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Effects Of The Vietnam War

2037 Words9 Pages

Cooper McDonald
Mrs. Ames
AP US History
May 25, 2023
The Vietnam War took place from 1954-1975, just ten years after the end of WWII, which had solidified the United States’s place as one of the most powerful nations in the world. With the 2 main superpowers coming out of WWII being the U.S.A and the U.S.S.R--powerful countries with different political and economic ideals--tensions ran high, and the effects of the cold war were felt around the world. Fear of communism was very present in America during this time. The Vietnam War was a proxy war, between American supported South Vietnam and Communist supported North Vietnam. The fear of communism was a driving force for most people's attitude in the beginning of the war, with most Americans siding in support of the war (O'malley). However, due to a multitude of factors, a strong anti-war movement gained traction throughout America, intensifying as the war progressed (Ray). The Vietnam War was also the first to be widely televised across America, giving more attention and detail to the situation than seen in wars before (Kratz). This situation led to many important effects on the American people such as, damaging the image of the country, and negatively shifting perspectives of military foreign action, however, losing the …show more content…

With a large amount of protests, and high levels of disapproval regarding both military, and government, patriotism and trust in America was at a low. The loss of this War came in more forms than just the tragedy of death and destruction. The scars left behind on the American people from 50 years ago still have an effect today. The distrust of government that came out of the Vietnam War, was one of the most significant things to happen in American history, and certainly the most important of the Vietnam war, due to the fact that it created a dynamic that was more government v.s the People, rather than government for the

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