With the Vietnam War spurring contention across the nation, this period in history marked a pivotal change in our country's history. Vietnam was the first war to use the draft as its primary method of enlistment. With soldiers forced into service, the war sparked a series of protests and riots throughout the nation. Many men
The military draft was a very controversial topic during these times. Some people believed it violated a person’s inalienable rights while others argued it was a part of being an American to be honored to show your patriotism; however, if you refused to serve, you were shunned and beaten by local villagers (Greenberg). President at the time, “Lyndon Johnson, called the draft "a part of America, a part of the process of our democracy"” arguing that the draft was an honorable and patriotic sacrifice for young men to make for their country (Greenberg). With the major cultural difference between the the 1960’s and today, less young men are enlisting to serve in the military. According to the National Public Radio, an estimated 8.7 million men served during The Vietnam War while only 2.2 million men serve in today’s military.
Local draft boards were becoming too picky about the men they sent to serve America in the Vietnam War, and they began to believe they knew what was right for their country. Similarly, to the New Jersey example, there were issues when it came to the boards that had World War II veterans on them. There was also bias within those boards because the veterans had their own view on what a war should be like, and they believed that fighting for the US should be a honor. The war veterans were also known for viewing the Vietnam War like it was similar to their experience in The Second World War. An example of times when these veterans tried to relate to young men being drafted during Vietnam was when parents would call the boards expressing their concern for their sons.
Americans were dissatisfied with the draft dodgers decisions, viewing them as unfair, cowardly, and disrespectful to the country. David Harris, another draft dodger during the Vietnam War, spoke out about his
Drafted or Willing. (A Discussion over the United States Draft) The United States draft was created to ensure that during times of war our numbers in battle would never become to strained or cause faltering. This was successful for many battles, and in war, but why did it stop? Some thought this was an unethical practice that took away the free will of a man to do as he pleased with his life.
In McDonald’s song, the effect of the draft and its effects on society are highlighted by the lyrics, “Send ‘em off before it’s too late. Be the first one on your block To have your boy come home in a box,” [Doc B]. More than 50,000 Americans died in the Vietnam War, and after withdrawing from the battlefront, Americans felt it was for nothing. Robert F. Kennedy said, “we have sought to resolve by military might a conflict whose issue depends upon the will and conviction of the South Vietnamese people,” [Doc E]. To the war, Americans provided weapons, supplies, and troops.
It would be horrible for a husband to be yanked from his wife and kids, then to find out he died fighting in a war he didn’t even sign up for. If a man has children, or his wife is expecting, he should be exempted. Some would argue that the mandatory draft was necessary, that “the U.S. military must remain prepared to fight a really big war that might require a much larger force” (Barno/Bensahel). To protect against that, there would be safeguards put into the mandatory draft. If the amount of soldiers in the military by volunteer dropped to a point that was too low to fight, the protections such as college and family, would be stripped, and the age range upped from 18-25 to 18-30.
In 1955, Vietnam was just beginning. Numerous young men from poor families were being drafted into the war. Many of these men did not come back from the war, but the ones who were lucky enough to make it back home sometimes struggled with adjusting back to their normal life. A lot of men struggled with this, some of them did not know how to get back to their normal life so they went back to the war. Survivors of the Vietnam war have told their own stories of their time was during this war.
The Vietnam Memorial Fund analyzed the Vietnam draft stating, “an October 1966 report by the National Advisory Commission on Selective Service showed that only 1.3 percent of local board members were African American. By comparison, African Americans constituted 11 percent of the U.S. population, 16.3 percent of all draftees, and 23 percent of all combat troops in Vietnam in 1967” (vvmf.org, 2018). This obvious disproportionation was emotionally scarring for many, and the poor socioeconomic citizens aimed their anger towards the government. They started to put their opposition towards the war effort to extreme measures with draft protests, inflicting minor injuries on themselves, or fleeing to Canada to make them ineligible for combat. The media televised the abuse of soldiers at war.
Those still in favor of the war considered it their patriotic duty to enlist and fight for their country, while the opposition came from the lower class groups such as African Americans, “white trash,” Mexican Americans, and other minorities. Because of their lower socio-economic status, they were more often the targets of recruiters and had more difficulty evading the draft. As James Fallows said of his draft experience, “While perhaps four out of five of my friends from Harvard were being deferred, just the opposite was happening to the Chelsea [Boston] Boys.” (Doc 5) Similarly to the civil war era, the majority of the burden of fighting was going to the poor majority as opposed to the privileged few. Other groups, such as the African Americans, were opposed to the draft because of their status at home.
While perhaps four out of five of my friends from Harvard were being deferred, just the opposite was happening to the Chelsea boys.” this highlights how the draft was unfair and unjust to people of the lower class because they didn't have deferments like college or a doctors note that could be faked. They had nothing to stop them from going to war and that was unjust and unfair. In Doc 10, during Martin Luther King's "Beyond Vietnam" speech in 1967, he says” It became clear to me that the war was doing far more than devastating the hopes of the poor at home. It was sending their sons and their brothers and their husbands to fight and die in extraordinarily high proportions relative to the rest of the population.
First off, the United States should get rid of the Draft because it would divide the Society. The United States has a very ugly history with the draft. There has been many draft dodgers, protests, and Anti War and Anti Draft demonstrations most commonly in the Vietnam War era. The protests over the draft got violent during the American Revolution. One example, that the draft would divide the society is To Protester’s
As soon as you turned 18 as a male in the United States you were at risk of being drafted and forced to serve the country and fight in the war. To many that ideal was startling as they were still teenagers and had to face death. Many people found controversies in the idea of forcefully being drafted, having
On April 4, 1967 Doctor Martin Luther King Jr gave the speech, “Beyond Vietnam-A time to Break Silence.” In this powerful speech Dr. King addresses his followers, and explains why the same people who are advocating for civil rights, should also protest the war in Vietnam. Dr. King’s main appeal is towards pathos because he is explaining his reasons, most of which are moral in some way. Dr. King develops the central claim of the speech by explaining how the war is taking away resources from the poor, how the soldiers are disproportionately poor people, and lastly how the war is completely against his morals. His central claim of the speech revolves around war being an enemy of the poor.
Karl Marx: Believe that Capitalism will lead to Socialism then on to Communism. • Marx’s production of labor meaning that the person no longer has a connection to the port. The person will have to work long hour same job on a daily basis. Example: The worker will have to make the same part on a daily basis. The factories do not care about the workers; they only care about making money.
