The Pros And Cons Of The Vietnam War

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Recommended: American public opinion in the Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was known for the thousands of lived that were lost and the billions of dollars in debt that destroyed the US economy. To this day, it is debatable as to whether or not US involvement in the war was worth the devastation it caused to the country.
In 1954, French involvement in Vietnam ended and led to the Geneva Conference where a ceasefire agreement was negotiated. From the Geneva Accords, Vietnam was divided into two portions, North and South, at the 17th parallel. At the time, North Vietnam was communist and was gaining followers quickly (Rogers). The United States had previously created something called the Truman Doctrine, a policy to counter communism and allowed the US to provide political, military, and economic assistance
In the beginning, around 80% of the population supported the war and therefore they decided to fight for what they thought was right. This majority of the people thought that the positives outweighed the negatives, so the polls determined how supportive they were of the Vietnam War. However, after the war was supported through the polls, support eventually began to decline. People, who previously supported US intervention in the war, now see the consequences of participation. Despite support in the beginning, the polls quickly switched sides and showed that public opinion disapproved of the
This was implemented to end American involvement in the Vietnam War. They transferred troops to South Vietnam and strengthened South Vietnam’s military ability so they could withdrawal their troops. Eventually they negotiated a treaty with the North and completed the process of Vietnamization (“Vietnamization”).
Overall, US involvement in the Vietnam War polarized American citizens into two categories. They either supported involvement in the war against the communists or they disapproved of US intervention in the war. Points against the war included the heavy economic debt, thousands of lives lost and soldiers wounded, and events like the My Lai Massacre. Points for the war included the desire to prevent the spread of communism, avenging the shot fired at the US ship, and evidence in the public opinion wars that showed Americans, overall, supported US involvement in the

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