...| |Vietnam War | | | | | |Samantha Crofford | |Steven Harn | |10/31/2010 | | | The Vietnam War is considered by some scholars to be a black spot on the United States’ white shirt. There is no doubt that it raised countless controversial issues. There were people who supported the War; there were people who protested the War. A specific group of people who protested the War was college students. During this time period, there was a high level of student unrest. However, there were also other factors that resulted from the Vietnam War....
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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......
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...The Vietnam War Frances Melodye Holloway HIS 135 October 16, 2011 Christine Hooper The Vietnam War The Vietnam War began in 1957 and ended in 1975. It was the longest war running that the United States has ever been involved in. The United State was in Vietnam to help France keep the Communists out of that country. Vietnam had split into two parts in 1954, North Vietnam and South Vietnam, after the Vietnamese fought the French for control of Vietnam. The northern part of the country was Communist and the war was going on to keep the southern part of the country non-Communist. The United States president, Harry S. Truman, came up with a policy that stated the United States would help any nation that is threatened by Communists (The World Book Encyclopedia, 1986). The next few paragraphs will focus on the Vietnam War and the student unrest, as well as the political and social outcome of the Vietnam War’s ending. The military draft is the major connection between the Vietnam War and the student unrest. During the time of this war, every male student was required to register for the military services on his eighteenth birthday. For the next two years, he would be eligible for the draft, also known as conscription (The World Book Encyclopedia, 1986). His chances would increase due to the increase of casualties during the war (University of Miami, n.d.). However, there was a way for the males to postpone his chances of being selected in the draft. This would be......
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...The Vietnam War Vietnam is a small country in the Southeast Asia. It has a population of 80,000,000 people. The official language of Vietnam is Vietnamese. The capital city is Hanoi. Although the country has many strong points, it also has a bloody history that includes wars. One of the greatest wars that the country has been through is the Vietnam War-the War against the US. The war started in 1954 and ended in 1975. The Vietnam War was a great failure to the US on both warfare and domestic issues. The history dates back to the 1940s when Vietnam was fighting for its freedom from the colonial French. The not giving in policies of French triggered the anger in Vietnamese. In the beginning of the twentieth century many has joined numbers of movements to gain back freedom. Later Vietnamese from all over the country would gather under the leader of Ho Chi Minh, (Neu, 2005, p.2). The man who led the revolutionary army of Vietnam to fight for freedom was Ho Chi Minh. He had so much influence to the country and to the world. As Charles E. Neu said of Ho around the time he was a leader “Ho became one of the great revolutionary leaders of the twentieth century”, (Neu, 2005, p.3). He was the man behind all the actions. In 1941, the Viet Minh or the Independent of Vietnam were formed under the lead of Ho Chi Minh, (Neu, 2005, p.3). Through many battles and hundreds of thousands of lives has been taken, Vietnam finally emancipated from France. On May 7, 1954 the end of the battle......
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...Going To War Com/156 Going To War In today’s world there are many wars and rumors of wars. No matter where we turn we are hearing about one conflict or another. Often it make one wonder has there ever been peace in the world. Looking back on history our world has constantly moved from one war to the next. Trying to understand why it is that mankind feels the need to fight one another is not simple to answer. Many reasons have been given as to why war are started everything from religion, expansionism, ethnic cleansing and even in the name of peace itself. No matter what the reason is that people claim to be fighting for when you get down to the basic of it all. In the end people go to war for power and control, even when the purpose or perception to do so suggests otherwise. To better understand the reason wars are started we need first talk about why people go to war. Matthew O. Jackson and Massimo Morelli wrote (when researching for the book “The Handbook on the Political Economy of War.”) a list of the reason why people go to war. They included the following: religion, revenge, ethnic cleansing and other ideological mass killings, asymmetric information, bargaining failures, first strike advantages and preemptive war. (2009, The Reasons for Wars – an Updated Survey). As complete as this list was I found that often the reason for war was not simply one of the above topics. Often those declaring the wars would use multiple reasons as for the need. This......
