam which was supported by the United States. On August 2nd, 1964 the USS Maddox was on a secret intelligent mission on the North Vietnamese coast where in the Gulf on Tonkin they were attacked by torpedo boats. The USS Turner Joy was attacked in the same area two days later. Due to the second attack Congress declared the Gulf of Tonkin resolution which led to air strikes.In 1959 there were 5,000 guerilla fighters and in 1964 the numbers jumped to 100,000. At Pleiku on March, 1965 U.S Marine barracks were attacked causing the three stage escalation bombing of North Vietnam to begin. The 3 year lasting bombing was used to force North Vietnam to stop supporting the "National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam" by destroying their industrial infrastructure and Vietnam's air defenses. Unfortunately this did not stop the North's support for the NLF. The U.S. Air Force bases were constantly being attacked so the U.S. on March 8, 1965 the 3,500 U.S. Marines was deployed to South Vietnam. At this point in time, the U.S. public supported the dispatch because the Vietnam War had been portrayed to the American people as a war against the spread of Communism. Johnson was president at the time and he kept adding more and more troops as the war went on. As the draft quotas increased, the American public protests started. When Nixon came into presidency his policy towards the Vietnam War was "peace with honor" in other words he wanted to widen the war. After more bombing and fighting, on January 27, 1973 the Paris Peace Accords was signed, restoring peace in Vietnam and U.S. forces pulled out. Nixon stopped all American attacks on Vietnam. The condensed summary of the Vietnam War is to see what presidents were involved in this war (Johnson, and Nixon) and what foreign policies were taken towards Vietnam mostly before the protests began.
Engaging in the war in Vietnam brought a whole different set of "American Views" to the topic of war. This time the country did not support the war like we've seen in the past. Mostly by young people, the war effort was criticized and Americans staged massive protests. The Vietnam War's controversy spurred a great many sources of protest, against our government's use of power, how far we could stretch the rights of free expression, and primarily against the violence of the war itself.
The Vietnam War was a war that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 1st 1955 to the fall of Saigon on April 30th 1975. This war was fought between the North Vietnamese Viet Cong and the government of South Vietnam. The criticism of the war in Vietnam started out as a reaction to President Johnson’s policy of fighting for a limited purpose and a negotiated peace in Vietnam. Criticism is valuable because it helps to correct communal procedures. That is a great advantage of exposed societies. But criticism works only if those in control have a sufficient intellect in order to recognize when a policy has gone wrong. The Vietnam War and its leaders is a "monument to the failure of that necessary wisdom" (Lewis). The supporters were known as “hawks.” As the President escalated the war effort, and became a hawk himself, his chief critics who disagreed with the war became known as “doves,” which included college students, faculty, and several other people who felt that the war was corrupt, was promoting no advantage for the US, and was increasing the number of casualties. But the Doves’ access to this goal is restricted: the war drags on. Many disaffected doves adapt to this situation by rebellion. They reject societal goals and means
Students, along with hippies, had anti-war rallies at many colleges across America. The large numbers of baby boomers currently in college reinforced the student activism. The anti-war movement is often said to have been a major factor affecting America's involvement in the war. These antiwar rallies most always had musicians performing songs to backup their antiwar message. Joan Baez is a noted antiwar non-violent singer/songwri...
In 1968, the United States of America was participating in a violent war that some of the general public greatly disapproved of. Tension between political parties was rising and this did not help efforts with the war. Anti-war sentiment was growing in popularity amongst the younger generation; they wanted to get their voices heard. Protests and riots were occurring more frequently and growing larger in size all throughout the United States. This was the case for eight Chicago men who protested peacefully.
Interestingly, it was not the protest itself that sparked the beginning of what became known as the free speech movement. Rather it was the reaction of the media and the government that encouraged the support of students throughout the country. What was intended to be a peaceful protest was portrayed to the country as evidence of a vast “communist plot.” Dubbed as “operation abolition,” a video of the protest was released, supposedly showing how the communist were now using students to achieve their means. The plan backfired; students were attracted to Berkeley by the droves, with a new sense of determination in tow.
The American citizens took matters into their own hands and decided to rebel. Although the rebellion against the leaders of the U.S. was nationwide, most of it started on college campuses. One of the first groups known to take a stand was a group of college students that joined forces. They called themselves the Students for a Democratic Society. This group contributed greatly to the expansion of the movement...
In the years of the Vietnam War, we can find a good example of what groupthink can do to a force as powerful as the United States. President Johnson drug the troops to such fate and struggle thinking that the United States would determine the course of events in Vietnam. The U.S. declared war to Vietnam under the excuse of defending their ally, South Vietnam, and to prevent further aggression. The Congress agreed and voted in favor of military action against North Vietnam because “the overall effect was to demonstrate before the world the unity of the American people in resisting Communist aggression” (Bacevich, 2014).
...untry to war at anytime and anywhere in the world. Because of this, the American people want to have confidence in its leader’s abilities. Plus, the actions of the President and his staff have a direct influence on the thoughts and perceptions of the people towards interference in foreign countries. Most people did not find the threat of Vietnam falling to communist rule as justification for the number of lives that were lost.
James A. Baldwin once said, “The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose” (BrainyQuote.com). In the 1960s, “the man” was youth across the country. The Vietnam war was in full force, and students across the country were in an outrage. Society needed an excuse to rebel against the boring and safe way of life they were used to; Vietnam gave them the excuse they needed. Teenagers from different universities came together and formed various organizations that protested the Vietnam war for many reasons. These reasons included protesting weapons and different tactics used in the war, and the reason the U.S. entered the war in the first place. These get-togethers had such a monumental impact on their way of life that it was famously named the Anti-War Movement. When the Vietnam War ended, The United States did not have a real concrete reason why; there were a bunch of theories about why the war ended. Through negative media attention and rebellious youth culture, the Anti-War Movement made a monumental impact in the ending of the Vietnam War.
The Vietnam War was well on its way by the time the Democratic Convention of 1968 rolled around, and so were the anti-war protests. After the Tet Offensive in the spring of 1968 and the famous Broadcast of Walter Cronkite, the American public had begun to lose trust in the plans of Lyndon Johnson for Vietnam, and was protesting for peace. The Democratic Convention was an important time and place for protestors to display their displeasure with the Vietnam War, as many important decisions were to be made. The Chicago Seven was made up of radical protestors from two main groups, the MOBES (National Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam) and the YIPPIES (Youth International Party). MOBE was the more politically focused of the two while the YIPPIES engaged in promoting an uninhibited lifestyle.
Not many people agreed with the government and the idea of war, but did not take those hints and went to war anyway. There was retaliation from the people in forms of protests across the country. People also changed their style of life and decided to become hippies for example (“America in Vietnam – Some Context,” 11). Cultural resistance is important to consider when analyzing American Studies because it shows some of the different forms to show how ideas or decisions are resisted, whether it is politically or culturally. It has changed over time and taken different angles, but is still evident