“‘We have 30 Vietnams’, Robert Kennedy told a journalist. On the face of it he had reason to be confident,” (Harman 571). The United States had always succeeded in war thus far, with guerilla movements being defeated in Latin America and any reoccurrence of the Cuban Revolution being shut down. In the mid-1960s, the CIA pushed generals to destroy the most powerful Communist Party in the Third World in the Congo. America, as Harman describes, was seemingly invincible, until its involvement in the Vietnam War.
Richard Nixon’s election to Presidency of the United States in 1968, marked a turning point in American foreign policy and a new strategic approach to the war in Vietnam. It was a war he had inherited from his predecessor, Lyndon Johnson. Domestic support for the war had diminished significantly, with national outpourings of opposition. This prompted Nixon to make his famous ‘silent majority’ speech, where he outlined his position on Vietnam, “After all, we became involved in the war while my predecessor was in office. I could blame the defeat which would have been the result of my action on him and come out as Peacemaker…But I had a greater obligation than to think only of the years of my administration and of the next election.
2009. "A PRIMER ON EXTERIOR BALLISTICS FOR INFANTRYMEN." Infantry 98, no. 4: 16-20. Military & Government Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed March 28, 2012).+ "Misfire: The History of How America's Small Arms Have Failed Our Military."
Although the Tet Offensive was unsuccessful for the North Vietnamese Army, they showed that United States had seriously underestimated them and their capabilities. The United States boasted prematurely that the war was nearing its end and the North Vietnamese were all but defeated. However those statements were discredited by the media who brought the Tet Offensive into the homes of millions of Americans which resulted in the highest disapproval of any war amongst American citizens in the history of the United States. In addition the Tet Offensive also showed that the North Vietnamese were willing to fight until the last man and that regardless of how many casualties they suffered, they would fight the United States until the end. SGT Jordan Alvarado SFC Delong 13F ALC Class 017-13 19 July 2013 The
The Vietnam War has been the first televised war in all of history. It was also the biggest war to be protested on. The war began in mid-1965, when Lyndon Johnson, the 36th President of the United States sent a large number of US combat troops to Vietnam. It was the beginning of the biggest story that television has ever covered. The war began due to North Vietnam being a communist country, while the US wanted to prevent a communist country taking over the south part of Vietnam.
The beginning of the end for US involvement in Indochina arguably occurred during and immediately following the communist Tet Offensive of 1968. In militaristic terms, the communist assault was a catastrophic failure, from which – in the words of North Vietnamese DRV’s Minister of Defence Truong Minh Tang – ‘the Vietcong could never recover’. However, the American media, granted almost limitless access and not restricted to designated military escorts, portrayed the offensive as a communist victory. The Vietnam War was the first ‘living room war’ in which American citizens were confronted with the realities of war – graphic images and film reels depicting the carnage taking place in Vietnam. Thus, the American public
Web. 04 Sept. 2010. <http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_cowpens.html>. 9. Moran, Donald N. "Revolutionary War - Colonel Banastre Tarlton."
China had already become communist and Vietnam seemed to follow. This put pressure on the American government to respond to the spread of communism. Public support of the Vietnam war up until 1968 was good. The Public had been told that they were winning the war by the president and the media supported this. The military reported large body counts on a weekly basis which helped to reinsure the public’s belief that the American’s were winning.
Why did USA get involved in the Vietnam War? The Vietnam War was the longest war ever fought by the United States. It lasted more than 15 years, from 1959 to 1975. It was also the first war that the United States lost. The USA entered the war to stop the spread of Communism in South East Asia.
Year 11 History Essay By Bp109 The Tet offensive was a military victory for the United States (US) however it was also a political defeat. The Tet offensive created a massive crisis in the Johnson administration. They became unable to convince the American people that it had been a major defeat for the communists because of the effect of the media. The Tet offensive had a disastrous effect on the United States army and the allies, South Vietnam. This essay will show that the Tet Offensive was a massive defeat for the US.