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...The Vietnam War Karthik Rao AP World History 3/28/14 The Vietnam War, fought between 1959 and 1975, was one of the most controversial and debated wars in American history. The war was the prolonged struggle between nationalist forces attempting to unify the country of Vietnam under a communist or democratic government. The Vietnam War was part of the Cold War, during which the United States and the Soviet Union were in a sustained state of political and military tension. U.S. involvement in Vietnam created tension among the America public, leading to debates about some of the horrific acts of war that the United States army committed against the civilian population of Vietnam. Authors Nick Turse and James Westheider, provide very different points of view regarding the war. Turse’s novel, Kill anything that moves: The Real American war in Vietnam, draws upon emotion and particularly sympathy for the Vietnamese civilians. His novel describes the unjust military actions that the U.S. army committed against the Vietnamese public. On the other hand, Westheider’s novel, The Vietnam War, provides a point of view showing sympathy for the United States soldiers fighting a war facing horrid conditions. Overall, both books provide different views of one of the most controversial wars fought in the 20th century. The war in Vietnam was perhaps one of the biggest military failures in the United States. Between 1954 and 1964, the United States was merely providing aid to the forces of...
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...The War of Vietnam Social Science Mr. Thompson 03/25/2014 Why did the USA become increasingly involved in the war of Vietnam? There are many reason why America got involved in the war of Vietnam. The countries Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia were then called the French Indochina. This is because the French had conquered the area before in the 19th century. The French indo china was wanted by the French, because of its materials like rubber, coal and rice. Also Vietnam was the world’s third biggest grower of rice. However, because of these new materials Japan wanted to conquer this too. They took time and waited for the right time to go and attack Vietnam. This finally came down to the year 1940 when France was defeated by the Germans. So Japan went into Vietnam and started taking out what they wanted. In 1940 the French were defeated by the Japanese. Therefore, it meant that Japan had control over the French indo china. This then expanded the Japanese empire even more. Japan had hoped to keep the French indo china but by the end of the Second World War 1945 the French had returned to reoccupy the territory they had lost earlier. In August 1945 the French had defeated the Japanese and took back what was their’s. This couldn’t have been done without the support of the USA. The Japanese got rid of the French and then the Americans got rid of the Japanese. This meant that the Vietnamese was the only military force left in Vietnam. Vietminh are the Vietnamese fighting for the......
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...The Vietnam War was unlike anything that the United States had ever been involved in before. Many were unsure what exactly this war was all about. Since the draft was reinstated, many men were trying to find a way to escape being forced into war. The soldiers were treated like enemies rather than as the brave heroes they surely were. The Vietnam War happened during the “hippie era” of the United States, and in turn there were hundreds of protests on college campuses all across the country. Once the war ended, it was not truly over. The social and political outcomes that followed were not something anyone could have been prepared for. The catalyst to one of the most notorious protests was after President Nixon had recently “…expanded the war beyond Vietnam into Cambodia…” (Davidson, 2005). Students at Kent State University decided to protest this decision on May 4, 1970. About 300 student protestors gathered, and after burning the pages of a the Constitution form a text book, were returning back to campus to “…burn down an old army ROTC building.” (Davidson, 2005). Word of this got back to Governor James Rhodes who in turn ordered the National Guard to the campus. The National Guard had ordered the crowd of protestors to leave immediately, and while a few did, most did not. In fact, some of the protestors began throwing rocks and stood their ground. “The guardsmen suddenly fired into the crowd, many of whom were students passing back and forth from classes.” ......
