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Effects that war has on society
Vietnam war american culture, politics, foreign policy
Political impact of vietnam war
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A War of Regrets and Wastes The Vietnam war is famous for many of its characteristics in defining American history and culture. One of the most outstanding characteristics involves how the war, particularly in the years after, stands out as being unpopular and receives the most ridicule by the American population. Several reasons exist for the extreme popularity and disdain for the war, focusing on the concepts of the wasteful aspects and the moral issues of the war. One major reason the war was very unpopular is due to the United States involves its lack of preparation in dealing with the war. One example that Lt. Philip Caputo brings up was the strength and lethality of the Vietcong enemy. He illustrates this point with the line “So, when …show more content…
One of the most important examples of this involves the My Lai Massacre, where American soldiers targeted and killed dozens if not hundreds of innocent Vietnamese villagers in a quest of vengeance against the Vietcong, including children and the elderly. Lt. Colburn describes how the soldiers almost in a fit of madness targeted everyone in the village, showing no mercy and leaving a massive black mark on the military and its actions during the war. Unlike other conflicts when civilian casualties were the unfortunate byproduct of other conflicts or a necessary evil to end a potentially long and bloody war, the My Lai Massacre was much more of a direct attack out of vengeance and hatred for the other side, with the village chosen as a target because the Vietcong were hard to find in the dense jungle covering the country. The American soldiers responsible for the attack made their targets the villagers out of a bitter vendetta against the actions of the Vietcong, independent of the military value of such an operation or the morality or lack thereof that comes from targeting unarmed civilians. This made the soldiers as evil if not more evil than the Vietcong, the Vietcong noted for their horrible tactics and tortures, in the eyes of many Americans, and would not have been accepted if not for the military covering it up as to continue the war. Such events lead to massive …show more content…
The use of the draft lead to much resistance and apprehension to the war since unlike the reasons to join the Second World War, such as fighting an evil and corrupt power that tries to oppress and dominate the world, the Vietnam War almost places the United States in that evil and corrupt role. It forces the men to enter the war as aggressors trying to spread the doctrine of the American government through invasion and interference on foreign soil. Many groups, such as the SNCC, saw this as forcing a situation and dragging American soldiers into a foreign civil war halfway across the world, with an outcome of a lack of a definite victory that seems to waste their lives. Much like the current dissatisfaction with the invasion and maintenance of Iraq and Afghanistan during the Iraq War, the war in Vietnam seemed to indicate the United States, in fear and paranoia about the actions of foreign powers and groups, placed the need to police foreign conflicts and cultures over the local issues of poverty and racism in American society. Though the Civil Rights Act was passed a few years earlier, segregation was still a major issue in the South. The SNCC and the GIs against the war both bring up the ironic hypocrisy that we are more involved in improving the situation of foreign, non-white groups before fixing the
The Vietnam conflict has been known for being the most unpopular war in the history of the United States. The war of 1812, the Mexican war and the Korean conflict of the early 1950's were also opposed by large groups of the American people, but none of them generated the emotional anxiety and utter hatred that spawned Vietnam. The Vietnam war caused people to ask the question of sending our young people to die in places where they were particular wanted and for people who did not seem especial grateful.
The Vietnam War, which lasted for two decades (1955-1975), was probably the most problematic of all American wars. US involvement in Vietnam occurred within the larger context of the Cold War between the US and the USSR. It was, and remains, morally ambiguous and controversial. The Vietnam War was slated as both a war against Communism and a war aimed at suppressing dangerous nationalist self-determination. Christian G. Appy's book, Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam, is a graphic and perceptive portrayal of soldiers' experiences and the lasting effects the Vietnam War has had on the American culture and people. Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam, is an analytical work that has three major purposes: 1. to show that those who fought in Vietnam were predominantly from the working class 2. to convey the experiences of the soldiers who served in Vietnam and 3. to offer his own scathing commentary of American actions in Vietnam.
The Vietnam War: A Concise International History is a strong book that portrays a vivid picture of both sides of the war. By getting access to new information and using valid sources, Lawrence’s study deserves credibility. After reading this book, a new light and understanding of the Vietnam war exists.
