Many of the democrats within the legislative branch turned against Johnson’s war. Scholar’s conflict on the reason why Johnson’s own party turned against him, some scholars attribute it to the growing number of antiwar constituents, while other scholars such as E.M. Schreiber, Burstein and Freudenburg cite the numerous deaths of American soldiers in combat. One democrat by the name of Eugene McCarthy labeled the entire Vietnam War as an “error” and describes the Johnson administration as “misguided.” McCarthy decides to run for President, but loses in the primaries by a slim margin to Johnson, further indicating that the antiwar movement was gaining significant momentum. Things were only beginning to get even worse as the Tet Offensive and the Mai Lai massacre overshadowed the propaganda speeches from Westmoreland and President Johnson. The media was once a key ally to the Johnson administration during the early stages of the war, now turned completely against American involvement. Media outlets such as Life magazine began to show pictures of dead Americans in almost every issue. In February of 1968, influential CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite, who returned from Saigon, informs Americans during his nightly broadcast that the Vietnam War could not be won. Leaks from within the White House did not help Johnson’s strategy either; the New York Times broke the news of General Westmoreland’s request of 206,000 additional troops. In August 1968, during the Democratic national convention in Chicago, 10,000 antiwar protesters gathered and were confronted by an equipped police force. The crackdown on the protesters was broadcasted on live TV. The protests indicated that the U.S. was experiencing a profound degree of social unrests. T...
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...er, E. M.. "Anti-War Demonstrations and American Public Opinion on the War in Vietnam." The British Journal of Sociology 27, no. 2 (1976): 225-236.
Small, Melvin, William D. Hoover, and Charles DeBenedetti. "3." In Give peace a chance: exploring the Vietnam antiwar movement : essays from the Charles DeBenedetti Memorial Conference. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1992. 90-95.
Verba, Sidney, Richard A. Brody, Edwin B. Parker, Norman H. Nie, Nelson W. Polsby, Paul Ekman, and Gordon S. Black. "Public Opinion and the War in Vietnam." The American Political Science Review 61, no. 2 (1967): 317-333.
Wagaman, J. Brian. "Antiwarriors: The Vietnam War and the Battle for America's Hearts and Minds." The Journal of Popular Culture 37, no. 4 (2004): 746-748.
Wells, Tom. The war within: America's battle over Vietnam. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1994.
Anderson, D. (2002). The Columbia guide to the Vietnam War. New York: Columbia University Press.
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 then in the past. This dilemma of not having the support of the people originates from the culture and the time period. During this time period it would be the fourth time Americans went to war in that century which made it tough for Americans to give their supportS (Schlesinger 8). Most Americans did not know why the country was getting involved in Vietnam as well as what the United States’ agenda was. This dilemma ties into the short story, “On the Rainy River” which is a passage from Tim O’Brien’s book The Things They Carried.
In his speech, Eugene McCarthy describes why fighting the Vietnam War was a poor decision to make. First, he mentions how John F. Kennedy gave hope and courage to America and its people in 1963; on the other hand, in 1967, America was in a period of frustration and distrust due to the escalation of the Vietnam War. McCarthy states that America is not the world police and should not be giving promises that they could not follow through with. Moreover, the United States was fighting a pointless war where there are no changes being seen. “I see little evidence that the administration has set any limits on the price which it will pay for a military victory which becomes less and less sure and more hollow and empty in promise” (McCarthy). Throughout the duration of the war, the United States made very little progress, even though they had p...
Self-Interest and Civilians' Attitudes Toward the Vietnam WarRichard R. Lau, Thad A. Brown and David O. SearsThe Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 42, No. 4 (Winter, 1978), pp. 464-483
The Vietnam War led to what is currently the largest anti-war movement in American history (Skarda 4; Dunn). With over 500,000 participants, the protesters in the fall of 1969 all marched on Washington to show their opposition to the war (Skarda 4; Herbers). Protests got so vast and expansive that the FBI got involved (Miller). The FBI went as far as forging a letter to the newspaper as a “parent” who complained of “immoral character” (Miller). This incited many prestigious and well known people to step in and voice their anti-war statements and opinions, such as the speech “Beyond Vietnam: A Time To Break Silence” by Martin Luther King Jr (King Jr). In this speech it's clear Martin Luther King Jr. did not support the war, as he called it immoral and said that it only leads to a growth in hatred (King Jr).
Throughout history, the American people have, for the most part, stood united during times of war. The people of America always seemed to rally behind each other. Most people were either willing to fight in the war or willing to take up the responsibilities of those who left for war. The majority of Americans supported the decisions of our nation’s government. This was not the case during the Vietnam War. For the first time in American history, widespread revolt against our nation’s decision to fight in the war influenced the outcome. This is what saved our country and the lives of soldiers who were fighting an unwinnable war.
Verba, Sidney, Richard A. Brody, Edwin B. Parker, Norman H. Nie, Nelson W. Polsby, Paul Ekman, and Gordon S. Black. "Public Opinion and the War in Vietnam." The American Political Science Review 61, no. 2 (1967): 317-333. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.rollins.edu:2048/stable/1953248 (accessed March 4, 2014).
It is understandable that some Americans strongly opposed the United States getting involved in the Vietnam War. It had not been a long time since the end of World War II and simply put, most Americans were tired of fighting. Mark Atwood Lawrence is one of the people who opposed our involvement in the Vietnam War. In his essay, “Vietnam: A Mistake of Western Alliance”, Lawrence argues that the Vietnam War was unnecessary and that it went against our democratic policies, but that there were a lot of things that influenced our involvement.
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.
Fussell, Paul. "Vietnam." The Bloody Game: An Anthology of Modern War. Ed. Paul Fussell. London: Scribners, 1991. 651-6.
The Vietnam War was a vicious conflict predominately between the United States and Australia against The Viet Cong and The North Vietnamese. Initially the public supported the war, however the American president of the time, Lyndon B. Johnson, exaggerated how easy and worldwide the war was to attract further support. When he called for “more flags” to be represented in South Vietnam only the Philippines, the Republic of South Korea, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand indicated a willingness to contribute some form of military aid. By doing this “it enabled Johnson to portray the developing war as international to show it must be dealt with and gain support,” (Hastings, 2003). The outcome of the Vietnam War was ensured because the governments of the United States and Australia could not maintain their publics’ support due to the popular culture of the time. This was because much of the war was shown on television or other popular culture, so events like the Battle of Long Tan could be seen by families and people of all ages in their living rooms; this was the first time they could see how bad a war can actually be.
Due to the volatile conditions of the Vietnam War, the protestors believed that they should not be involved in a war that they cared so little about. Public opinion heavily swayed during the war as only one senator dissented from the overwhelming opinion to fight the war (Amter 45). However, as President Johnson escalated the war and the Draft increased by 25% in 1968, those youths being conscripted were infuriated (Dougan 118). Not only this, the North Vietnamese began a ruthless offensive on American soldiers by merciless attacking our bases. This resulted in US victories, but also US casualties (Dougan 116). Also, the marines stationed at the bases began to use offensive attacks to deter Viet Cong assault against the wishes of General Taylor (Karnov 443). With these new less defensive strategy, Nixon announced plans to start operations in Cambodia, and to increase the bombings overall in Southeast Asia (Dougan 180). Some missions even began t...
...Robert S with Brian VanDeMark. In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam. Vintage Books Edition published by Vintage Books, New York, 1996. Original hardcover edition published by Times Books, New York, 1995.
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.