1960s And 1970s Essay

US History Essay 4 During the 1960s and 1970s, television played a major role in revealing the hard truths about American wars and civil rights. During this time period, many civil rights movements arose while the controversial Vietnam War raged. Events, such as the civil rights demonstration in Birmingham as well the televised Tet offensive in Vietnam, were nationally televised and revealed the many deficiencies of the American government. During the 1960s, civil rights were a major issue across America. Led by influential people such as Martin Luther King Jr., many of these movements were highly publicized. One such movement was the children’s march in Birmingham. The police response was brutal, with televisions broadcasting images

The fierce battles that occurred after the Tet offensive were heavily televised, exposing the inability of the American government to bring about a victory despite promising “victory to be ‘just around the corner” (Foner 1015). Television, once again, played a major role in informing the American people about the state of the war and creating support for the anti-war movements. By broadcasting the fighting, the public would have been able to witness firsthand what the war was like through something other than text on a newspaper. With the government unable to hide the televised battles, the American people were clearly able to see that the war was not progressing as smoothly as they had thought. Despite America’s military might, the fights showed that America could not solve all of its problems through force and that no matter how brutally the Americans fought, they still could not force their Vietnamese enemies to surrender. This only further eroded the trust between the American public and their government, causing more to criticize America’s involvement in Vietnam and causing a decline of public support of the Vietnam war, leading to the eventual withdrawal of American troops from