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Social movements around vietnam war
The Vietnam War 1964-1971
Kennedy and the vietnam war
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The Vietnam War is one of the most important wars that America has taken place in especially since the United States had to draft over a million Americans citizens to fight Ho Chi Minh and his Viet Cong. The draft caused many citizens at home to become angry, therefore they began to protest against the war forming anti war movements which college students mainly participated in. The war had several different names like the American war and the Living Room War, since many families watched it on their televisions in their living rooms. In every war, both sides will have severe casualties, including the Vietnam War.
From the 1800 's until World War II, the French ruled Indochina, which contained Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. During World War
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He was put in jail for his protest of the draft and had his boxing title taken away from him. He stated, "Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam while so called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? No I 'm not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over. This is the day when such evils must come to an end. I have been warned that to take such a stand would cost me millions of dollars. But I have said it once and I will say it again. The real enemy of my people is here. I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality. If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn 't have to draft me, I 'd join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I 'll go to jail, so what? We 've been in jail for 400 …show more content…
Nixon had just been elected when he declared in 1969 he would continue the American involvement in the Vietnam war so the conflict would end and to secure "peace with honor" for the United States and South Vietnam. Unfortunately, communist North Vietnam 's leaders, relentlessly refused to negotiate. In March 1972 they attempted to bypass negotiations and invade the South. The invasion was called the Easter Offensive by the United States. It appeared to succeed but by late summer, Nixon 's vast application of American air power weakened the offensive. Thus, North Vietnamese began to honestly negotiate. In early October, representatives for America and North Vietnamese met in Paris. By October 11, they had drafted a peace agreement. Its main elements were that all parties would put into place a cease-fire 24 hours after signing the agreement; U.S. forces and all foreign troops would leave South Vietnam no later than 60 days after signing the agreement; American prisoners would be released at the same time as the withdrawal of American and foreign forces; and a National Council of National Reconciliation and Concord would be generated to organize and oversee free and democratic elections to determine the political future of the South.
The agreement represented a victory for the North Vietnamese but also seemed to provide an honorable way out for the Americans. Nixon approved the terms quickly. However, on October 22, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van
While Nixon was in office, he used the war to his benefit, helping him win another term in office. Nixon’s plan was to use “Vietnamization,” a process in which American soldiers would train South Vietnamese to fight for themselves and eventually drawing American troops out of the war (Vietnamization). At first, General WestPoint was in charge, raiding Vietcong bases and trying to eliminate them. The original plan was to use the body count to discourage any more NVA troops from fighting, but this strategy backfired because both Vietnamese and American troops had high body counts. General Abraham was appointed as commander and began the “Vietnamization” strategy, which only seemed to work in the public’s eyes. Nixon made a treaty with South Vietnamese President, to have a ceasefire to withdraw American troops and release American POWs while South Vietnam took over the war (The). Nixon planned to use this strategy to withdraw all American troops, however it was “worse, Nixon would leave North Vietnamese troops occupying and controlling much of the South, while withdrawing all remaining American ground forces (Hughes).” Nixon’s use of Vietnamization helped to further his political resolve. He “sacrificed the lives of American soldiers to further his electoral ends (Hughes).” The ...
The Vietnam War was the most publicized war during its era; moreover, this was the most unpopular war to hit the United States. All over the country riots began to rise, anti-war movement spread all over the states begging to stop the war and chaos overseas. This truly was a failure on the political side of things. For the public, all they saw was a failed attempt in a far away country. Events such as the Tet Offensive where the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong established an all out attack on key locations around Vietnam, and although the Viet Cong was virtually wiped out, this still had a large affect psychologically on the troops as well as the populist back in the United States.
Vietnam has a very rich and cultural diverse background dating all the way back to 1066 when William the Conqueror invaded and paved the way for English colonization. The French had been colonizing since the 19th century. The French role in Vietnams history is critical; they started out by bringing these simple peasants to the latest technology of farming and hunting (Yancey 37). The French helped these people out greatly in the beginning, but like all stories of occupation go they just got worse. They started forcing rules and laws on the people of Vietnam. Thus started the First Vietnam War, also known as the Indochina War between France and Vietnam. "The French possessed military superiority, but the Vietnamese had already the hearts and minds of the country. (38). Even from the beginning the Vietnamese had the odds to there favor. The French looked at the wars in numbers and how many lost on each side. They gathered from all the battles that they were winning because the Vietnamese casualties far outweighed the French; nonetheless they were wrong. To a certain point the French were fighting a game that they could not win at any cost. The French had the military superiority but the Vietnamese had the manpower and the Guerilla tactics. The Indochina War ended with French loosing terrible at Dienbienphu, where a whole French garrison was wiped out.
