...Shaping the Future of Our Nation “People believe that the youth of this country are insignificant. People believe that the youth have no voice. I say that we were the only people who could have made this movement possible” (Wind). This is one of the many ideas that shaped the March for Our Lives Campaign. Protesters gather across the United States to show support for what they believe in. This is surprisingly similar to the Vietnam War Protest which occurred about 40 years prior. Both of these protests are alike because they both use songs, chants, inspirational speakers, and rallies to be heard. Protestors are striving for a change and will do anything to accomplish this. To start off, the Vietnam War Protest and the March for Our Lives...
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...caused the loss of the war anyway; the U.S media just helped to speed up that defeat. The Vietnam War was the first televised war. According to the now retired Lt. Gen. Phillip B. Davidson "The war was literally piped into the living room, bedroom, and kitchen of most Americans”. Furthermore the former U.S. Commander in South Vietnam, General William C. Westmoreland noted that Modern technology "provided the press a means of indirectly involving the American public with the war on an almost hourly basis." Despite initially positive media coverage of the war, it soon became increasingly negative, in some cases falsely so. It has been suggested that the media coverage of the Tet Offensive was an exaggeration of the true course of events that helped shock the American Public. But did the media coverage of this major battle really change public perception leading to America withdrawing from the Vietnam War? With the outbreak of the Tet Offensive the Vietnam War had hit the urban areas and had subsequently become more reported on than at any other point previous in the war. Many of the Journalists had not experienced war at first hand to such a scale and were shocked by what they were seeing and the ferocity of the attacks. The surprise nature of the attack coupled with the warfare inexperience of many journalists present in Vietnam saw many of them change their verdict on this war in Vietnam. They no longer accepted the official reports of progress from government and military announcements...
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...Throughout history, music has been used by movements seeking social changes in the world. In various cases, protest songs are written in response to historical events or social activities by the person who has experienced. In other cases, these songs can be responsible for initiating a shift in a society’s beliefs and assumptions. Many musicians have raised awareness and championed causes to alleviate human suffering from social problems caused by famine, natural disasters, war, civil rights violations, environmental abuse and others. Some have achieved it through their music, some by using their fame as musicians and others using both. Bob Dylan Music has played an important role in African American history from the earlier days because the...
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...1. Blah 2 Vietnam- Part of Indochina -France gains control in 1885 and all of Indochina under French control by 1893. -Japan controlled Indochina during WW2. - Ho Chi Minh fought against Japan - Ho Minh advocated for Viatnamese independence all of his life. Wanted to talk to Pres. Wilson at the Versailles Conference about Vietnamese independence. He was a communist who was educated in communist universities in the Soviet Union. Much stronger nationalist (wanted Vietnam free from France. - Ho formed a government in North Vietnam due to his successful guerilla attacks that drove ou the Japanese. -Guerilla attack means you hit and run an enemy and live off the land. -French attempted to reassert control- At the end of ww2, France attempted to reassert control over its colonial holdings. America tried to negotiate with Ho to form a provisional gov. The French refused and Ho returned fighting for Vietnamese independence. - America assists with funds- America helped the French with Marshall plan funds. The French used funds to rebuild their nation to fight Ho. -Dien Bien Phu- French Defeated- Ho’s forces surrounded them (Indochina- fall of military) causing them to surrender. France realized they couldn’t keep the area in their empire 3.Geneva Conference - Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam formed- (from Indochina) -Vietnam divided into North and South Ho and communists in the north -Ngo Diem in...
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...The Vietnam War Before the war, almost all of Americans really trusted their Congressmen, their universities, and other official institutions. At the beginning of the 1960s that trust begin to change as the world around them changed as well. Two basic viewpoints began to evolve during this time. One group felt that though intentions had been good for getting into the conflict, it was a losing battle that carried too great of burden both socially and economically and at the United States needed to get out of Vietnam. The other group felt that we had gone to Vietnam for a purpose and we shouldn't leave until the job was done. Most of the large demonstrations to protest the war took place on college campuses. During the Vietnam War, the draft was instituted for the first time since 1942. This meant that men and women of the Baby Boom era were eligible to be sent off to fight in a conflict that was being questioned for the American involvement. Draft deferments and exemptions were available for college students and this meant that young men in the working class who did not go to college because they could not afford it far outnumbered those of the middle or upper class. Students who avoided the war by going to college were aware of the injustice of the situation and used protests as a way of communicating this to the powers-that-be. In addition, once the students graduated, they would then be eligible to be sent off to Vietnam. This gave them added incentive to protest and try...
