How Did Agent Orange Affect Vietnam

There were many devastating effects of the Vietnam War. When America entered the war, we lost thousands of soldiers. The massive United States bombing of North and South Vietnam left the country destroyed. The use of Agent Orange not only put Vietnam’s environment in danger, but it also caused many health problems for our own troops and other innocent people. In terms of the government, presidents were trying very hard to win the war but weren’t very successful. There were many consequences of the War in Vietnam including large death toll, the effects of Agent Orange, and negative effects on the government.

One of the most immediate losses of the Vietnam War was the number of civilians that lost their lives. Throughout the Indochina War, “400,000

It cleared vegetation alongside highways, making it more difficult for the Vietcong to conceal themselves (Fagnilli 31). In addition, it was designed to expose the roads and trails used by the Vietcong (“Operation Ranch Hand”). This was done with Agent Orange, a leaf - killing toxic chemical. According to History.com, “From 1961 to 1971, the U.S. military sprayed a range of herbicides across more than 4.5 million acres of Vietnam to destroy the forest cover and food crops used by enemy North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops.” Agent Orange was the most commonly used herbicide. It was used to damage forest area, the leaves, and crops where Vietcong troops were hiding. Agent Orange made it easier for United States troops to see what was going on. In the end, “Many would blame Agent Orange for cancers suffered by Vietnamese civilians and American veterans” (Danzer 945). Since Agent Orange contains dioxin, a deadly chemical, it caused many severe health problems worldwide. “They included cancers, birth defects, rashes, and severe psychological and neurological problems” (“Agent Orange 1”). Although this chemical helped at the time, it ruined lives in the

Many of the presidents during this war were not successful in ending it such as Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon. Johnson had a campaign promise to keep troops out of Vietnam and contain communism. In March 1965, he let an operation called Operation Rolling Thunder take place. Operation Rolling Thunder was an action of sustained bombing against North Vietnam (Fagnilli 32). Nixon was able lose American distrust through his war policies like the Invasion of Cambodia. The reaction citizens had on the announcement of the invasion were very negative. “In what became the first general student strike in the nations history, more than 1.5 million students closed down some 1,200 campuses” (Danzer 962). People were so outraged they shut down colleges. Because of this, the draft was also abolished because men found ways of getting out of it. “Sympathetic doctors granted medical exceptions, change residence to be in zone with a lenient draft board, joined the National Guard or Coast Guard to stay in the United States, and enrolled in college to get a deferment” (Fagnilli 33). These men were so desperate to not fight they pretty much refused to