It was a very bloody war, with more than 58,000 American soldiers having perished in combat. Also, during the decade of direct U.S Military participation in Vietnam, during early times of the year, 1964 the U.S treasury spent over 140 billion dollars on this war. “This was enough money to fund urban projects in every major American city” (history.com). As this war affected the American’s, it affected the Vietnamese people too. This war affected both the American’s and the Vietnamese, because in the year 1973 the United States began withdrawing troops.
The Vietnam War (1965-1975)was fought between the North and South Vietnam. The North was called Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the South was the Republic of Vietnam which was supported by the United States. On August 2nd, 1964 the USS Maddox was on a secret intelligent mission on the North Vietnamese coast where in the Gulf on Tonkin they were attacked by torpedo boats. The USS Turner Joy was attacked in the same area two days later. Due to the second attack Congress declared the Gulf of Tonkin resolution which led to air strikes.In 1959 there were 5,000 guerilla fighters and in 1964 the numbers jumped to 100,000. At Pleiku on March, 1965 U.S Marine barracks were attacked causing the three stage escalation bombing of North Vietnam to begin. The 3 year lasting bombing was used to force North Vietnam to stop supporting the "National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam" by destroying their industrial infrastructure and Vietnam's air defenses. Unfortunately this did not stop the North's support for the NLF. The U.S. Air Force bases were constantly being attacked so the U.S. on March 8, 1965 the 3,500 U.S. Marines was deployed to South Vietnam. At this point in time, the U.S. public supported the dispatch because the Vietnam War had been portrayed to the American people as a war against the spread of Communism. Johnson was president at the time and he kept adding more and more troops as the war went on. As the draft quotas increased, the American public protests started. When Nixon came into presidency his policy towards the Vietnam War was "peace with honor" in other words he wanted to widen the war. After more bombing and fighting, on January 27, 1973 the Paris Peace Accords was signed, restoring peace in Vietnam and U.S. forces pulled out. Nixon stopped all American attacks on Vietnam. The condensed summary of the Vietnam War is to see what presidents were involved in this war (Johnson, and Nixon) and what foreign policies were taken towards Vietnam mostly before the protests began.
Engaging in the war in Vietnam brought a whole different set of "American Views" to the topic of war. This time the country did not support the war like we've seen in the past. Mostly by young people, the war effort was criticized and Americans staged massive protests. The Vietnam War's controversy spurred a great many sources of protest, against our government's use of power, how far we could stretch the rights of free expression, and primarily against the violence of the war itself.
The Vietnam War lasted from the winter of 1956 to the spring of 1975. The Vietnam War was a domesticated civil war between the communist, North Vietnam, and the democratic, South Vietnam. The North was supported by the Chinese communist, and the leader Ho Chi Minh. The Vietnam War introduced the United States to the Vietcong and Guerrilla warfare. During this time, the United States faced our own battles at home between two social groups called the Doves and the Hawks. This war was very divisive. The Doves protested and Hawks shunned them. Young men without money were being drafted while others went to college, got a medical note, or fled the country. Tensions were already high in the United States when Congress passed Public Law 88- 408, also known as the Tonkin Gulf Resolution.
The problems in Vietnam began in 1954 when, still in the aftermath of the Korean War, Vietnam and France signed the Geneva Peace Accord. This accord caused Vietnam to temporarily divide into two separate regions at the 17th parallel. North of the line the Viet Minh would be in control. France would control the region south of the line. This separation would then be discontinued after the national elections of 1956. The Communist superpowers were not pleased with this agreement because they feared it would upset the United States and its European allies. The United States, however, had other ideas. They were more interested in the creation of the South East Asia Treaty Organization (S.E.A.T.O.).
