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Us Involvement In The Vietnam War Essay

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Although the wars weren’t far apart at all, the receptions of the two were vastly different. The wars were fought a generation apart. For the most part, the parents of those who were draft eligible in the Vietnam War served in World War II. However, the people weren’t as keen on going to war. It wasn’t all the people’s fault though, the government wasn’t all that trusted at the time. In World War II, at the announcement of the United State’s entrance of the war, the American people joined arms and supported the cause. People would carpool so the extra gas could go to the war. People would donate their scrap and metals in order to supply for the troops. Those who were drafted, for the most part, gladly stood and served their nation. Although they knew they were walking into death, they wanted to protect their nation. In the Vietnam War, the people were split. The president felt that if Vietnam fell into communism, then the surrounding nations would soon follow after. …show more content…

After Kennedy's assasination, the people lost trust in the new president. Lyndon B. Johnson supported the American involvement in the Vietnam War. Due to the backlash though, he didn't even run for re-election in 1968. The next president, Richard Nixon, immediately began with plans to withdraw from Vietnam. But he wasn't going to leave them without trying to bring peace. As it says in the textbook that Nixon "initiated negotioations with North vietnam," (Perry 506). Around this time though, the Pentagon Papers were released to the press, causing even more distrust against the government. Nixon, through "vietnamization", slowly pulled the United States' involvement from the war. Unlike what they wanted, when the U.S. pulled its troops, the communists still took over. It says in the text "In the wake of the American withdrawal, Cambodian Communists- the Khemer Rogue -seized power under their leader, Pol Pot." (Perry

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Nixon wanted to end the war just like every other American. He had many plans for this war and one of them was called Vietnamization. Vietnamization was a policy that would replace U.S. troops with South Vietnamese troops and supply them with supplies and weapons (Rubel 182). It was a way to retreat U.S. troops and end involvement in the war. Even though he ended involvement in the Vietnam War by withdrawing U.S. troops, he decided to bomb enemy forces in Cambodia (Lillegard 71).

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With the US military helping South Vietnam against the North Vietnam. The South Vietnam didn’t not feel like they had support under the Western’s power, which South Vietnam didn’t because Nixon was trying to help the South Vietnam, but no involving US soldiers to fight in the war. Although, Nixon made the Vietnamization policy to stop US involvement it cause more of a uprise for the US position in the war. The New Economic policy and Nixon Doctrine both policies made by Nixon was only towards his presidency and not actually stopping the US involvement. Nixon said it would make a change in the US involvement to better but instead Nixon didn’t follow up upon his campaign promises.

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Which made some citizens furious that they continued getting lied to again and again. The war was not at all like what the government was letting us know at the time. The number of troops that were being drafted increased. The chart in document 1 demonstrate the expansion in contribution the US had in the war. It demonstrates that toward the finish of 1965 there were just 184,00 troops however before the finish of 1968 there were 537,000.

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Now, In my opinion the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson had the most significant role in The Vietnam War because when he assumed the presidency, he inherited the escalating crisis in Vietnam. Lyndon B Johnson failed to see the importance of the war, and actually escalated it even more. Despite promises

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What options were available to President Johnson? To President Nixon? What were the advantages and disadvantages? When Johnson took the presidency he could have stopped support to South Vietnam, but he didn’t.

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This helped Nixon in the election and many people learned to like the “new Nixon” (101). With his new image, Nixon won the election, and as he predicted, was back in the White House. Once Nixon took office, the major obstacle presented to him was what to do with the Vietnam war. This was a rocky road he had to try and overcome and many people were against some of his policies, but he did end up getting the “silent Americans” to speak up and voice their opinions who ended up being behind him. Nixon did not have a level head when it came to the war however, he did what he wanted even though it may have been against what everyone said.

