Richard Nixon Address To The Nation On The War In Vietnam Summary

A. Research Question: What American values, myths, and fantasy themes does Richard Nixon draw on in the “Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam” speech, and does he use those appeals to convince the German people that his actions are justified?

B. Thesis: In his speech, “Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam,” Richard Nixon uses emotional and ethical appeals that draw on the deepest beliefs of the American people about their identity as a people and who are of the highest standing in the world.

1. Nixon justifies his claims by drawing on an American fantasy theme that the role of America is one of world peacekeepers and defender of justice. He states that the United States is a country who oversees the securing of others from the

“We are not going to withdraw from that effort. In my opinion, for us to withdraw from that effort would mean a collapse not only of South Vietnam, but Southeast Asia. So we are going to stay there.” Giving up in South Vietnam would show the communists that there is no one to stop them from slowly conquering other countries and spreading their evil. Nixon states that they are not going to step aside and allow something like this happen. Not only are they protecting America from becoming overtaken, but they are protecting the lesser countries from being affecting by this evil. Instead of fleeing from the conflict, Nixon attempts to convince the citizens that the only way to stop the spread of evil and protect the earth is to stand America’s ground in the Vietnam

Perhaps the biggest reason that Nixon argued for war against Vietnam was because communism was seen as an evil force that needed to be stopped by any means necessary in order to protect America.

a. “Our defeat and humiliation in South Vietnam without question would promote recklessness in the councils of those great powers who have not yet abandoned their goals of world conquest.” Since America’s beginning, they have been fighting for one thing: freedom. Communism is known to be an evil in the way of freedom. If America allowed this evil to spread, it would slowly gain more power and threaten the American democracy. Nixon makes sure to tell American citizens that it is their responsibility to defend the world and stop the control of communism.

b. “Let historians not record that when America was the most powerful nation in the world we passed on the other side of the road and allowed the last hopes for peach and freedom of millions of people to be suffocated by the forces of totalitarianism.” America was known as the most powerful country during this time. As a leading world power, it would be their responsibility to ensure that other countries are protected from communism. Since America’s beginning, they had been known as the defenders of the world. If they were to step aside during this war, they would be allowing the spread of these evil and would undo the many, many years of work that they had achieved in bringing world