...United States did more damage going into the Vietnam War than just staying away and letting them handle it. The Vietnam War was a long and confusion war, it had many causes, a huge cost, and difficulty on the home front. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident was a big cause in the US joining the Vietnam War because this pushed the president to join and send American troops to fight. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident occurred when the US destroyer Maddox had gotten attacked by a Vietnamese torpedo boat. Two days later another destroyer reported the exact same thing. Later proved by historians that the second attack never actually happened, it was just to help push the US into the war (). President Lyndon B. Johnson had later ordered an air strike and by...
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...transpired seemed to be out of cause and effect. Democracy has been the bedrock for America in which our leaders have stood by since our founding fathers wrote the United States Constitution. Power, is defined by the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. During this time in history having power was at the top of every leaders list. Defending our country and our political beliefs were truly defined in the first half of the twentieth century. World War II bred relations out of necessity, the “Big Three” rallied together to defeat Nazi Germany. U.S. President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Churchill and Soviet leader Stalin played the political game during WWII. Roosevelt and Churchill reached out to the betrayed Stalin in aiding the western powers in exchange for backing the communist supporters which allowed Stalin to influence the Soviet-Polish border. The relations of the three continued throughout the war but suspicions lingered between the West and Soviet Union....
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...Vietnam War Taylor Davis MLS 2006 McDonough Vietnam War The Vietnam War was a disaster from the start for America. America was outnumbered and did not have a clear strategy going into the war. Technically, congress never declared war on Vietnam, so America nor did win or lose the war (Triebwasser). Neither America nor Vietnam won the war as it is still considered as stalemate. As Stewart said, “Meanwhile, the war appeared to be in a state of equilibrium. Only an extraordinary effort by one side or the other could bring a decision” (Stewart, 2010, pg. 330). This war did not go according to plan and the outcome of this war did not favor America. Many men were killed in this war and other injured from enemy fire and gases that were used during the war. America lost the fight (war) in Vietnam. Between the Government and the landscape of Vietnam made it difficult for America to win the war. There are many reasons why America did not succeed in Vietnam and lost the war. The effect of the Cold War was the Vietnam War. The war was to stop Vietnam from becoming a communist nation. America was out to stop communist from spreading into other countries. The effect of Vietnam becoming a communist country would not affect anyone in the world except Vietnam itself. As Pagel stated, “The actual value of Vietnam as a territory, economy or political presence on the world stage was insignificant” (Pagel, 2012). As an outcome of the war, Vietnam is still a communist nation. America failed...
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...Abstract This paper discusses how the Vietnam Conflict impacted American society. The topics explored involve how the U.S. was affected socially, economically, and politically. Impact of Vietnam Conflict on American Society The enormity of the damage caused by the Vietnam Conflict is still felt in American society today. While public attitude toward Vietnam Veterans is changing, and faith in the military has returned, there is still a lot of skepticism toward the U.S. Federal Government. Americans don’t want to send their sons and daughters into another seemingly pointless war. One of the major consequences on U.S. society created by the Vietnam Conflict was the enormous strain on the American economy, due to the estimated $167 billion spent on the war. Inflation and increasing federal debt had a major negative effect on the US economy and seriously lowered living standards from the late 1960’s until the 1990’s. Another consequence on society was the public rejection of the war and the soldiers who fought in it. Vietnam vets were considered vicious killers, immoral human beings, drug addicts; they were treated like the lowest form of human existence ("Cold war in," 2011). The Vietnam conflict was a viewed as a devastating loss and resulted in a loss of pride and self- confidence in the American people. The U.S. experienced a reappraisal of American power and glory. At the beginning of the war the American public supported it, because they believed it was part...
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...To what extent was America's involvement in the Vietnam Conflict the result of the wrong judgments of American policymakers? Abstract In this paper, I will discuss the policy of America during the Vietnam conflict and how this resulted in the unnecessary Vietnam War. I will discuss why the U.S. thought the domino theory would suit the American policies during this time period. Also, I will analyze why the domino effect was not suited well for America. America thought that if communism were to takeover Vietnam, then it would eventually leak out into the surrounding region. This was incorrect and in this paper, I will discuss why it was invalid information. This paper will also examine why American policymakers exaggerated the stakes of the Vietnam War and why this led to unnecessary involvement in the Vietnam conflict. Even as the US realized that the stakes had been exaggerated and that the domino theory was implausible, they continued their involvement in the war. As for sources, I will utilize the sources provided for us by the teacher. These sources are Chapter 10 from LeFeber and History in Dispute: Was US intervention in Vietnam justified? These sources will help me explain why the US’ tried to base their policies off of the domino theory and why this was not the best policy. Also, I will conduct my own research using the online database JSTOR. I will also utilize the Pentagon Papers, a source I found online. Together, all these sources will help me formulate and discuss...
