Public opinion on the Vietnam War between 1965-1973

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Public opinion on the Vietnam War between1965-1973

At the beginning of 1965 American public was in favour of the war. This was because there was a great fear of communism, and the Americans were afraid the if one country in South Asia became communist then it would spread to over countries. This was known as the domino theory. The Americans felt that Vietnam would create a barrier and therefore stop the spread of communism. Public opinion began to turn against the war around 1969 after what was meant to be a quick war against an inadequate foe had lasted for years and American casualties began to pill up and the cost of the war hired taxes. Also student's opinions turned strongly against the war because there were being called up into war first and they began to hold anti-war marches and demonstrations.

The Vietnam War was between the Vietcong (communist rebels in the north) and the US allied with the South Vietnamese (who wanted to impose communism on Vietnam). America became involved in the war because it wanted to prevent the spread of communism in South Asia; this was because the Americans disliked the USSR as they had different ideologies. The more countries that became communist the potential power the USSR have, and therefore pose more of a threat to the US.

In 1965 the public fully supported the movement of troops into Vietnam this was because the war was promised to be over in a year. Furthermore they saw this as a quick victory against communism, including the USSR and China, who had supported the Vietcong (North Vietnamese). And people had a strong belief that if they did not fight to stop communism from spreading in South Asia then they would be fighting communism on the coasts of America. Americans believed that by creating a capitalist barrier there would stop the domino theory. There was also the question of the media, which contributed to the involvement and withdraw, of America. The media showed daily images of acts of brutality and violence of the Vietcong to the South Vietnamese. This made the public believe that there were helping innocent civilians who needed their help.
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In 1968, public opinion had begun to turn against the war. The war had lasted for three years and it had no clear sign of ending. There were also strong doubts, which were strengthened after the Tet offensive (an attack by the Vietcong) that America would not be able to win the war. The Tet offensive scared people because it made the Vietnam army, seem bigger and more powerful than they really were.

Another point was that the American death rate had piled up. The government since the start of the war was conscripting people to ...

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