Vietnam War Dbq Essay

November 1, 1955 marked the beginning of the conflict in Vietnam. The Vietnam War was a fight against the Domino Theory, or the idea of the spreading of communism. Northern Vietnam was a communist territory, and the United States government feared that Southern Vietnam would soon become a communist state as well. In order to prevent this from happening, the US government drafted many young Americans to fight against Northern Vietnam. At first, many Americans supported the country’s involvement, though as time went on, many people became weary of the country’s involvement in the battle. In 1965, Vietnam War Peace Protests began. The Protests soon grew in popularity and size until it was a nationwide movement. Overall, many Americans strongly

By November 1967, the number of American casualties reached was 15,000, and the number of wounded soldiers was over 110,000. (Vietnam War Protests, p.1, Outside Document) Many Americans felt that by fighting in the War, we were only asking for trouble, and for many soldiers to die in vain.“ For it seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate.” (We are Mired in Stalemate, Document A) On top of the dramatically climbing number of casualties, there was also a lot of controversy regarding the horrific effects that the fighting had on the mental status of soldiers. “The bitter Vietnam experience has left the United States Army with a crisis in morale and discipline as serious as any its oldest and toughest soldiers remember.” (New York Times Article, Document I ) Many times, returning soldiers would suffer from extreme anxiety and depression, dealing with the difficult memories left in place of fighting in the war. “I know my happiest moment in Vietnam was when I was hit, because I “knew” I was homeward bound. I have never wanted to be out of a place more than Vietnam. The place filled me with dread and I have never known the kind of fear I felt there any place else.” (The Vietnam War: A History in Documents, Document

However, there was also a population of people that supported our involvement. The fear of communism held a very powerful influence over people at the time, especially because of McCarthyism, a fear tactic that had been used a decade earlier. The Red Scare and McCarthyism caused many American people to be paranoid and extremely fearful of communists. By the time of the Vietnam War, communism was a great fear looming over the heads of people like a giant raincloud before a storm. Some people supported US involvement in the war because they believed we needed to fight to defend our freedom. “I read about some squirrely guy who claims; that he just don’ believe in fighting; and I wonder just how long the rest of us; Can count on being free.” (The Fighting Side of Me, Document