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The Vietnam War Protests

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To many, the war in Vietnam was a senseless war. As a result, anti-war protests launched all over America as a forum for those who were ready to see the end of the brutal exploitation. Prior to 1965, small Vietnam war protests were held by individuals searching for peace but quickly grew into a prominent part of the war as we remember it today. This paper will discuss the timeline of Vietnam war protests as well as the most prominent groups and individuals that promoted an end to the violence. The Vietnam War began in 1955 as a result of attempted containment of communism. Through the 20 years that this war lasted for, over hundreds of protests took place from London to Chicago. Protests began as a voice for those who disagreed with the conflict …show more content…

At this point, nearly 500,000 soldiers were deployed, casualties reached over 15,000 and the war was spending roughly $25 billion per year of the taxpaying publics money (History.com Staff). America 's frustration only grew while learning about not just the lives, time, and resources that the war had cost them, but also their taxed dollars. The United States had began to split into two; those who supported the war and those who did not. Even deployed soldiers, enlisted through the draft, have been quoted saying “it was our guys doing the killing” (Colburn) putting the division between support and disgust through everyone involved. In February of 1968, a Gallup poll proved America’s division as 35 percent of the population approved of the war 50 percent disapproved (The New York Times Staff). America and its citizens were struggling to reach a common understanding about what was truly necessary or unnecessary in terms of the …show more content…

In 1969, President Nixon gave a speech introducing his plan to pull the United States out of the war. The plan, Vietnamization, would consist of building up the South Vietnamese forces while removing US troops from combat. This plan instilled that the South Vietnamese forces would assume more responsibility for the war while US troops went home, as Americans had demanded. April of 1970 proved to sway from Nixon 's plan of removing troops as he announced that US troops would be entering Cambodia. An explosion of protests resulted, including the Kent State Incident previously mentioned. In 1972, North Vietnam attacked South Vietnam. South Vietnam forces struggled on their own until the United States issued aid through US airpower- once again, becoming further involved in the war. Fighting continued through the next few months but as more and more antiwar demonstrations took place by those waiting for Nixon’s plan to follow through, negotiations were made to officially pull the United States out of the war. In January of 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were signed and the United States was officially withdrawn from the war in Vietnam. The steady growth of anti-war protests throughout the Vietnam War showed the passion American people had for their country, as well as others, well being. They spoke up time and time again until their government truly responded. In conclusion, Vietnam War protests steadily grew with the United States involvement in Vietnam. The variety of

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As Johnson’s presidency ended, the Republican Party won and representing President Richard Nixon. On 1973, the United States Air Forced received an orders from President Nixon to decimate the industrial and military target in North Vietnam. As the North Vietnamese attended the Paris Peace Talks the United States granted their promising words of stopping the bomb. Few months later, President Nixon delivered a speech to the nation stating that United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the Viet Cong were at peace because of signing the Paris Peace Accords. On the brighter side, the accords was a victory to the United States and South Vietnam which it was known as the V-Day.

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People were saying that his decision to bomb Cambodia was not ending the war, it was making it worse. Many people protested against Nixon’s decisions during the Vietnam War and it did not end well. At Kent State University four students were killed guardsmen because the were protesting against the Vietnam War. On January 27, 1973 the Paris Peace Accords made an end to the Vietnam War and all U.S. military involvement (“Nixon Declares Vietnam”). North Vietnam ended up winning and the United States and South Vietnam lost.

