The Vietnam War

supported our involvement. U.S. citizens including students began to take a stand. You were either for the war or against it as a protester.   Student unrest was everywhere. Young men who could not afford a college career were drafted into the military and forced to fight in a war that they did not understand. The young generations, in the upper classes, were able to avoid the war and draft until after graduation.   The light at the end of the tunnel seemed to be growing dimmer with the lack of victory by the U.S. Students found their lives and the lives of the ones they loved in jeopardy and began to distrust authority and leaders. They wanted answers. Riotous protesters disrupted life at both Kent and Jackson State Universities in 1970 (The Sixties 2006).   When the National Guard arrived to put a stop to the protesting they ended up opening fire on rioting students and innocent bystanders. This outraged students further and led to a nationwide student strike.   Students everywhere felt betrayed by their own country. The political and social outcomes at the end of the Vietnam War were poor to say the least. The United States paid a high cost not only in finances, but in faith of government and politics. Prior to the war Americans generally held the U.S. government in high regard and trusted them to serve and protect the country. However, after a long hard battle that resulted in an economic slump, high death tolls, and a defeated U.S. people want to know why and how? The original reason for the U.S. involvement was containment and the prevention of the Domino Theory and this was ultimately supported by the people. As the War continued the economic and social burden became greater, but Johnson and General Westmoreland continued with their optimistic front in the eye of the public. This caused citizens to be divided. Some believed we entered the war with just cause but now our loss is inevitable and we should withdraw. While others believed we should finish what we started. On January 30, 1968 the final straw was added to the mix and the country seemed to unite under the same belief. This day, named Tet, marked the Vietnamese New Year. Vietcong blew a hole into the American Embassy in Saigon and left 19 people dead in a bloodied courtyard (Davidson, 2006). To many Americans this disaster rivaled the failure in Pearl Harbor.   Many questions continued to go unanswered to the citizens of the U.S. How long will it take to succeed? How many more troops do they need? What is the plan to win the war? Many leaders from Kennedy to Nixon had seen far too many setbacks and the faith of the American people was dying. The Tet Offensive broke the will of the United States and directly led to the end of the Vietnam War.Americans as a whole did not want to think or talk about the nation’s longest and most debilitating war. The Vietnam War was the only war the United States had ever lost. The financial cost of the war came in at an estimated $167 billion dollars (Chambers, 1999). which put the country into debt.   American attitudes, institutions, and foreign policy were greatly damaged. The country was humiliated and had lost pride and confidence in its superpower ability. It became all too clear that the U.S. was not invincible. This realization caused skepticism and distrust among citizens. The American public began to question the competency of its leaders.