“The Impact: Vietnam and the 1968 Democratic Primary”
It was the late Beatle, John Lennon who once said that “We live in a world where people must hide to make love, while violence is practiced in broad daylight.” This refers of course to his distain of the Vietnam War and frankly when you ask someone who was a citizen in America at that time, you will most likely get the same melancholy response. For the better part of 15 years, the Vietnam War was at the forefront of American society in ways that were political, social, and economical. As time went on, public opinion plummeted, leaving President Lyndon Johnson no choice but to decline the Democratic Party’s nomination for the 1968 presidential election. As the Johnson administration transformed into a lame duck, damage control factory, an incredibly intriguing race for the Democratic nomination was brewing. The race included the likes of Senator Robert Kennedy of New York, Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, and Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Down the stretch, the Vietnam War proved to be the critical issue that mattered most to the electorate. The reasons were that we were spending countless dollars, risking hundreds of thousands of lives, and not making any progress. Kennedy, McCarthy, and Humphrey all agreed that it be brought to a close, however, the ways of which to go about it were in stark contrast. Throughout the majority of the race, Kennedy was the clear favorite to win. However, once he was struck down things changed much to the detriment of the Democratic Party. They would not see a successful President come of office until the early 1990’s due to the complete lack of governmental trust and the way Democrats, in particular, LBJ, handled Vietnam. The mismanageme...
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... of history, duds. To me, Vietnam was the root cause of this. Johnson had botched his handling of the war and the level of mistrust in the party and in the government for that matter was at a record low. Democrats would not see a successful president until Bill Clinton in 1992 brought them back and charging again.
By 1968 the Vietnam War was a time by which Americans saw deep divide, disappointment, and tragedy. Their government had let them down, the figures they could trust had been killed, and their loved ones were scared by the effects of war. Rightfully so, the American people were upset and angry. The dynamic I have explored that made Vietnam such a critical piece in America’s history that influenced and entire party and a nation will only magnify in time not just in 1968 and not just for one primary election, but for all who shared a stake in this window.
The Vietnam War, which lasted for two decades (1955-1975), was probably the most problematic of all American wars. US involvement in Vietnam occurred within the larger context of the Cold War between the US and the USSR. It was, and remains, morally ambiguous and controversial. The Vietnam War was slated as both a war against Communism and a war aimed at suppressing dangerous nationalist self-determination. Christian G. Appy's book, Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam, is a graphic and perceptive portrayal of soldiers' experiences and the lasting effects the Vietnam War has had on the American culture and people. Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam, is an analytical work that has three major purposes: 1. to show that those who fought in Vietnam were predominantly from the working class 2. to convey the experiences of the soldiers who served in Vietnam and 3. to offer his own scathing commentary of American actions in Vietnam.
Lawrence’s purpose in writing this book was concise and to the point. In recent history, due to the fall of the Soviet bloc, new information has been made available for use in Vietnam. As stated in the introduction, “This book aims to take account of this new scholarship in a brief, accessible narrative of the Vietnam War… It places the war within the long flow of Vietnamese history and then captures the goals and experiences of various governments that became deeply embroiled in the country during the second half of the twentieth century” (Lawrence, 3.) This study is not only about the American government and how they were involved in the Vietnam conflict, but highlights other such countries as France, China, and the Soviet Union. Lawrence goes on to say that one of his major goals in writing this book is to examine the American role in Vietnam within an international context (Lawrence, 4.) Again, this goes to show that the major purpose of Lawrence’s study included not only ...
The Vietnam War has become a focal point of the Sixties. Known as the first televised war, American citizens quickly became consumed with every aspect of the war. In a sense, they could not simply “turn off” the war. A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo is a firsthand account of this horrific war that tore our nation apart. Throughout this autobiography, there were several sections that grabbed my attention. I found Caputo’s use of stark comparisons and vivid imagery, particularly captivating in that, those scenes forced me to reflect on my own feelings about the war. These scenes also caused me to look at the Vietnam War from the perspective of a soldier, which is not a perspective I had previously considered. In particular, Caputo’s account of
1968, the year of the Tet Offensive, was the peak of US involvement in the war. The Tet Offensive was a series of battles between the Communist and Anti-Communist forces in South Vietnam. Although it was a victory for the United States, public support decreased due to the number of casualties and struggle to win the offensive. President Johnson, in his comments on the Tet Offensive, bashed the public opinion (doc 4). He pointed out that in terms of numbers, the US and South Vietnamese had a huge victory. His point of view was simply from a statistical standpoint. But the public saw that many Vietnamese civilians were harmed and affected by the war. The Tet Offensive was the beginning of the decline of public support for the war, as well as decline in US involvement in the war due to the public opinion. In addition, President Johnson was losing support because of his stubborn foreign policy outlook. Robert Kennedy, the Senator of New York, was contemplating a presidential run to oppose the President 's Vietnam policy. In addition, Johnson was losing democratic primaries to Senator Eugene McCarthy, who also opposed Johnson’s Vietnam policy. The public support for McCarthy showed that the American people were now against participation in the Vietnam War. Soon after the Tet Offensive, President Johnson announced a slow decrease in bombings of North Vietnam, started to
In his speech, Eugene McCarthy describes why fighting the Vietnam War was a poor decision to make. First, he mentions how John F. Kennedy gave hope and courage to America and its people in 1963; on the other hand, in 1967, America was in a period of frustration and distrust due to the escalation of the Vietnam War. McCarthy states that America is not the world police and should not be giving promises that they could not follow through with. Moreover, the United States was fighting a pointless war where there are no changes being seen. “I see little evidence that the administration has set any limits on the price which it will pay for a military victory which becomes less and less sure and more hollow and empty in promise” (McCarthy). Throughout the duration of the war, the United States made very little progress, even though they had p...