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...The Powerful Vietnam War and the Effect on American Foreign Policy In the United States’ history, many disputes have been escalated by our foreign policy’s role in international affairs. Because of the democratic beliefs and ideals we as a country hold , we often feel obligated to act as world leaders in aiding others in need leading to these disputes mentioned afore. One such war fought with this belief was the Vietnam War when the United States attempted to help the Vietnamese but ultimately ended up hurting themselves and worsening the war’s progress. The war’s severe implications revealed numerous areas of weaknesses in American society primarily with governmental policies. Specifically, this inevitable loss of the Vietnam...
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...On Munich and Vietnam: The Lacking Prevalence of Historical Analogies In recent wars, the Vietnam analogy has been forgotten and the Munich analogy has justified large scale interventions. Appeasement was the key regret of World War II and the Munich analogy was formed to prevent it from ever occurring again. The National Review explains that “’Munich’ and ‘appeasement’ have been among the dirtiest words in American politics, synonymous with naïveté and weakness.” This analogy was used to justify the Vietnam War prescribing the destruction of appeasement and suggesting a military intervention to prevent Ho Chi Minh and communism from further expansion, the “domino effect” as most called it. However, the Vietnam War went off the rails and was...
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...Dominic Rycraft HUMN 303H Professor McCarthy February 20, 2015 A Broken Union The American Dream is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. Many say that they have now made that dream a reality. In the early 50’s this wasn’t the case, we still had that dream but many obstacles to get through to achieve that dream. During this time America will be put through strain and heartache to prosper and become the country that many look toward for freedom. The 50’s were a time where we had to take a step back and reanalyze because of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. These two major events that happened in America may have shaped us in the wrong way. During this time in America, we were divided as a whole. It wasn’t one country but two, not by where you lived but rather by your skin color. If you were born with the wrong skin color you would be penalized for this. “Although African Americans’ subjugation holds a special place in U.S. history, they were by no means the only important group facing severe marginalization during the 1950s and since. Native Americans as well as Latinos and Latinas were subject to systematic racial discrimination, dispossession of property, and hate crimes.” (Super, 2014) America was a dark place if you weren’t white and that held us back as a nation. To end racial segregation and discrimination against black Americans, the African-American...
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...Music of the 1960s and its Effects on American Popular Culture by Jennifer Frondelli April 17th, 2013 Music of the 1960s Thesis: The music of the 1960s had a significant effect on the public opinions of the time on topics such as the Vietnam War and the subsequent draft, the civil rights movement, and the Cold War. I. Introduction a. Thesis Statement II. The Vietnam War and the draft a. Prominent Artists 1. Simon & Garfunkel 2. The Rolling Stones 3. Creedence Clearwater Revival b. Public Opinion 1. Anti-War 2. Anti-Draft 3. Protests III. The Civil Rights Movement a. Gospel 1. Martin Luther King Jr. 2. Church Gatherings 3. Protests b. African American Music 1. Jazz 2. Freedom Singers 3. Folk, Rock 'n' Roll, Blues, Soul c. Prominent Songs/Hymns 1. “We Shall Overcome” 2. “Oh Freedom” 3. “Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Us Around” IV. The Cold War a. Themes 1. Potential Nuclear Attack 2. American/Soviet Nationalism 3. Symbolism b. Prominent Artists 1. Bob Dylan 2. Simon & Garfunkel 3. Joan Baez c. Influence V. Conclusion a. Thesis Statement The 1960s was, historically, a significant decade in America. The country underwent many changes both politically and culturally. From the presidential assassinations, to the social revolutions by the younger generations, to the war raging across half way around the world, the 1960s were a time of both societal...