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...The Vietnam War The main connection between student unrest and the Vietnam War entails the armed forces draft. At the time of the Vietnam War, it was mandatory for every male student to register for the selective service on his eighteenth birthday. The male student would be qualified for draft two years after registering; as casualty’s amplified; the chance of being drafted increased. Although, as with mostly everything there is a loop hole, there was one way to momentary put off probability of being drafted - attending college. Younger men that attended school were not completely exempt from the draft, but they were deferred from draft until they had finished their schooling. Hence, as the men grew closer to graduation, reality set in that they would soon be leaving to go fight in the Vietnam War. So, they had a few choices. They could either one, evade the draft or two, run away to Canada or three, they could protest for the legislature stop the draft. There were thousands who fled the country and went to Canada, but most of the students choose to dispute. In bigger cities, like San Francisco, protesting turned very violent to the point where riots erupted; there were many people that protest against the war throughout the United States that lost their lives as a result of their involvement. While the war went on, casualty rates rapidly increased. It seemed as if the war would never end and this enraged the ones that were protesting the war, I mean let’s face it, nobody wants...
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...Benson in the People’s Park during a protest held by anti-war activists in what was later called “Bloody Thursday”. Some of Marvin Gaye’s personal experiences were also reflected in this song; he had just lost his beloved duet partner Tammi Terrell to a three year battle with a brain tumor, and his brother, Frankie, had just returned from the Vietnam War with stories “that moved Gaye to tears”. Marvin Gaye sought a channel in which he could express his sorrow and frustration with society, which is how this song came about. This song was produced in the 70s and in Motown, which means that the song definitely had a jazz and gospel tone. The blending between the music of the time period and the issues of the time period caused the song to become a great hit. It topped the Hot Soul Singles chart for 5 weeks and became number two on the Billboard Top 100 chart. The song sold over 2 million copies causing it to become Marvin Gaye’s second most successful Motown song. The song focused on major seventh and minor seventh chords, and was developed using sounds of jazz, gospel and classical music orchestration. It was mainly viewed as a meditation on the troubles and problems of the world, including the Vietnam War.This song can be classified as a jazz/gospel song. Part of his lyrics read: “Picket lines and picket signs, Don’t punish me with brutality” which represents the various protest strikes held against the Vietnam War. One significant protest was that at Kent State were college students...
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...The Vietnam War was the war that most young Americans in the United States did not understand. The Americans did not understand why thousands of men were being killed over there and what was being accomplished for these deaths. The Vietnam War dragged out from 1960 – 1975 and many young adults was scared about their outcome in the end. The major connection between the Vietnam War and student unrest was that it was the first and only time that there was a military draft. On a young man’s eighteen birthday, he was required to register for the selective service and would be eligible for a draft for two whole years. With casualty rates, increasing every day, these young men had a better chance to be drafted and this scared them even more. There was only one way to have a temporary postpone chance of being selected, if you were attending college. This did not mean that young men that attended college were exempt from the draft but that as soon as they finished college they would be drafted. As young men grew closer and closer to graduation, they realized they were going to have to go to Vietnam and fight. These young men were left with only two options, either they dodge the draft and flee to Canada or they could protest for Congress to end the draft. These young men were scared, running out of options since college is for four years, and the war lasted fifteen years they did not know what to do. Thousands of young men fled to Canada, but the majority of the students...
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...defeat communism in south-east Asia in the years 1965-1973. It is debated upon many reasons as to why this happened. The US may have lacked the will to win this battle, and so their loss was a result of this. More specifically, the US presidents, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon have been thought to have been less enthusiastic uninvolved during the cold war. In addition, the US tactics were frowned upon, being said that they were not intelligently layer out, and so they were defeated. Also, the support of two very strong countries, China and USSR, backed north Vietnam a great deal. USA failed to win the hearts and minds of the north Vietnamese, also failing to understand the situation. Diem was an unpopular individual, Ho Chi Minh was a praised and trustworthy character for the Vietnamese. I will examine the factors resulting the loss for the US, and extract the reason behind it. The type of US soldiers sent to Vietnam to fight are a factor for the loss of USA’s loss of the war. A number of the front line troops were conscripts and not professional troops. They were young, usually from lower social groups and frequently from Americas minority groups. These troops were usually trained in conventional warfare whereas the Viet Cog used guerrilla tactics-hitting the enemy and then running away; not wearing a standard uniform; merging into village life with ease etc. This are it difficult for the young American troops to low who was the enemy and who they could trust amongst the south...
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...In 1954, president Dwight D. Eisenhower sent a letter Ngo Dinh Diem, the leader of anti-communist South Vietnam. His purpose was “to assist the Government of Vietnam in developing and maintaining a strong, viable state, capable of resisting attempted subversion or aggression through military means” (Eisenhower). Many consider this letter to be one of the initial communications with Vietnam that led to our entrance into what became one of the most controversial wars in American history. However, most were not directly connected to the war until a draft notice arrived in the mail. This was the case for Tim O’Brien, author of The Things They Carried, who received his draft notice in 1968. Having grown up in small-town Minnesota, O’Brien was able to have a normal, peaceful childhood. He prospered in school and was eventually Harvard-bound, until the Vietnam War threw him off-course. Tim opposed the war just like so many other Americans, and gave serious consideration to the idea of fleeing to Canada. However, he eventually decided to go to war, albeit reluctantly, and it was his first-hand...
