Cause And Effects Of The Vietnam War Essay

What were the major causes and consequences of the era of the American malaise?

The end of World War 2 in 1945 brought a new attitude into the U.S, with their victory gaining them respect from most other countries. America became the first country to have access to nuclear weapons, and also landed the first man on the moon. There were many breakthroughs in this new era, such as the expansion of new jobs. Although the unemployment rate increased by about 4% from 1947 to 1975 due to the end of World War 2, good jobs were hard to get without a college degree. This prompted many people to get a better education to beat the unemployment rate. College graduation rates went up from 5% to 15% in just a few years, and the high school graduation rates

The U.S. got involved in the war to establish an independent government in South Vietnam, which they never achieved. In 1965, the U.S. became fully involved in the war, and began supplying troops and money. Because the U.S. wasn’t fighting and winning with ease, Americans began to turn on the idea of a war. In total, about 2.7 million Americans served in this war, with over 58,148 casualties, and 304,000 were wounded. The failure of the Vietnam war caused Americans to begin doubting themselves. To make matters worse, international terrorism became a rising crisis. The U.S. began to support Israel after they was attacked by their Arab neighbors while they were trying to destroy them. While they were being attacked, the U.S. delivered supplies to help fight against their adversary. After two years of meeting between Egypt’s president, Anwar Sadat and Israel’s Prime Minister, Menachem Begin, the countries signed a peace treaty, which was arbitrated by U.S. president, Jimmy Carter. On October 6, 1981, President Anwar Sadat was assassinated by Islamic fundamentalists, and caused Islamic Fundamentalism to rapidly spread throughout the Arab states. The Shas, rulers of Iran, fled to America after attempting to convert their country to more of a western civilization. Ayatollah Khomeini became the new leader of Iran. He oversaw the capture of 52 American civilians, and held them