There was nothing that affected America in 20th century like the vietnam war,It tore the nation apart .It was a costly war which took three million lives . The main reason it has so much impact on america was that some people were for the war but so many were against it .The younger nation ,especially the young men who were drafted ,did not...
“In July 1965, Lyndon Johnson chose to Americanize the war in Vietnam.” Although Johnson chose to enter America into the war, there were events previous that caused America to enter and take over the war. The South Vietnamese were losing the war against Communism – giving Johnson all the more reason to enter the war, and allowing strong American forces to help stop communism. There were other contributing factors leading up to the entrance of the war; America helped assist the French in the war, Johnson’s politics, the Tonkin Gulf Incident, and the 1954 Geneva Conference. President Johnson stated, “For 10 years three American Presidents-President Eisenhower, President Kennedy, and your present President--and the American people have been actively concerned with threats to the peace and security of the peoples of southeast Asia from the Communist government of North Viet-Nam.”
The Vietnam War was the first major war American’s had suffered defeat. The Vietnam war was a war of confusion, competition and biasness. The outcome of the war was far greater than an upset American nation, but a severe breakdown of the Vietnamese culture, economy, environment and government. It also had a tremendous impact on American society even up to present day. It was unclear from the beginning of the war if the American’s should even be involved. It was a war between Northern and Southern Vietnam but the U.S saw it as an indirect way to challenge the USSR’s sphere of influence in Southern Asia and to prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism. The Vietnam War completely changed the way the United States approached military action and helped establish the role of the United States within the new world order.
The Vietnam War was a war that changed America forever. It was a long, costly war between Communist North Vietnam, with the aid of the Viet Cong, and Capitalist South Vietnam, aided by the United States. It was a controversial war at the time, but today, it remains embedded in America's history as a war to be remembered.
The War only seemed to expand. In April of 1970, Nixon authorized the invasion of Cambodia, and the invasion on Laos in 1971. As the second half of the war came around, in 1972, Nixon traveled to Beijing and in May of 1972 he Visited Moscow. On both of these trips, he signed trade agreements with both countries, and a treaty with USSR to limit the deployment of the antiballistic missile systems. By the 1972 election, Nixon and Agnew were looking for re-election. The countries inflation had gone down, and the international position of the U.S. economy had improved greatly. The war was still raging in South Vietnam. At the beginning of Nixon’s second administration, the secret peace meetings resumed between Vietnam and the U.S. Nixon there declared a halt to all bombing, mining and artillery fire in North Vietnam. Nixon’s popularity would only increase with the public’s awareness of the Watergate scandal. By March of 1973, questions were aimed at Nixon about the trial of the burglars who had broken into the Democratic National Committee and the Watergate Complex in Washington D.C. These questions also raised questions about Nixon’s knowledge about the activities and his participation of the cover up of the Watergate Scandal.
In 1960 the South Vietnamese communist organization, The National Liberation Front, more commonly known as the Vietcong, joined forces with the North Vietnamese. The American forces backed the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, which only stemmed the influence of the communist in South and proving to be very ineffective. In 1961, Maxwell Taylor sent a telegram to President Kennedy recommending the dispatch of US forces to South Vietnam so that the US forces can be called upon to engage in combat to protect themselves, their working parties, and the area in which they live (Taylor, 121-123). In 1963 the situation continued to escalate. Kennedy is trying to gain the American public’s support by being interviewed by Walter Cronkite of CBS, saying that as ...
The war in Vietnam began as a civil war which dated back long into Vietnamese history. Although it was a communist revolution, it was first and foremost a people’s war, in which the people of South Vietnam were revolting against the right-wing dictatorship of their government. The Vietnam War was the second of the two Indochina Wars, where the first was fought and lost by France. American intervention, because of the policy of containing communism, had already begun during the First Indochina War, under President Eisenhower. Although Eisenhower had refused to commit US troops to the war, he supplied military support to the French. And when they lost the war, he continued to supply aid to the anti-communist government in Saigon, the capital of the South Vietnam. The end of the First Indochina War resulted in the Geneva Conference of 1954 between France and the Viet Minh, who decided to split Vietnam in to the communist North and the pro-western South. This therefore recognised North Vietnam, known as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), as an independent state. However, an insurgency in the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), led by the National Liberation Front (...