President Richard Nixon first introduced the draft in the late 1960’s. The draft provided a lottery style way to draft new soldiers. Americans were tremendously opposed to the draft for the Vietnam War, not because the draft was a bad idea, but because they did not want to participate in the war. They didn’t believe in the war, which in return, made them hate the draft. Whether or not people liked it, the draft was used in order to supply our nation with troops. The draft helped get soldiers on the ground in Vietnam. I believe the draft was not necessary because people did not believe in the war, the draft did not benefit our war efforts, and the draft was unfair.
People did not believe in the Vietnam War. The anti-war movement began around
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If people do not believe in what they are fighting for and are drafted into a war they do not want to fight, people will not fight with honor for their country. Being drafted into a war someone does not want to fight causes him or her to fight that war to escape with their life, not to earn a victory for their country. The United States intervened into Vietnam to try and stop the spread of communism into South Vietnam (HISTORY.com,. "Vietnam War History). They declared we needed a draft to help supply troops to fuel the war against communism, but in the end the result was the same. The Draft was an unneeded part of the Vietnam War. If the draft would have never been introduced less protestors to the war would have risen and more volunteers would have came forward and sent to Vietnam. When American troops were beginning to be withdrawn from Vietnam, it was not because of a lack of troops, but from a lack of support (Walpole, Andy.). The lack of support and the idea of and unwinnable war was the cause of a slow end to the terrible war efforts. The American ideals changed from the start to the finish of the war, hating the soldiers when they came back. The last troops did not return home from Vietnam until 1973(Walpole, Andy.). This vast difference in time between the first troops to leave and the last troops to leave was the cause of much resentment among the
..., the draft ended and the U.S. converted to an All-Volunteer military. Many people were not in high spirits about the Vietnam War, and thought we should not be involved in it. Lyndon Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, laments “[w]e are not about to send American boys nine or ten thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves” (Vietnam-Facts.info). There is a popular picture of a draft protests sign displaying the words “hell no, we won’t go.” I do believe Americans should have a right to choose to go to war or not. Many young men lost their life fighting a battle they didn’t even have faith in. Many soldiers endured personal hardships, loss of income, and leaving family behind. Most of drafted soldiers complied with the draft and served; however, many middle to high-class young men found ways to avoid combat.
Tim O’Brien finds himself staring at his draft notice on June 17, 1968. He was confused and flustered. O’Brien does not know how or why he got selected for the draft. All he knew was that he was above the war itself, “A million things all at once—I was too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, to everything. It couldn’t happen” (41). He was also demented on the fact that he, a war hater, was being drafted. He felt if anyone were to be drafted it should be the people who supported the war. “If you support a war, if you think it’s worth the price, that’s fine, but you have to put your own precious fluids on the line” (42). His draft notice was when he first carried his thought of embarrassment. He instantly thought if he does not support the war he should not have to go to war. The only way not to go to war was to flee the country so the draft council could not find him. He had a moral split. “I feared the war, yes, but I also feared exile” (44). This quote is so true in young adults, not only then, but also now. Peer pressure, the thought of being embarrassed if we do not do something, pushes many young adults to do things they do not want to such as pushing Tim O’Brien to enter the draft. The thought of being judged ...
As history shows, every war comes some sort of public opposition. There will always be pro-war and anti-war men and women across the country. In World War I, there was a major rift between the two sides. Not until civilians were being killed did President Wilson give in and join the war. Similarly, not everyone wanted to get into World War II until the Pearl Harbor bombings. The Vietnam War went differently than the previous two wars. This time, there was a huge majority public opposition to President Johnson and President Nixon’s decisions. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, the Tet Offensive, and the Kent State Shootings all undermined American public support for the Vietnam War and impacted government decisions, ultimately bringing the Vietnam
The Vietnam War took place in between 1947- 1975. It consisted of North Vietnam trying to make South Vietnam a communism government. The United States later joined this conflict because of the stress North Vietnam was putting to South Vietnam to become a government that America did not want. The main reason why America joined was because of a theory called the Domino Effect. America and Russia were going through what has been dubbed the Cold War. The Domino Effect is the theory that communism will spread form one country to another. United states does not want this because our government is a democracy and communism opposes everything we stand for. America fearing communism was growing, stepped into Vietnam with America’s interest in mind, instead of Vietnam’s. There are several reason why American should have not gotten involved with this war. The most important reason was that America government officials made to much of a big deal about communism. This might sound cynical, but America to a certain degree did over react. Let it be said that it is much easier to say this after the fact. By looking back at McCarthyism, we can see the silliness of this fear. There is a serious side though. Thousands of people dies for a government that has no impact of their daily life. What regime Vietnam was going to change over to had no effect on the every day cycle of the United States. So truly, one can say, this can not one thing to do with America, its government and people.
On August 7th 1964 the United States Congress passed into law the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which, for all intents and purposes, officially brought the United States into the Vietnam War. Following this resolution, a draft was instated to increase the number of men that could be sent to war. Shortly after men started to be signed into conscription for the United States Military, a public outcry started over the use of a draft to increase military size. The draft was found to be unfair to American Citizens because certain groups of men were severely disadvantaged, the draft was illegal in many ways, and veteran’s future lives were harmed, among other reasons.