The Vietnam War was the most publicized war during its era; moreover this was the most unpopular war to hit the United States. All over the country riots began to raise, anti-war movement spread all over the states begging to stop the war and chaos overseas. This truly was a failure in the political side of things. For the public, all they saw was a failed attempt in a far away country. Events such as the Tet Offensive where the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong established an all out attack on key locations around Vietnam, and although the Viet Cong was virtually wiped out, this still had a large affect psychologically on the troops as well as the populist back in the United States. Another atrocity that occurred during this war was the My Lai Massacre. This was the mass murder on unarmed civilians in South Vietnam during March 16,1968. Around November 1969, the world saw this and was outraged with the killings of innocent civilians prompting and giving the public more reasons to stop the war. Although the war was very unpopular, men and women were still fighting and dying for America. Heroes such as Captain John W, Ripley of Dong Ha, Medal of Honor recipients, and overall troops that gave the ultimate sacrifice were forgotten for a brief period. As unpopular as the war was, the American people should still know the stories and good that some of these troops had done for the United States.
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.
Tim O’Brien’s book, The Things They Carried, portrays stories of the Vietnam War. Though not one hundred percent accurate, the stories portray important historical events. The Things They Carried recovers Vietnam War history and portrays situations the American soldiers faced. The United States government represents a political power effect during the Vietnam War. The U. S. enters the war to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam. The U.S. government felt if communism spreads to South Vietnam, then it will spread elsewhere. Many Americans disapproved of their country’s involvement. Men traveled across the border to avoid the draft. The powerful United States government made the decision to enter the war, despite many Americans’ opposition. O’Brien’s The Things They Carried applies New Historicism elements, including Vietnam history recovery and the political power of the United States that affected history.
Robert S. McNamara's book, In Retrospect, tells the story of one man's journey throughout the trials and tribulations of what seems to be the United States utmost fatality; the Vietnam War. McNamara's personal encounters gives an inside perspective never before heard of, and exposes the truth behind the administration.
Vietnam War (1954-1975) is considered as one of those big wars of the modern world that has been acknowledged and studied by countries in the world. Especially, in regard to the United States, starting and ending war in Vietnam was an unforgettable experience that has left a priceless lesson in its foreign policy, and of course a lot of loss, physically, mentally, and property. “The Legacy of Vietnam” article of George Herring basically summarizes how the Vietnam War led to an end in failure of America and what consequences it left behind.
On August 7th 1964 the United States Congress passed into law the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which, for all intents and purposes, officially brought the United States into the Vietnam War. Following this resolution, a draft was instated to increase the number of men that could be sent to war. Shortly after men started to be signed into conscription for the United States Military, a public outcry started over the use of a draft to increase military size. The draft was found to be unfair to American Citizens because certain groups of men were severely disadvantaged, the draft was illegal in many ways, and veteran’s future lives were harmed, among other reasons.
The Vietnam War was the longest and most expensive war in American History. The toll we paid wasn't just financial, it cost the people involved greatly, physically and mentally. This war caused great distress and sadness, as well as national confusion. Everyone had that one burning question being why? Why were we even there? The other question being why did America withdrawal from Vietnam. The purpose of this paper is to answer these two burning questions, and perhaps add some clarity to the confusion American was experiencing.
Many people in the 1960s and early 1970s did not understand why the United States was involved in the Vietnam War. Therefore, they had no desire to be a part of it. The Selective Service System, which was used to conduct the draft, had aspirations of directing people into areas where they were most needed during wartime. However, people took advantage of the draft system’s deferment policies to avoid going to war. Others refused induction or simply did not register. There were also people who left the country to escape the draft. The Vietnam War proved to be an event that many Americans did not agree with, and as a result, citizens took action to elude the draft entirely or to beat the draft system.
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.
The Vietnam War has had its effects on America, both good and bad. We can ridicule it, we can deny it, we can say it was for the best, we can say we shouldn't have even gotten involved, but the one thing we can't do is ignore it. Because it's become an unforgettable part of history, and we all need to remember Vietnam.
In the Vietnam War, an uncounted number of soldiers were young and unexperienced add this to an unknown environment and the inability to distinguish the Vietnamese to the Vietcong. The Vietnam War was a significantly difficult war to fight in. Soldiers had to fight in a dense, bug infested, booby trap ridden forest with dangerous animals and because of this harsh environment soldiers were exposed to the elements and a copious number of soldiers went M.I.A. The Vietcong were resilient and well supplied this proved to be a problem to the American soldiers as the U.S government viewed the Vietcong as inferior. Continuing, another problem that Americans faced were that they had trouble telling who the enemy was whenever they would enter a village.
As we got further and further into the Vietnam War, few lives were untouched by grief, anger and fear. The Vietnamese suffered the worst hardship; children lay dead in the street, villages remained nothing but charred ashes, and bombs destroyed thousands of innocent civilians. Soldiers were scarred emotionally as well as physically, as