Because the American government openly supported the Christian Diem, the South Vietnamese were almost as against American involvement as the North Vietnamese by the time of the Tet Offensive. The Americans’ failure to keep the North Vietnamese at bay only added further tension between the United States and the people they were trying to help. Back in the U.S., protest was growing to the point that full engagement in Vietnam was becoming difficult. Opposition to the draft was an extremely crucial form of protest. Literally, “tens of thousands fled to Canada or Europe to avoid the draft” (Wills 29).
The next night it got a little bigger and a little bit more boisterous, the same protesting demonstrations were going on for the most part and there were a few more arrests then the previous night. The National Guard was now there and they even tried using tear gas to clear out the students. The next day was when the government and rest of Kent officials began getting really angry. The governor of Kent called the protests “un-American” and openly expressed his anger with the protesting. They made it clear that night that they were intent on putting an end to the protesting as soon as possible.
The Vietnam War William B. Conner HIS-135 12/18/2011 Maury Wiseman The Vietnam War During the 1960’s, the years of consensus (1955-1965) were coming to a close and the youth of America were forming the counter-culture in which they were rejecting many of the fundamental values of American society set by the previous generations. (Churney, 2011) During this era in American history the counter-culture was growing and the youth of America became obsessed with the aspect of individuality or finding oneself. During this period the youth, or younger generation, was not content to accept the issues set before them by the government or society, the knowledge that things need to change and the willingness of college students to voice their opinions and try to make changes was a key factor in ending consensus in the United States. This unrest was heighted by events such as the Civil Rights movement, Gay Rights, Feminism, and the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War only seemed to pour fuel on the fire burning in the hearts of the American youth; a major connection with student unrest and the Vietnam War was the draft.
Every night American family saw graphic pictures of Zippo raids, bombings and killings. Almost every town and village in the America faced the problem of their young men being either killed or wounded in Vietnam * Others faced physiological problems such as post-traumatic stress * President Johnson ordered heavy air force bombing raids which led to deaths of thousands of Vietnamese civilians including women and children * More than 11 000 died in 1967 a further 16 500 died in 1968 ( American soldiers) * The My Lai massacre resulted in the murder of 397-504 civilians mainly women, children and the elderly. Many of the victims were raped and tortured * The horror of death maiming, burning, terror and unthinkable destruction of a small country on the evening news, coupled with the threat of the draft made it feel like nothing
The anti-war movements and protests reflected on the soldiers in Vietnam and led to the defeat of the US armed forces. The media portrayed war in such a negative manner that resentment is still present today. The introduction of televised news coverage of the Vietnam War set a precedent of fear of war within the American culture. The vivid footage and images of combat educated the American people of the true horrors
“Many socialists and working-class people who had criticized the military buildup announced their support for the war” (Hunt 860). People from these parties realized they needed to come together and unite as one in order to be successful. As Germany went through Belgium to conquer France many horrible things happened. Children were massacred and many women were raped. There is actually a poster made that refers to what
The 1960’s was an era full of political turmoil that led to the development of a variety of social movements aiming to upset the perceived injustices of American politics, society, and life. Many of these groups were formed and flourished on college campuses. Students for a Democratic Society, SDS, was one such group, representing of the New Left. SDS was disturbed by a political system waging an unconstitutional war in Vietnam, viewed as imperialistic in nature, and critical of domestic policies that harbored racism and economic inequality. As SDS grew, the Vietnam War and American social strife raged on with progress seeping in at a nearly undetectable rate.
Aiming to win back support from the American’s, as many people did not support the Vietnam war due to the bad media that was publicised. This was the first War to be so publicised and it shocked many of the people back home. This lead to Anti-War protest, which became one of the US governments aims to stop. However they still stuck to the aim to try and contain Vietnam from the spread of communism and supporting the SV defeat the VC in nearby country Cambodia. On the other side the aims of the NV government and their terrorist organisation the VC did not alter as they still aimed to persuade the SV government to vote for Vietnam to become a communist country.
The effectiveness of direct retaliation which involves the US led war on terrorism. After the 9/11 attacks many Americans had the view that the world changed forever. These attacks on the United States caused so much grief and hatred to those that perpetrated and were involved in the attacks that on October the 7th 2001 US and British troops invaded Iraq to seek and destroy those involved so that an attack on foreign soil of this magnitude does not happen again. The main impact for me this war has caused is that there are more people joining terrorist groups today because they don’t believe in what out governments are doing so they feel like joining the enemy is a good way to get what they want. At the moment with the current situation with
They were the ones taken to war, the ones who felt the god and bad of the war. Most of them that joined the war had been soldiers in the war who had come back and some who heard the stories of the war from their friends who had served their time in the war, therefore they formed bulk of the body of the antiwar movement. Most of the US ground soldiers were drawn from the ranks of the most oppressed: black and Latino working people. As the number of victims grew, so the effects were felt