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The draft that occurred during the Vietnam War had a big effect on all of the men involved. Some tried to run away from the fact that they were going to be drafted by running away to Canada, and others knew there was nothing they could do about it and hopped onto a plane to head to Vietnam. Even though many men were drafted, about two-thirds of troops volunteered (Vietnam War Draft). Those that volunteered did so to avoid the draft and so they could choose where they wanted to be placed when they fought such as the Marines or the Navy (Real Facts About Service in Vietnam). Overall, many young men we’re not thrilled about being drafted into the Vietnam War and some did all they could to get away from it.

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246 Words | 1 Pages

For Nixon, Vietnam was a two-front war, the battle was in Asia and America. Nixon, “saw himself engaged in a contest with the anti-war movement for the public mind in the United States and the private mind in Hanoi”. Clearly understanding that he would need public support, Nixon astutely identified the “silent majority” of American and gained their support for his policy of Vietnamization to end the Vietnam War. First, Nixon attempted an aggressive assault on North Vietnam with increased bombing raids. Soon it was realized the escalation and warfare would not be successful.

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609 Words | 3 Pages

The Vietnam War was one of the most controversial armed conflicts during the 20th century. Many people were against the war as they believed that the soldiers were only being sent to their deaths, and that the war was not very productive for the United States. Many of the soldiers returned home only to be called by protesters as "baby killers. " The war first started towards the end of the Cold War when the United States attempted at eliminating any Communist Presence in Vietnam. The main presidents during this war were President Lyndon B. Johnson and President Nixon who were known for authorizing hundreds of thousands of troops to be sent to Vietnam.

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got dragged in the fighting that soon turned into a major war. “At first, the United States sent only supplies and military advisers to South Vietnam. But as the Viet Cong won control of more areas, the United States was dragged into the fighting, turning a local struggle into a major Cold War conflict” (page 797). Then, in August 1964, an American warship reported attacks by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. Soon after that attack President Lyndon Johnson won congressional approval to take all necessary measures to prevent further aggression.

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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.

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The United States should have taken this as a sign. The North Vietnamese were willing to do anything to win their war, because for them it was not a war of government and leadership, it was a nationalist War. Despite Ho Chi Minh’s allegation as a, “dedicated communist” by (Time Magazine, 1955) due to the influence from China and Russia who were aiding Minh through munitions and funding, Minh was fighting a war to unite North and South Vietnam and get foreigners to leave his country. President Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson both honoured Truman’s Doctrine and intended to protect South Vietnam from what they believed to be an authoritarian force.

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This was later dubbed Vietnamization by accident during a meeting of the National Security Council. However, there would be covert bombings of Laos and Cambodia which leads to the growth of the antiwar movement, creating protests and the shooting of students by National Guard and State Police. This led the anti war movement to target many factors of the government involvement to Vietnam, especially the draft. There was much controversy of the drafts, being a major target by the movement, saying that most soldiers would be from lower classes and rural areas, rarely anyone from higher classes would be drafted and sent to war, forcing people to dodge the draft and go to neutral countries for sanctuary. To face this argument, President Nixon signed the pass of the 26th Amendment with the quote “old enough to fight, old enough to vote.”

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491 Words | 2 Pages

President Lyndon B. Johnson had started an involvement in Laos and through 1964-1969; the United States had released one hundred fifty thousand tons of bombs in Pathet Lao territories. President Nixon’s policies were very contradicting, by implementing the “Vietnamization” the United States was in reality expanding the war more by invading and occupying

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892 Words | 4 Pages

American troops had been slowly making their way out of Vietnam following the agreement in hopes to putting an end to the war and all of the violence. Though the Paris Peace Accords tended to serve as an agreement of peace between the United States and North Vietnam, there was still unfinished business especially on the North Vietnamese’s part, conquering the South and reforming it to a Socialist Republic which was governed by a Communist Party. The North was relentless, and whether they signed a peace treaty or not, they were still going to battle towards their goal of having complete power of all of Vietnam to reign their powerful

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