The Differing Reactions to United States' Involvement in Vietnam

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The Differing Reactions to United States' Involvement in Vietnam Everyone in America had a different reaction to the Vietnam War. Some people supported the war because they feared Communism. They were afraid that if they did not stop the Communism in Vietnam, that type of government would affect all other countries. This was according to the Domino Theory. They thought that stopping the Vietnamese would be the correct and easy thing to do, but they were wrong. Others did not support the war because they did not want to fight. They did not want the USA to be involved with something that was not their business. Wars meant death and they did not want this to happen to their fellow Americans. These reactions were caused by different events in history. The turning point probably came during January 1968 with the Tet Offensive. The American public very well knew that they were winning the war. But when the Vietcong attacked and held the South Vietnamese cities and towns, the Americans began to question whether the war could be won at all. Their efforts to win the war also became questionable when the military planned to stop the flow of supplies to the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The supplies had to be stopped because that was what kept the guerilla war going but they could not stop it. At this point, it was an obvious struggle for the Americans to win this war. Another turn of events that caused different reactions in the American community was when President Johnson did not seek re-election. The Republicans won the 1968 election and Richard Nixon became President. Fairly soon he started 'Vietnamization' which pulled out US troops and getting the Southern Vietnamese Army to do the fighting. It was hoped that this policy would eventually enable the United States to withdraw gradually all their soldiers from Vietnam. The everyday sight on the news of Americans coming home in body-bags was hitting the government's support for the war. Another serious blow to the American community came with the exposure

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