Opposing the Vietnam War Essay - 1023 Words

Opposing the Vietnam War The War in Vietnam is one of the most controversial arguments in history. The main reason That it is so controversial, is because we lost. Both democrats and republicans argue that the way the war was handled should have been differently. Some ask why bother, the war is over and done with; that there is nothing anyone can do to change it. The amazing thing about history though is that we can learn from our mistakes, and make sure that nothing like this ever happens again. Then again, if the Vietnam never happened we would have better relations with foreign countries. America would not be in such a large dept if the war had never occurred. The soldiers were scarred for life because†¦show more content†¦America entered into the war because it wanted to stop the spread of totalitarian expansion. The goal was to stop North Vietnam from taking over south Vietnam and converting it to Communism. the goal wasn’t to win the war and just to support it; and American citizens and soldiers lost morale in the war. The U.S military troops had a very hard time trying to find their enemy. One of the worst things that happened was that they had to shoot women and children because they were helping the North Vietnam troops. Jennifer Rosenberg states â€Å"In every village, U.S. troops had difficulty determining which, if any, villagers were the enemy since even women and children could build booby traps or help house and feed the Viet Cong.† (Rosenberg 1) The soldiers ended up killing innocent women and children because they didn’t know who the enemy was. The North Vietnamese army had a major advantage over the U.S; they knew the forests well, and had plenty of forests to hid in. As Rosenberg wrote â€Å"Since Viet Cong hid in the dense brush, U.S. forces would drop Agent Orange or napalm bombs which cleared an area by causing the leaves to drop off or to burn away.† (Rosenberg 1) This would not only kill the trees, but it would kill the soldiers and animals asShow MoreRelatedWere Women a Help or Bother During the Vietnam War?1212 Words   |  5 Pagescourse because all throughout history women have made significant contributions to America, especially the Vietnam War. The United States has been slower to include women in its military planning and actions. Men believed in saving the United States from communism, and many women believed they could make a difference in the battle. Women, military as well as civilian, volunteered to go to Vietnam for a variety of reasons, as they wanted to show love and companion to men, they wanted to show their independencyRead MoreRelationship Between Identity And Security1400 Words   |  6 Pagesthe majority of conflicts that have occurred. In conflicts, states are invested in promoting their constructed identity, and challenging the opposing identity. In the following section, this essay will be using the elements of interests, alliances, and fear of the other to demons trate the underpinning of the relationship in the three events of the Vietnam War, dà ©tente and the 2003 Iraq invasion. Interests are important in the relationship as it allows us to observe why a state is involved in a conflictRead MoreInfluence of the Media in the Anti-War Movement of the 60s and 70s1600 Words   |  7 PagesSouth Vietnam which could have happened that realistically threatens the United States of America.† In that same testimony, Kerry discussed that most people â€Å"did not even know the difference between communism and democracy. They only wanted to work in rice paddies without helicopters strafing them and bombs with napalm burning their villages and tearing their country apart.† The Fulbright hearings were an eye-opener to the millions of Americans who watched them. They convinced many that opposing theRead MoreThe Vietnam War Was A Damaging Conflict1178 Words   |  5 PagesValean Professor William Mack U.S. History 2 16 April 2015 Vietnam War The Vietnam War was a damaging conflict that left deep scars on all the people and countries that were involved. About 60,000 American lives were taken and an estimated 2,000,000 Vietnamese were killed or wounded. That is about 10 percent of Vietnam’s population. Many bombs, weapons, and chemical warfare destroyed Vietnam’s infrastructure and land. Not only did this war bring destruction to Vietnam’s physical country, but it helpedRead MoreThe Cause For The Vietnam War1442 Words   |  6 PagesAmong the causes for the Vietnam War are the Western fear of communism, the remnants of nineteenth-century colonialism, and tensions caused by World War Two and the Cold War, but these causes could easily have been circumvented and the Vietnam War prevented. As is often the case with wars, one of the most influential factors in the causation of the Vietnam War was fear, especially fear of communism and social upheaval. The anti-communist policies of Western culture had the greatest direct influenceRead MoreCivil War And The Vietnam War905 Words   |  4 PagesDuring the 1960s and 1970s, America endured the Vietnam War and protests against U.S. involvement in Vietnam. From college campus demonstrations, to newspaper articles and radio broadcasts, antiwar sentiment blossomed through different mediums to convey how dissatisfied some citizens felt against the War’s duration. May 4, 1970 saw college students of Kent State University holding a common antiwar demonstration turn unusually fatal: four students were shot dead and nine others sustained wounds. ItRead MoreMedia Coverage On The Vietnam War1549 Words   |  7 PagesThe Vietnam War introduced many new forms of technology on and off of the battlefield. Increased weaponry helpe d shape the outcome of the war, but media coverage also played a large role in representing the news and opinions of the war. Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer helps illustrate how the media influences and spreads the opinions of the people during the Vietnam War. The war media, which includes newspapers, movies, and most importantly television, caters towards its audience. What the mediaRead MoreA Comparison Of The American And Vietnam Revolutionary Wars And The Use Of Insergency1500 Words   |  6 PagesAND VIETNAM REVOLUTIONARY WARS AND THE USE OF INSERGENCY CW4 Joseph, Stephen E WOSSE: 16-006B 26 September 2016 Table of Contents A Nation for Change 1 A Revolutionary War 1 Liberating a Revolutionary War 4 BIBLIOGRAPHY 6 A Nation for Change No one person wakes in the morning and decides to tackle years of institutional rule without thinking certain doom, discomfort, or in some cases, death. Citizens living during the times within the United States (1775 – 1784) and Vietnam (1955Read MoreThe Vietnam War Was A Brutal Conflict1666 Words   |  7 Pages The Vietnam War was a brutal internal conflict between North and South Vietnam over the North s attempt to spread communism. Taking place between 1961 and 1975, it became America s second longest war. This battle destroyed countless villages, farmlands, forests, and neighboring countries of Vietnam. It took the lives of about two million Vietnamese soldiers and civilians, and over fifty-eight thousand American soldiers. In an effort to cease the spread of communism, many American troops wereRead MoreA Pyrrhic Victory Is Defined, Per Merriam-Webster, As â€Å"A969 Words   |  4 Pages A pyrrhic victory is defined, per Merriam-Webster, as â€Å"A victory that is not worth winning because so much is lost to achieve it.† For much of America in the era of the Vietnam War, the Tet Offensive could be defined as such a victory. In this paper I will first define the Tet Offensive in a concise manner, give the arguments supporting an American victory and the reciprocal considering a North Vietnamese victory, and finally make a conclusion supporting the thesis that in the long term, the North