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At a news conference, President Richard Nixon says that the Vietnam War is coming to a “conclusion as a result of the plan that we have instituted.” Nixon had announced at a conference in Midway in June that the United States would be following a new program he termed “Vietnamization”—which basically was a strategy that aimed to reduce American involvement in the Vietnam War by transferring all military responsibilities to South Vietnam but the process was deeply flawed from the beginning.—under the provisions of this program, South Vietnamese forces would be built up so they could assume more responsibility for the war. Also, in his speech, Nixon pointed out that he had already ordered the withdrawal of 60,000 U.S. troops however, President Nixon—like all the other past presidents at some point in their lives or terms.—took the

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The war stretched across many generations, killing more than three million Vietnamese and 58,000 Americans. It was considered controversial for creating one of the greatest anti-government protest movements in American history because tensions ran higher than ever, spurred on by mass demonstrations and incidents of official violence such those at Kent State in May 1970, when National Guard troops shot into a group of protesters demonstrating against the U.S. invasion of Cambodia, killing four students. In mid-1971, the publication of the first Pentagon Papers–which revealed previously confidential details about the war’s conduct–caused more and more Americans to question the accountability of the U.S. government and military establishments. It remains controversial today because the Pentagon papers sealed American sentiment against the war, and finally convinced the Nixon administration to seek a negotiated peace. In a sad irony, the U.S. and Vietnam are allies and trading partners, today, and Vietnam is a buffer in Southeast Asia against

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Danielle Sofio Anti-War Protests Impact on the Vietnam War Resulting as one of the most destructive and detrimental wars in US history, the Vietnam War affected the lives of many. The war began with the United States attempt to avert a communist unification of North and South Vietnam, but ended with the death of millions. Though justice was being served in the eyes of politicians, American involvement with Vietnamese affairs was increasingly disapproved by citizens as the war continued. The Vietnam War led to many anti-war protests which ultimately influenced the decision to end US involvement in Southeast Asia. A once noble and patriotic endeavor to stop a naive country from being subjected to the rule of communism quickly turned into bloodshed.

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“I thought the Vietnam war was an utter, unmitigated disaster, so it was very hard for me to say anything good about it” - George McGovern. There are numerous controversial topics dispersed among the subject of American history due to the amount of unethical decisions that have been made in order to improve the lives of the people or keep America out of the clutches of war. Throughout American history, historians have debated the ethical impact that the Vietnam war had on the United States. Although some people may believe that the Vietnam War achieved the goal of avoiding communism and protecting the people, the overarching idea is that it was an unjust war because of the countless lives that were lost from the participating countries, the

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The war in Vietnam to do this day has gone down as one of the influential and controversial wars in United States history. The war lasted from 1955 to 1975.The nation as a whole began to uproar over the war and the major consequences of the war. There were many reasons why so many Americans were against the war. Public opinion steadily turned against the war following 1967 and by 1970 only a third of Americans believed that the U.S. had not made a mistake by sending troops to fight in Vietnam (Wikipedia). Not to mention, many young people protested because they were the ones being drafted while others were against the war because the anti-war movement grew increasingly popular among the counterculture and drug culture in American society and

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During the conflict, how the media portrayed the event played a significant role in moulding people perception as well as affecting the course of the war. The essay will include the extent of how the media influenced public opinion during the Vietnam War and how the media did not just cover/expose the harsher reality of the war but also how it contributed to anti-war protest in the America. The Vietnam War significantly changed how conflict was covered in the past because it gave journalists access to the frontlines. Previously, they controlled the information but since journalists in Vietnam could report in real-time, they brought images and stories of the war directly into American Television. This allowed the public to witness the brutality of the chaos firsthand, changing the narrative that was prompted by the government and the military.

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The Vietnam War was waged in one form or another throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The war was a conflict between communist North Vietnam and the democratic South Vietnam. For a good portion of the war, the United States fought on the side of South Vietnam. Television coverage deeply affected American policy in Vietnam. President Lyndon Johnson quipped that he knew he had “lost” Middle America’s support when Walter Cronkite stated the war was “unwinnable.”

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The antiwar movement against Vietnam was the most significant movement of its kind in the United States history. It had such a strong impact that people acknowledge the antiwar movement to be the reason the Vietnam War was shortened. The main purpose of the antiwar movement was to keep the issue known to the public. The activist constantly made the public aware of the events of the Vietnam War and wanted them to question whether the United States should be involved. National and local groups attracted the greatest publicity, but most of these efforts took place at the locally.

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