Reasons Behind United States' Withdrawal of Forces From Vietnam in 1973

Reasons Behind United States' Withdrawal of Forces From Vietnam in 1973

In 1973, US troops were withdrawn from service in Vietnam after peace

talks in Paris. The Paris peace agreement drawn up that year stated

that all US troops should be withdrawn and that the North would

recognise the South Vietnamese government. This treaty marked the end

of the war, at least for America, and was the apparent cause for the

withdrawal of troops. However, this treaty is not the only reason that

troops were withdrawn, many circumstances led up to this agreement and

these also played key roles in the US decision to vacate troops.

Democracy in the United States was an important cause, which along

with others led to the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam in 1973.

Public support is a vital consideration in any democratic system of

government and the US democracy meant the lack of public support for

the war demanded a swift end to the conflict. Although public support

for the war had been lacking from the very beginning, it was

particularly evident during the later stages, when mass protests were

organised. In 1971, just two years before the withdrawal, over 300,000

people participated in the Veterans' March and many smaller

demonstrations took place around the country. The freedom of speech

that comes with democracy allowed people to voice their opinions

around the country and pressured the government to bring an end to the

war. The US government is democratic and therefore should speak for

the people. It is due to this democracy that the American people were

able to pressure the government to do as the mass wished: to withdraw

American troops.

The Tet Offensive of 1968 forced the US public to realise that the war

was not as one sided as they had been led to believe. From the

beginning, public opinion had been minimal so it was important that

the US forces were seen to be winning the battle. War coverage on the

press and on television had earlier given the American people the