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...2016 North Vietnam and the French “It was patriotism, not communism, that inspired me.” --Ho Chi Minh Ho Chi Minh declared independence from France on September 2 1945 for Vietnam. As a response, France asserted its colonial dominance and this caused a war between them and the Viet Minh. The Viet Minh was a group of nationalists who were communist. By 1954 the Viet Minh almost conquered most areas of Vietnam. The French were defeated and the negotiation of the Geneva Accord stopped the war between the French and the Viet Minh. Vietnam was soon divided into North Vietnam and South Vietnam along the 17th parallel in 1956. While the Viet Minh and the French were fighting, the Cold War between the U.S and the Soviet Union began to take form. The U.S tried to prevent communism from spreading...
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...Portrayal of Vietnam War has become a popular theme in modern media due to the vast extent of people who are exposed to it. The effects of war on both the body and mind are clearly portrayed in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. The audience is shown the negative outcomes of war; the chaos it brings to communities along with the mental decay of all involved. These are not your classic “Saving Private Ryan” films, where American troops come in and clean house. Rather these films portray the psychotic side of war, where some soldiers come back to society and can no longer function normally. Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Coppola’s Apocalypse Now portray war as an ugly, disturbing event which affects both the soldiers and the people back home. Taxi Driver is set around the life of Vietnam Veteran, Travis Bickle. As...
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...The Undeclared War Known as Vietnam Akilah K. Berry History 105 Professor Joseph Krulder American Intercontinental University The Vietnam War is considered the longest war. It can also be known as the unnecessary war, the war we lost, and an unofficial war. This war demonstrated to the world that the United States of America will defend its beliefs by any means necessary. It unified yet divided it’s own nation while focusing on the conflict at hand. Despite the fact the US Congress never officially declare war, the most decisive (excluding the Civil War) and America’s longest war is known as The Vietnam War. Around 1950, in efforts to protect the Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia known as the French Empire in Indochina the US initiated their involvement. In addition to protecting the French Empire the prevention of Ho Chi Minh’s Nationalist-Communist Viet Minh forces gaining control of the French Empire was also a key objective. At the battle of Dien Bien Phu, the Viet Minh seemed to achieve independence and national sovereignty in addition to their victory, regardless of great assistance from the US. At the 1954 Geneva international conference, the United States (for whom a Nationalist-Communist Vietnamese government was unacceptable) divided the country in two. The southern half was the birthplace of the Republic of Vietnam (RVN). Americans spent the next twenty years defending the RVN which was an artificial country (Buzzanco, 2010). By 1960 the National Liberation...
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...The Impact of Ho Chi Minh During the Vietnam War on Vietnamese Society Ho Chi Minh caused many challenges and changes in Vietnamese Society during the Vietnam War. It was not the citizens’ faults that they had to face these obstacles. The Vietnam War changed how people lived in their villages. The war created problems between the citizens’ relationships with others and the country. “I had to go to fight in the war and leave my children and wife behind. My youngest son was only two years old at the time.”(Pham) Both sides were challenged substantially, but in the eyes of many, the North Vietnamese were not as affected as greatly as the South Vietnamese. The South Vietnamese had to face the destruction of their land and people. The countrysides...
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...Part One: How was the American public’s opinion affected by events such as the Vietnam War or Watergate? Part Two: What search engine did you use? Google What words did you type into the search engine to get your results? “american public opinion on watergate scandal” “american public opinion on vietnam war” What sources did you choose? Provide the web address and title of each source. Watergate Scandal: Nixon Resigns http://ropercenter.cornell.edu/the-american-publics-attitudes-about-nixon-post-watergate/ The American Public’s Attitudes about Richard Nixon Post-Watergate http://ropercenter.cornell.edu/the-american-publics-attitudes-about-nixon-post-watergate/ Vietnam War Protests http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-protests/...
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...Tim O Brien’s mental thinking in “The Things They Carried,” and “In the Lake Of The Woods.” Tim Obrien’s “The Things They Carried,” and “In the Lake Of the Woods,” shows how the Vietnam War affected his writing style. Tim Obrien was a Vietnam War Veteran. This mental state is brought out through his style of writing through Characterization, Setting, and Theme. These things show how the Vietnam War affected his writing in a psychological way. I believe these stories and many others are ways he coped with the memories of Vietnam. First the characterization Obrien uses in “The things they carried,” and “In the lake of the woods,” shows how Obrien coped with his War past. Both of these stories have two men that portray Obrien. In “the things...
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