“I thought the Vietnam war was an utter, unmitigated disaster, so it was very hard for me to say anything good about it” - George McGovern. There are numerous controversial topics dispersed among the subject of American history due to the amount of unethical decisions that have been made in order to improve the lives of the people or keep America out of the clutches of war. Throughout American history, historians have debated the ethical impact that the Vietnam war had on the United States. Although some people may believe that the Vietnam War achieved the goal of avoiding communism and protecting the people, the overarching idea is that it was an unjust war because of the countless lives that were lost from the participating countries, the …show more content…
The Vietnam war took a major death toll in Vietnam, United States, South Korea, Thailand, New Zealand, and Australia. Just in the U.S., “more than 58,000 American soldiers were killed while more than 150,000 others wounded”. On both sides, there were almost 2 million civilians dead and 1.1 simply on the Vietnamese side. The My Lai Massacre, where soldiers brutally killed Vietnamese children and mothers, presents an example where the war mentally changed the soldiers in the war in a very horrendous way. On the other hand, the United States took brutal losses in the Tet Offensive, where the Vietcong slaughtered over 100 towns and twelve United States air bases. Both the My Lai Massacre and the Tet Offensive present scenarios where unnecessary death tolls could have been prevented in this pointless war. Due to the fighting, there have been irreversible consequences, such as unsuitable farmland for the Vietnamese, diseases that plague the citizens of Vietnam due to chemicals encountered during the way, and the losses of millions of humans. Millions of people would not have had to suffer from the Vietnam War because the consequences were completely avoidable. The whole war was very ironic because the United States entered the war with the “peace with honor” policy, but quickly scrapped the policy because of their aggressive mentality to the
The Vietnam War was a war which many people felt negative about, this attitude became especially true after the Tet Offensive took place. Northern Vietnamese forces attacked the South and Americans on the Tet Holiday in hopes to start revolutions in major cities. The outcome was decreased support for the war in America, slowed economy in the south, and a loss in moral for the north. The Tet Offensive proved to be a smart offense by the North, yet did not reach the desired outcome and was not a victory for either side.
The United States was directly involved in the Vietnam War from 1964 through 1974. A major event in this war was the Tet Offensive, which profoundly affected American history by impacting our politics, economy, military, and society. The Tet Offensive affected politics by influencing the presidential elections of 1968. It affected the American economy, boosting personal prosperity with new jobs but greatly increasing the national debt, due mainly to the vast amounts of money spent on the war effort after the Tet Offensive. The military was affected by the offensive because of America’s increased involvement in South Vietnam, and the fact that many people in the military realized that this was a war we could not win.
On March 16, 1968, US Army soldiers from the Company C of the 23rd Americal Division marched into the village of My Lai in Vietnam on a search and destroy mission. Although the US soldiers intended to conduct a “combat assault”[ Michal R. Belknap, The Vietnam war on Trial (Lawrece, Kansas: the University Press of Kansas, 2002), 57] on the village which was thought to be the location of the 48th Vietcong Battalion after a tip off, it turned into a mass-killing of hundreds of innocent civilians and noncombatants. After the slaughter at My Lai, the Americal Division deemed the event a success[ Belknap, 78], however once word got out of the massacre a year later, it was met with outrage by the public. Although the killing of civilians during
Stickoff has very strong points. The vietnam war overall caused many deaths. For some, a war is very scary especially for the ones in it, but at the end of the day soldiers from both sides of the battlefield are affected. Just like any other traumati situation in life, like losing a loved one, will cause psychological damage. At the end of the day, every soldier is seen as a heroe by their own country.
