Countless Americans lack education of the Vietnam War and what treatment the Vietnamese population received during the war. Many times the behavior conducted towards the Vietnamese portrayed American soldiers mistreating the noncombatants. James W. Loewen’s chapter nine of Lies My Teacher Told Me leads readers through the occurrences in the Vietnam War by elaborating the war crimes enacted by American soldiers, examining the intervention of America in the war, and describing pictures that were taken during the war. One subject Loewen uncovers is the analysis of the war crimes throughout the Vietnam War.
Voices from Vietnam is a collaboration piece between two authors that is a detailed and very deep book about the conditions of Vietnam and gives a first person view of the warfare by quoting veterans from the war about their time in Vietnam. The two authors Richard Burks Verrone and Laura M. Calkins are Oral Historians at The Vietnam Project at Texas Tech University and both have Doctorate degrees. This book describes the tragedy, the harshness, and the lifestyle of combat in Vietnam. The veterans talk of the weather and the land and describing them both as harsh and dreary. They also speak of their opponents and the methods they used.
Date: Influence of the Vietnam War on the U.S Society The Vietnam War was a great form of conflict which resulted to the molding of the U.S society in various ways. Following the end of the Vietnam War, the 1970s was a period of change in the society socially, politically and economically as well. There are various stories that writers narrated that brought about the effects that the war brought about such as the Red Convertible, If I die in a Combat Zone and the Home Soil. Despite having an influence on the US society during the 1970's , there are various ways in which the Vietnam War affects the U.S society today especially the war veterans as well as their families upon their return from the combat as illustrated in the three stories.
On November 1st, 1955, a country divided into two, North and South Vietnam will soon have a war known to many countries around the world. The Vietnam War, or the Second Indochina War occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. At the time, Vietnam had a dispute on what the country should be, Communistic or Republic, which had led war breaking out. North as the Viet Cong group while the Republic Of Vietnam group was South; eventually unexpected events started to unfold, leading towards the end of the war. To this very day, The Vietnam War has changed the ways how many civilians live their lives, especially my family.
1. The carnage, death-toll, and emotional impact that the Vietnam War brought a very negative impact upon America as a nation. Being the first televised war in United States History, public support exponentially dropped over the course of four to five years. This brought great changes within the political climate as well as upon the well-being of the veterans who managed to survive and return home, causing this be one of America’s most disastrous war. However, while the Vietnam War was raging on, it is also important to acknowledge and analyze the change in social climate that occurred throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s. As more protests arose in opposition towards the war effort, several minority groups took advantage of the situation and formed
One of the most controversial wars in history and a turning point in American foreign policy, the emotions and events surrounding the Vietnam War capture the essence of the era. The rise of rebellious youth culture and anti-war and anti-draft movements were key social aspects of American life leading up to and during the fighting. (Doc 2, 3) On the political side, Congress aimed to control the Chief-Executive with legislation such as the War Powers Act of 1973, requiring the president to remove all unreported troops in Vietnam and report any further sent. (Doc 7) To say the country was divided would be a massive understatement.
The Vietnam War explored the ideas of patriotism and personal beliefs. It was a tumultuous time in American History and caused division among the American people as many questioned the purpose of the war and it led to distrust in government decisions. The war had a huge impact on soldiers who fought in the war, as well as their families. Some men opposed the war but felt pressured to fight and these men were seen as courageous in the eyes of society while the men who deserted the draft were labeled as cowards. However, by looking into both sides it becomes evident that both the men who fought the war and the men who stood by their personal convictions by taking a stand against the draft demonstrated courage.
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
Introduction – After the swift victories of World War One and Two, the United States has played a dominant role in world affairs, not only through its political and economic policies but through the aura of its seemingly undefeatable military as well. At home, there was a massive trust in governmental institutions and the economy was thriving with a very good sense of peace, security, and prosperity among its people. However, the Vietnam War was not only a military war but a war on the economy and psychology against everyone from the military personnel to the citizens who were watching the devastation of the war through the media, as this was the first ever broadcasted war. It not only changed American foreign policy forever but it also permanently
The Effects of the Vietnam War The Vietnam War was a war that started on November 1, 1955, and was a war that changed society completely. The Vietnam War was one of the main wars that made people feel as if they couldn’t trust the government, while also creating many changes in society, completely changing the way people lived. My grandpa was six years old when the war first started and was sixteen when the war ended, He went through ten years facing the fear of being drafted, while also having a feeling of sadness all throughout the war for the lives lost, for the people being drafted, and for feeling apart of a war that he felt had nothing to do with the United States. I interviewed my pawpaw, Carrey Lee Moore, who was six years old when
The Vietnam War completely reshaped America’s approach regarding war. A twenty year long war, the Vietnam War is America’s longest war to date, taking place from 1955 until the fall of Saigon in 1975. After the back-to-back victory following World War 1, and World War 2, the U.S had joined the ranks as one of the world elite superpower nations. However, the lack of success in Vietnam had several effects on the United States government. The moral of units across the U.S Armed Forces was sharply declining, as the number of troops needed to continue the fight in Vietnam was increasing, which led to the draft system.
The Vietnam War, one of the most devastating conflicts of the 20th century, was not only a battle between two nations, but was also an important piece in the larger game that was the Cold War. Today we will explore the depth of this conflict and its influence on the geopolitical situation at the time. Key figures such as Ho Chi Minh, Ngo Dinh Diem and Lyndon B. Johnson all played a crucial role in this period, and we will examine how their actions and decisions helped shape the events. To understand the Vietnam War, we must first look at the larger context in which it developed. After the Second World War, the world faced a divided landscape, characterized by ideological rivalry between the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union.
The Vietnam war took a major death toll in Vietnam, United States, South Korea, Thailand, New Zealand, and Australia. Just in the U.S., “more than 58,000 American soldiers were killed while more than 150,000 others wounded”. On both sides, there were almost 2 million civilians dead and 1.1 simply on the Vietnamese side. The My Lai Massacre, where soldiers brutally killed Vietnamese children and mothers, presents an example where the war mentally changed the soldiers in the war in a very horrendous way. On the other hand, the United States took brutal losses in the Tet Offensive, where the Vietcong slaughtered over 100 towns and twelve United States air bases.
One of the root causes of the Vietnam War was the struggles between the French colonial forces and native Vietnamese citizens supported by Chinese communists. The United States forces entered the conflict in support of the French in order to fight communism. The Americans fought the war alone, when the French left. The Americans had been working with the anti-communist side in Vietnam since 1950. The Vietnamese Diem administration was corrupt and proved ineffective in fighting the powerful and communist-supported Ho Chi Minh.
Ho Chi Minh, Former Prime Minister of Vietnam, once said: “You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours. But even at those odds, you will lose and I will win” (Vietnam War Quotations). Vietnam is in Southeast Asia with the population of 96 million. The country border China, Laos and Cambodia (The World Factbook: VIETNAM). Vietnam used to be ruled by France but later declared independence after World War II under Ho Chi Minh.