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...Task - How significant was the Domino Theory as a reason for US involvement in the conflicts in Vietnam? Involve- * Bibliography * 1 Primary source – 1950’s/1960 * 5 books – Secondary sources * Watch films, documentaries and videos. * Historians point of views(opinions) Geneva Agreement – election to be held in 1956 to reunify Vietnam but did not happen because Ngo Dinh Diem cancelled it because he knew he would not win it. If Ho chi Minh wins 1956 elections: * Vietnam will re-unify as a communist country * Other surrounding countries will follow – communism will spread ‘Domino Theory’ (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Bangladesh, and India. Geneva Agreement – election to be held in 1956 to reunify Vietnam but did not happen because Ngo Dinh Diem cancelled it because he knew he would not win it. If Ho chi Minh wins 1956 elections: * Vietnam will re-unify as a communist country * Other surrounding countries will follow – communism will spread ‘Domino Theory’ (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Bangladesh, and India. Communist Communist Vietnam was split into North and South in 1954 – Geneva agreement officially split into North led by Ho Chi Minh and South ruled by Ngo Dinh Diem. Vietnam was split into North and South in 1954 – Geneva agreement officially split into North led by Ho Chi Minh and South ruled by Ngo Dinh Diem. Capitalist Capitalist Primary Sources Finally, you have broader......
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...Most Americans sent to Vietnam were chosen by the draft. The Selective Service System, as it was called, favored the middle and upper classes. College students could avoid service, as could those in “critical” occupations, such as teachers and engineers. As the war escalated, the draft was changed so that some students were called up through a lottery system. Still, those who knew the medical requirements might be able to produce a doctor’s affidavit certifying a weak knee, flat feet, or bad eyes—all grounds for flunking the physical. Of the 1200 men in Harvard’s class of 1970, only 56 served in the military, and only 2 of them in V The poorest and least educated were also likely to escape service, because the Armed Forces Qualification Test and the physical often screened them out. Thus the sons of blue-collar America were most likely to accept Uncle Sam’s letter of induction. Once in uniform, the sons of Hispanic and black Americans who had fewer skills were more often assigned to combat duty. The draft also made it a relatively young man’s war. The average age of soldiers serving in Vietnam was 19, compared with the average of 26 for World War II. Most American infantry came to Vietnam ready and willing to fight. But physical and psychological hardships took their toll. An American search-and-destroy mission would fight its way into a Communist-controlled hamlet, clear and burn it, and move on—only to be ordered back days or weeks later because the enemy had moved in......
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...Thomas Zervas Vietnam Wars 4/29/12 Final Essay Winning The Vietnam War When most people think about winning a war they usually base their opinions on death counts and conquered territories. When looking at the Vietnam War, it is clear to see that the Vietnamese had a larger death count, however this does not mean that the United States was victorious. The United States entered the war to reach an objective, and that objective was to stop communist expansion. The goal was not achieved; therefore, the United States lost the war. True, there were more casualties in the North, but that does not determine whether or not they lost, especially when considering the superior technology and training of United States forces. When looking at the Vietnam proxy war fought between the United States and Soviet Union, the United States was impacted a number of ways, both domestically and internationally. There was a huge lack of public support for the stagnating war effort combined with a lack of support for soldiers that adversely affected the morale of the troops. There were body bag counts on the evening news showing the large numbers of lost soldiers to the population. There were also many protests, which created much tension and heavy scrutiny on the United States government. On a global scale, the United States began to look weaker than the Soviet Union, which created many more issues for the United States. The North Vietnamese won the Vietnam War through a combination of......
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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......
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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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...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......
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...The Vietnam War The Vietnam War The Vietnam War was hard on all countries; one in particular was the United States. As Americans thought the end was near they soon found out that it all was going to begin with the Vietnam War. This particular war caused hardships for not only the financial aspect of the country, but for the citizens of it as well. To put it simply it divided much of the country. Student Unrest One of the main groups of people that the Vietnam War affected was college students. As the war escalated, the draft began. College students were affected by this mostly because of the military’s rules for joining. The poor and underclass usually could not pass the tests to get in the war and many others had jobs, such as teaching or engineering that was cause for the military to not draft them. This is when student unrest began. As time went on and the war continued to drag on, students all over the country began to question the war. Students began to question the president’s decisions when it came to the war, as well as began questioning what they were fighting for. Martina Bexte 2002 wrote that “People realized that the glowing reviews of the war effort their government had been releasing were “sanitized” and far from the truth.” Students all over the country began protesting against the war. They were angry at the president for what he was doing to the Vietcong’s, as well as the fact that Americans were fighting for a cause that no one believed in anymore...
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