Kazzy Zeh-Arndt
Mr. Patrick Walker
English 4 Honors 19 November 2014
Senior Paper The United State’s mishandling of serious events has caused American satisfaction with the government to decline ever since the end of World War 2. Shortly after World War 2, the American people were in full support of the government. Franklin Roosevelt had pulled the country out of the biggest economic depression it had ever seen and has seen since, as well as winning World War 2. World War 2 was a clear cut war in terms of who was in the wrong and who was the in the right, the holocaust and the German aggression in Europe were obviously amoral acts that needed to be stopped. Winning WW2 was almost as instrumental as getting out of the depression for the government …show more content…
They were also pleased that although the war had made enemies of the countries they fought against, it also strengthened relations with the allied nations, such as Britain, France, Poland, and for the time being, Russia. The government and specifically Franklin Roosevelt had the fullest support of the country leading into the 1950’s. From there things started to go downhill. The Vietnam War did not win heavy support from the American people and many were outright opposed to it. It only made things worse when the media documented the horrific details, and broadcasted images of dead bodies and burning villages on the evening news. The war veterans also had their haunting stories to tell of the atrocities committed by their brothers in arms during their years in Vietnam. One major point of unrest was the Kent State shooting of unarmed protesters. For obvious reasons, the American people were shocked and horrified over this. Government and corruption became synonymous to many after details of the Watergate scandal emerged. Not only was the government making bad choices in war, but also was corrupt and not above illegally surveillancing opposite political parties, who although have different …show more content…
While being supported in the very beginning by some, the general consensus by the end of the war was that it was an unnecessary and costly expenditure and cast a shadow over the 1960’s and the presidents who held office during that time. While many would argue that the war was supported by older people, and those without education; that would be a false assumption. My research has shown that younger people were more likely to support the war when it was popular at the beginning, and at the end when it was unpopular. People with education also supported the war, which goes against what many have expressed in the 21st century in. Maybe the support and the fact that educated people agreed with the initial aspects of the war, were a factor in how angry they were when details of the war emerged and they became privy to the mishandling of it. From the start of the war to the end of it in the early 1970s, the support rating was cut in half. One of the biggest factors in the war the media portrayal of the events and the veterans who came home from the war. The media flooded the television circuits with images of villages being destroyed, Vietnamese children burning to death, and American body bags being sent home. Despite the horrific events being shown, which no doubt turned off many Americans to the war, the media or the most part showed events in a