The political and societal ramifications of Vietnam's Tet Offensive indubitably illustrate the historical oddity of 1968. 1967 had not been a bad year for most Americans. Four years after the profound panic evoked by the assassination of John Kennedy, the general public seemed to be gaining a restored optimism, and even the regularly protested Vietnam War still possessed the semblance of success (Farber and Bailey 34-54). However, three short weeks following the eve of 68, Americans abruptly obtained a radically different outlook. The Tet Offensive, beginning on January 30, 1968, consisted of a series of military incursions during the Vietnam War, coordinated between the National Liberation Front's People's Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF), or "Viet Cong," and the ...
In fact, Stone sends the message that the media’s depiction of the Vietnam War was unrealistic, contrary to the real situation that was characterized by constant struggles by US soldiers and later, returning veterans (Hanley, p. 338). The perception and thesis developed by Stone about the Vietnam War is also built by his narration of the experiences and trials of individual participants in the conflict. According to Stone, these individuals suffered directly and indirectly from the war and are thus best placed to give the real picture of the happenings during and after the war.
The Vietnam War was the longest and most expensive war in American History. The toll we paid wasn't just financial, it cost the people involved greatly, physically and mentally. This war caused great distress and sadness, as well as national confusion. Everyone had that one burning question being why? Why were we even there? The other question being why did America withdrawal from Vietnam. The purpose of this paper is to answer these two burning questions, and perhaps add some clarity to the confusion American was experiencing.
The Vietnam War brought many tears and casualties to both the United States and Vietnam. Millions of soldiers lost their lives in the time consuming battle. On February 8, 1967 President Lyndon B. Johnson wrote a letter to Ho Chi Minh, Dictator of Vietnam at the time. President Johnson’s letter expresses his hopes of ending this conflict that has gone on so long in Vietnam. President Ho Chi Minh replied back on February 15, 1967 stating that it had been the United States that prolonged the wicked war. President Ho Chi Minh’s reply to President Johnson was the more persuasive of the two letters, because he appealed more to pathos, used stronger and bolder diction, and asked an important rhetorical question.
With the country at war, and high inflation rates plaguing the economy, the presidential election of 1972 would play a major role in the what direction the American government would move in. The movement started in the presidential primaries of 1972. The democrats were seen to have many possible contenders to go up against the incumbent President Richard Nixon. Going into the New Hampshire Primary in early March, Se...
Discussion/Thesis: The Vietnam War provides us with a clear case of misperception and unclear objections. It is important to understand the root cause of the conflict and the nature of the protagonist. There were many missteps by both the United States and the Saigon regime, which the North Vietnamese capitalized on through the use of non-conventional means and the power of messaging. The conflict between the Communist north and newly installed Ngo Dihn Diem regime in Saigon boils down to two governments attempting to gain control of the their population. The difference is the way each employed political and military means, as well as the confidence and support they each received from their own people.
The 1970’s was a turbulent time in the United States. “The unpopularity and questionable morality of the Vietnam War led to a severe
Few wars have had the impact that the Vietnam War had on American politics and military. Starting off as a conflict between France and Vietnam, it eventually grew into a long, divisive conflict pitting the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its ally, the United States. In the early years of the war, the United States had a small number of troops in Vietnam and was only providing aid to the French forces. However, in 1964, under President Lyndon B. Johnson it was clear that this conflict would soon escalate into a full-scale war. By 1965 “Johnson approved sending up to 82,000 ground troops to defend U.S. airbases and engage in limited combat” (Vietnam War). As U.S. presence in Vietnam increased, American morale
As it unfolded it was continuously prolonged and justified by numerous U.S. leaders as a crusade for democracy or what Martin Luther King jr. deemed “political myth”. On the contrary it was King’s frame of reference, as a spiritual black preacher from the racially segregated southern United States, that allowed him to grasp the complexities of Vietnam that traditional orientalist views could not. Complexities that can be heard in the oral histories compiled in Patriots that touch on the life changing experiences of witnessing, supporting or fighting in the conflict that stretched over a decade long. Looking back we acknowledge that this speech given during the midst of war in 1967 was ahead of its time but when it was first voiced it was received as a risk by his opponents and as foolish by his allies. Hence, the lose-lose situation of King’s stance demonstrates that Beyond Vietnam went further than any of his own political agendas and was purely a moral act to promote freedom and democracy for those forgotten by society and the government during the
“For most Americans today, the history of the Vietnam War Is like a play that unfolds in ways quite different from the audience's preconceptions. Ticket holders take their seats expecting a drama about American soldiers. But once the curtains go up, there are some surprises--the Vietnamese