Furthermore, as more money was being spent on the war, less was being spent on domestic programs. Before funding was cut from the program and reapportioned to the Vietnam war, Johnson’s War on Poverty had significantly reduced the number of families living in poverty. George McGovern reiterated many of American’s frustrations when warned of the wasteful amount of money being put towards national defense, and described the various ways the government should be conserving money (Doc I). However, as the Vietnam war became the focus of American foreign policy, domestic programs suffered, much to the dislike of the public. It is clear that, economically, domestic issues and foreign affairs could not work hand in hand, creating tension throughout the duration of the Vietnam
Vietnam War The Vietnam War is considered one of the most controversial wars in our nation’s history for many reasons. It is also called the media war because it was the first war broadcasted and shown to the American people. This war was the longest War in the United States history and also one of the most controversial wars in history. For the brave people who served in this war, many of them did not get the respect they deserved from the nation and also many of them didn’t even want to fight in the war.
Social Issue-Vietnam War Cost of Vietnam The Vietnam War that took place between the dates of 1959-1975 changed Americans culture. 58, 000 Americans died America spent 111 billion dollars on the war, according to the Department of Defense. Mr. Frenchy watched his brother, cousins, and acquaintances join the war efforts against communism. Likewise, he participated by joining the army. Not only did this give Mr. Frenchy a reason for leaving New York, but this also posed as an opportunity to stop selling and using drugs.
The Vietnam War is considered one of the most controversial wars in United States history. The United States is one of the greatest superpowers at the time and were seen as the helping hand for doing the right thing. The United States were dragged into this war in order to stop the spread of communism throughout the Democratic South Korea. Many Americans saw this as the United States intervening in another country’s civil war which is not our duty. Americans also used the draft in a poor way affecting the young and African American population.
The Vietnam War was a war the United States should have never been involved in. The “Domino Theory” was a direct cause of the war. The war resulted in much death; innocent civilians and young Americans were killed. The Vietnam war also resulted in rioting, distrust for the United States government, and the loss of many lives. 58,000 Americans were killed and 300,000 were wounded.
In world war I and II, returning soldiers were recognized as heroes. The war in Vietnam completely changed this perspective as returning soldiers were frowned upon and strongly criticized. Anti war protests and the media turned the American people against returning soldiers. Veterans began committing suicide when they Witnessed first hand that their own country didn't care for or support them. Soldiers and veterans suffer immensely from mental disorders resulting from the horrors they've witnessed in war.
One of the most controversial wars in history and a turning point in American foreign policy, the emotions and events surrounding the Vietnam War capture the essence of the era. The rise of rebellious youth culture and anti-war and anti-draft movements were key social aspects of American life leading up to and during the fighting. (Doc 2, 3) On the political side, Congress aimed to control the Chief-Executive with legislation such as the War Powers Act of 1973, requiring the president to remove all unreported troops in Vietnam and report any further sent. (Doc 7) To say the country was divided would be a massive understatement.
On November 1st, 1955, a country divided into two, North and South Vietnam will soon have a war known to many countries around the world. The Vietnam War, or the Second Indochina War occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. At the time, Vietnam had a dispute on what the country should be, Communistic or Republic, which had led war breaking out. North as the Viet Cong group while the Republic Of Vietnam group was South; eventually unexpected events started to unfold, leading towards the end of the war. To this very day, The Vietnam War has changed the ways how many civilians live their lives, especially my family.
1. What problems did the United States face in the Vietnam War? As the United States struggled against communism in Vietnam, it would face many problems. In the late 1950’s President Eisenhower and later President Kennedy sent military supplies and advisers to South Vietnam. Despite the American aid the Vietcong grew stronger with support from North Vietnam.
The war of Vietnam was caused by men who didn’t really understand the impact their decisions would make. They were not strategic and they didn’t take any advice from the militaire that actually knew what they were doing. Kennedy didn’t trust the Eisenhower and JCS, and didn’t take advice from the Pentagon or the old guard. One of the men in command, Alain Enthoven, was very arrogant and hotheaded. In McMaster’s words, Enthoven, “held military experience in low regard and considered military men intellectually inferior.”
Did you know that thousands of American men died in the Vietnam War? Some people think this war was not a big deal but the loss of life American and Vietnamese makes it a big deal. Besides the loss of life, there were many emotional impacts during, and especially after, the Vietnam War. PTSD stands for post traumatic stress disorder. The soldiers, the country and the families of all the men in the war were all impacted by the war and especially by PTSD.