Another group who were hugely affected by the war were the blacks that were the poorest group in great the American society at the time. The felt that way to much money was being spent on the war, 66 million dollars a day in 1968, and that they were not investing funds into the poverty and in particular blacks in the US. And rightly so as they also felt that it was a ‘white mans war’. Poverty stricken blacks were more likely to be drafted and many southern blacks were not even allowed to vote. So they were fighting in Vietnam for something they didn’t have themselves. Or as one man pointed out ‘If a black man is going to fight anywhere it should be in Mississippi’. So the impact on them was understandably huge and created even more opposition amongst the blacks for the government then it already had.
Throughout the 60’s opposition grew among the general public hugely. As polls stated at the time that supporters for the war were in a narrow minority. However the few supporters of the war were middle class families who’s sons could not be drafted and Johnson knew that the way the war was going he would soon have to call them up. If this happened he would be left with virtually no support. As it happened he did not go up for re-election and Nixon was elected president.
The short-term impact of the war included the resentment of the government by its people thus creating mass protests. The economy was also hit badly by the war with 150 billion spent on it and the ‘great society’ neglected. Other short-term impacts of the war on the US and its people that were badly hit were the military. The US army was left in a dire situation by the end of the war. Around 500,000 had deserted it and the relationship between the troops and their officers had almost completely deteriorated. There seemed to be no authority or order left in it by the end of the war. It had affected the troops to such an extent, mentally, that soldiers were ‘fragging’ their own officers. This was common to avoid the platoon being led into a dangerous situation by the officer in charge. People would do this by blowing him up with a fragmentation grenade especially if you were nearing the end of your service and were not willing to lose your life so close to going home. Morale was so low that drug and alcohol abuse was frequent and not uncommon.
Authority was generally disrespected as the war took its toll on the American people. Adults were disrespected by America’s youth through a time of rebellion as the impact of the war even affected its foreign relations. America lost support from some allies like the UK and Australia. Whilst a mass feeling of defeat swept America as the war ended it caused many to feel insecure about their own countries government and rulers. The USA would also suffer crisis in the long term too though. America would be resented by Vietnam as it had essentially deserted S.Vietnam and faced global condemnation. 200,000 of its returning troops were supposed to have endured mental illnesses of some sort. Out of a total 2,600,000 that served in Vietnam 58,000 were killed and 53.000 wounded. Possibly even more shocking was the fact that over 100.000 of which served in Vietnam committed suicide as a result of the Vietnam War. Also those who returned to the USA were not greeted as heroes but as villains and murders. This led to many then resorting to drugs and alcohol.
They result of years of Agent Orange spraying on Vietnam by the USA not only affected the Vietnamese but the US soldiers that served in Vietnam then produced deformed babies as a result of the exfoliate. It was later also proven that these people were also more likely to develop cancer and so the impact of the war proved to operate in number of physical and mental ways. Not to mention the laws that were then passed. In 1973 the war powers act was put into operation that limited the president’s power to send US troops abroad. The US then passed a future intervention plan that in meant the president had to justify any involvement in another war within the first 90 days. This was in fear of another Vietnam type war.
The US army was now also far more cautious about taking casualties in time of war. They would do anything to try and prevent the US army taking casualties on the scale that it did in Vietnam. Later war’s such as the Gulf war was then seen as vindication for Vietnam in a National feeling of Vietnam debt. As president Bush later added ‘We have kicked the Vietnam syndrome once and for all’.
Probably the last long term affect of the war was the overwhelming feeling of guilt. Many US citizens feel very guilty about the war. This lasting impact upon the people led to the war crimes tribunal being set up. And perhaps the longest ongoing affair to do with Vietnam and the most corrupt was the 3 billion US dollars never paid in reparations to Vietnam that still stands today. Along with the My Lai massacre where Lieutenant Calley of the US army led his platoon into the town of My Lai and killed all of the village occupants. What’s more is that he only served a small prison sentence before later being pardoned.