Due to the volatile conditions of the Vietnam War, the protestors believed that they should not be involved in a war that they cared so little about. Public opinion heavily swayed during the war as only one senator dissented from the overwhelming opinion to fight the war (Amter 45). However, as President Johnson escalated the war and the Draft increased by 25% in 1968, those youths being conscripted were infuriated (Dougan 118). Not only this, the North Vietnamese began a ruthless offensive on American soldiers by merciless attacking our bases. This resulted in US victories, but also US casualties (Dougan 116). Also, the marines stationed at the bases began to use offensive attacks to deter Viet Cong assault against the wishes of General Taylor (Karnov 443). With these new less defensive strategy, Nixon announced plans to start operations in Cambodia, and to increase the bombings overall in Southeast Asia (Dougan 180). Some missions even began t...
In the excerpt, from Why We Need a Draft: A Marine’s Lament by Cpl. Mark Finelle, Finelle states that America needs a stronger military sytem. Finelle goes to say how bad the government is with its military equipment, Finelle says, “…equipment needs replacing, recruitment efforts are coming up short…” (Paragraph 8, line 6). Finelle is furious with the leadership of the government how they are conducting the draft was wrong! Finelle argues, “Well, I am a blue-collar cannon fodder to the wealthy bureaucrat who never got shot at and whose kids aren’t here…” (Paragraph 6, line 9) Finelle is furious about how the Vice President kids aren’t in the army, but the middle and lower class children are and it wasn’t right in his eyes or in others as well.
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.
Many people in the 1960s and early 1970s did not understand why the United States was involved in the Vietnam War. Therefore, they had no desire to be a part of it. The Selective Service System, which was used to conduct the draft, had aspirations of directing people into areas where they were most needed during wartime. However, people took advantage of the draft system’s deferment policies to avoid going to war. Others refused induction or simply did not register. There were also people who left the country to escape the draft. The Vietnam War proved to be an event that many Americans did not agree with, and as a result, citizens took action to elude the draft entirely or to beat the draft system.
Over forty years has passed since the United States inducted the last draftee through the Selective Service System. The Selective Service System is an independent agency of the United States, which gives the President the right or power to conscript men for military service. There have been different Acts passed by congress since 1917 that require men of various ages to register for service. Although, the name of each Act and the age requirements of the registries changed, the Acts were all similar in nature. They all gave the President the right to call men to war when he deemed necessary. In January 1973, Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announced the creation of the all-volunteer service, retracting the need for the draft (GAO.gov). Under current law, all men between the ages of 18-25 must register within 30 days of their 18th birthday, however this information is used mostly for recruitment purposes and in case of any future crisis. There has been much controversy over this matter since the Vietnam War, when people started to realize the draft was unfair due to loopholes and draft exemptions making the draft unfair for working men. At one point in time the military draft may have been necessary, but today’s all-volunteer military has eliminated the need for a draft.
It became very important to dodge drafts during the Vietnam war. The Vietnam war grew into a broad social movement over the years. Americans became angrier because they believed it wasn’t their fight to fight. They began protesting and filled the streets on changing politics and anti-war movements. The hippies went against President Nixon and President Johnson and spoke out due to drafting thousands of Americans to Vietnam and Cambodia. They created slogans such as “Make love, not war”, “US troops get out of Vietnam”, and other peace signs. Along with signs, they would chant and played music to help promote their ideas and thoughts against the war. Many artists and bands pitched in and helped spread the youths’ ideas. There were songs such as “Paint it black” by The Rolling Stones, “Blowin’ in the wind” by Bob Dylan, “Give peace a chance” by John Lennon, and many other inspiring
i. Difficulties faced by soldiers due to the nature of fighting in the Vietnam War - Personnel had difficulties with transportation supplied with adapted vehicles back seat faced rear to provide additional fire power (Source A) – It appears as if the government didn't worry enough to supply men with safe and capable equipment - Threat of traps led to fear as vehicles had to be parked on street at night (Source A) o Check for traps each morning became a daily ritual particularly in fuel tanks (Source A) o A request for a locking fuel cap was denied because weren’t entitled to one” (Source A) • What circumstances would have needed to arise for them to be entitled to one? The Offensive full guard was set up (24hrs a day), personnel got no sleep and were constantly on alert (Source A) – How significant would this have been in the personnel’s mental frame of mind?
In the early 1960s the U.S. began sending military advisors to South Vietnam beginning the Vietnam War, arguably the most controversial war in United States history. This incident followed Vietnam gaining its independence from the French Empire’s Indochina in 1954. The nation soon split, creating a communist North Vietnam, and a noncommunist South Vietnam. In fear of communism spreading the U.S. supported South Vietnam and sent troops. As the incident dragged on it caused a huge anti-war movement and a lot of political turmoil.The troops were withdrawn in 1973, the whole country fell to communism, and the U.S. failed. How did a superpower such as the U.S. take defeat from a small country like Vietnam? Many have wondered and continue to wonder
The Vietnam War (1954-1975) was, and continues to be, a contentious issue around the world. Many analysts of the war attribute it to Lyndon B. Johnson, who was president of America from 1963 until 1969, because under his administration, the American Army became involved in combat in Vietnam. Although there were many facets that lead Johnson to make his decision and there were three other presidents, in power during the course of America’s involvement in Vietnam, who also played key roles, it was Johnson who made the decision to escalate US intervention in Vietnam.
For the first part of this paper you need some background on how the draft worked throughout our history (as Americans), and how it was socially perceived amongst the citizen of this great nation. For more than fifty years now we have had a peacetime military draft. "President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 which created the country's first peacetime draft and formally established the Selective Service System" (about.com). We have been very lucky that the military draft has only been used twice now, once for W...