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...got suspended for wearing an armband in protest of the Vietnam war. It was john tinker, Mary-Beth Tinker and another friend who made the decision to protest against the Vietnamese war by wearing some armbands. The school allowed several political symbols to be worn, but banned anything against the Vietnamese war. When they were suspended, their father sued the school, but the district court said that what the school did was constitutional, and they took it to supreme court. What the school did was completely unconstitutional. The Tinker kids have the freedom of expression (1st amendment) to support them. The school had no right to suspend anyone who was wearing an armband in protest of the Vietnam war. The first amendment states ‘congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free practice thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances’. The Tinker kids expressed themselves through wearing an armband to school, therefore the Tinker kids were expressing themselves against a war, which is, according to the bill of rights, is perfectly legal. The kids were also peacefully protesting against the war, which means that they weren’t being disruptive, and they didn’t harm anyone when they were protesting. Basically, all they did was wear an armband to school, to protest against a war that was, as we all know, pointless...
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...The American Experience Since 1945 HIS The Vietnam War The Vietnam War was a Cold War military conflict started in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The war was from November 1, 1955 to the fall of Saigon on the 30th April 1975. Right after the Vietnam War the first Indochina War was fought between North Vietnam was support by it communist allies and the South Vietnam, was support by the United States.("The Cold Warrior", April 9,2010, p. 1) Student unrest draws a lot attention when the war started; during Vietnam War the draft took place for the first time since 1942. There were two viewpoints in 1960 that evolve. One group felt Vietnam was for a purpose and we should stay until the job was done. The other side felt it was such a burden both socially and economically that United States needed to get out of Vietnam.(Ryan, 2008, para. 1) The Baby Boomers both men and women were eligible to be sent off to fight in a war that was a conflict begin question for the American involvement. Students that could afford going to college went after college they would then be eligible to be sent off to Vietnam. To protest the war large demonstrations took place on college campuses. This was an incentive to protest the war and tried to put a stop to it before they could be drafted. The young men who could not afford collage were outnumbered by the upper class and middle class. The war was long a drug out war as the resentment grew so did the financial cost. With the...
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...“In the '60s, when I was growing up, one of the great elements of American culture was the protest song. There were songs about the civil rights movement, the women's rights movement, the antiwar movement. It wasn't just Bob Dylan, it was everybody at the time.” Said by George Clooney an American actor, director, producer, screenwriter, activist, businessman, and philanthropist. As he said, the 60s and 70s were decades of change that happened in America. The civil right movement, anti-war movement, counterculture, feminist movement and all those protests took place in America, had changed all aspects of U.S in certain ways. Led Americans to question authority, seek public policy and challenge traditionalism. The most significant event during...
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...murders at Kent State University. Four students from the university were brutally killed by the Ohio National Guard under the control of Ohio Governor Jim Rhodes. Thousands of students were protesting around Taylor Hall due to President Nixon’s plan to invade Cambodia during the Vietnam War in 1970. At this time the draft was instituted which forced thousands of young adults from ages eighteen to twenty one to join the army. This furiated millions of young Americans because during the early part of the Vietnam War and in 1969, the voting age was still twenty one. People who were being drafted were often extremely young and were still in college or just...
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...King the Road to Peace Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were two extraordinary men who shared a similar philosophy for the road to peace. Both men believed in nonviolent protest or nonviolent resistance to injustice and used nonviolent methods to push forward their cause. For Gandhi this cause was lobbying against the British rule, the unification and independence of India (Adams, Langer, Hwa, Stearns, and Wiesner-Hanks,). For Dr. King the cause was civil rights and social injustice to the black population in America, but also the social issues of racism, capitalism, poverty and militarism. Dr. King also took up the cause of speaking out against the war in Vietnam and lobbied for the U.S. government to withdraw from Vietnam (King Jr.). I believe that both of these men, although differed in some aspects, believed in a philosophy of peace, love, and human brotherhood and as such their philosophy and views hold relevant material for us today as we journey through tumultuous times and navigate the social injustices that remain. Gandhi fought for the independence of India and the right for India to self-govern and attain rights for the citizens of India. Mahatma Gandhi took up the cause of fighting against British rule with unequal laws in a unique way. He encouraged nonviolent protest or what he termed “nonviolent civil disobedience” in the face of aggression or violence, defying the laws of the time (Gandhi). Whereas, Dr. King’s cause was a civil rights issue, fighting...
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