The Vietnam War
The war in Vietnam was an enduring struggle for independence that lasted twenty years. After being colonized and controlled by Japan, France, and China, Vietnam was ready to revolutionize and gain their independence. Once Ho Chi Minh, the new leader of Vietnam, adopted communism the United States became more worried about Soviet aggression. A communist Vietnam meant that neighboring countries could fall to communism through a theory called the domino theory. As the war began the United States soon found themselves in a state of social, economic, and political turmoil.
In August of 1964 two Northern Vietnamese torpedo boats shot at the USS Maddox, a United States destroyer. Without hesitation President Lyndon B. Johnson was
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1) This incident, known as the Gulf of Tonkin resolution is considered to be America’s official entrance in the war. The Gulf of Tonkin resolution made it apparent that very few individuals would disagree with the decision to support South Vietnam with the United States military.
Protests against the Vietnam War did not start until the draft was increased in October of 1965. Between the months of February and October the draft rate had significantly increased by thirty thousand soldiers a month. Nationally, people became infuriated by the amount of young men being sent off to war. Joe McDonald and his band Country Joe and the Fish wrote a song called “I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die” that conveys the thoughts of a young man being drafted and uses humor in their song to avoid getting in trouble for slandering or criticizing the United States military. (Doc. 2) Students had also begun to protest against
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During a speech King gave in 1967 he spoke about racial and economic oppression and its negative effects on the American society, “It was sending their sons and their brothers and their husbands to fight and die in extraordinarily high proportions relative to the rest of the population.” (Doc. 4). This statement is particularly interesting considering that fourteen percent of America’s military forces consisted of African-Americans, but African-Americans only made up ten percent of the overall American
The period from 1960’s to 1970’s was a hardship time for Americans because of Vietnam invasion. In an attempt to contain and defeat communism, the United States, oblivious of the enemy capability and filled with pride, invaded Vietnam at a cost of large financial expense and human lives. North Vietnamese military supported by forces of China and the Soviet Union fought the American force ferociously and was able to force America to end its invasion in 1975. As with most other third world countries, Vietnam also has a long history of colonization by European powers.
The war in Vietnam to do this day has gone down as one of the influential and controversial wars in United States history. The war lasted from 1955 to 1975.The nation as a whole began to uproar over the war and the major consequences of the war. There were many reasons why so many Americans were against the war. Public opinion steadily turned against the war following 1967 and by 1970 only a third of Americans believed that the U.S. had not made a mistake by sending troops to fight in Vietnam (Wikipedia). Not to mention, many young people protested because they were the ones being drafted while others were against the war because the anti-war movement grew increasingly popular among the counterculture and drug culture in American society and
Was US involvement in Vietnam Justified? US involvement in Vietnam was to large extent unjustified. Even though the United States. Even though the United States, and other western countries, alleged that American involvement in Vietnam was morally justified (Source B)
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was passed by Congress, it allowed President Lyndon B. Johnson to take any action that he thought would help protect the U.S. Troops in Southeast Asia and the individuals in the United States. President Lyndon B. Johnson gained full authority, no one else can take any actions. He was basically on his own. Before the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, Johnson wanted to expand the war, but he was afraid that the other people would not support him. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was also called USS Maddox incident.
On March 8th 1965, America entered the Vietnam war. The United States entered the war in an effort to prevent the spread of communist beliefs. On May 30th, 1970, President Richard Nixon declared that the South Vietnamese army, along with American troops were going to invade the country of Cambodia. This was to disrupt North Vietnamese supply lines. The news of the invasion struck people with anger and fear throughout America.
Realities of war The Vietnam war was a roll over from WWII, to help stop the spread of communism. On December 1, 1969, the first Vietnam wartime draft was announced1. Between the dates of August 1964 and February 1973 1,857,304 men were inducted to the united states military2. Most men drafted to the Vietnam war were between the ages of 18 and 24.
The issue surrounding the Vietnam War was the Viet Cong, North Vietnam, supported the idea of communism, whereas the South supporters were against it. This created a lot of tension with the leaders of
The Voices Behind The Vietnam War The Vietnam War was previously one of the longest wars in history, causing chaos, terror, and tragedy to everyone. The war officially started in 1955 and ended long after in 1975. The war took place in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos and was fought between the communist forces of North Vietnam and the South Vietnam government. The U.S. gave its support to South Vietnam as it supported the anti-communist side of the war. This war marked a turning in not only American history but the history of the whole world.
“Beyond Vietnam-A Time to Break Silence” Rhetorical Analysis Over the years there have been many great speeches said by very good orators, but few of them had the effect that Martin Luther King, Jr. had on his audience, and none were as famous as his “I Have A Dream” speech. What made Dr. King’s speech so compelling was the fact that he was preacher and was very good at capturing the audience’s attention. The way he presented his arguments to captivate the audience and to get them to agree with whatever he was saying was a technique called the Aristoliean rhetoric, a device that helped him persuade his audience to accomplish his goals. But when he made the “Beyond Vietnam-A Time to Break Silence” speech on April 4, 1967, it was not recognized
The Vietnam War was a war the United States should have never been involved in. The “Domino Theory” was a direct cause of the war. The war resulted in much death; innocent civilians and young Americans were killed. The Vietnam war also resulted in rioting, distrust for the United States government, and the loss of many lives. 58,000 Americans were killed and 300,000 were wounded.
Psychologist Irving Janis explained some alarmingly bad decisions made by governments and businesses coined the term "groupthink”, which he called "fiascoes.” He was particularly drawn to situations where group pressure seemed to result in a fundamental failure to think. Therefore, Janis further analyzed that it is a quick and easy way to refer to a mode of thinking people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members ' striving for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action. According to Janis, groupthink is referred as the psychological drive for consensus at any cost that suppresses disagreement and prevents the appraisal of alternatives in cohesive decision-making groups.
To what extent did the United States involvement in the Vietnam War impact America socially, politically, and economically? In document 1, this shows the major bombing and fighting campaigns of the Vietnam War. The bombing and fighting started in north Vietnam and went down South Vietnam, which includes the Ho Chi Trail and the Sihanouk Trail. These trails and these bombing were an important part in the Vietnam War.
The Vietnam war was preceded by a very turbulent time in our history with problems here in the states such as racism, women’s rights, and a president being shot. But in Vietnam they were going through a civil war, which they had done before, but not to this extent, this time they got the U.S.S.R. involved. It was communist Russia and North Vietnam against South Vietnam. The U.S. started to get
The following events would put him in a disadvantage. In August 1964, North Vietnam allegedly attached American ships in the Gulf of Tonkin. Congress authorized he president to use force, he did. In 1965 President Johnson ordered the bombing of North Vietnam.
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. The Vietnam War started in 1954.