Source J is another photograph, showing an anti-war demonstration at Kent State University in America. Demonstrations such as this one occurred worldwide, and they gave citizens a chance to display their views regarding the war. People may have changed their attitudes because of these demonstrations, and even if they did not directly change attitudes, the protests may have focussed media attention towards Vietnam, and the anti-war cause.
A few of the demonstrations turned to violence and some demonstrators were even shot by the police. These deaths could possibly have changed peoples views toward the war, and some people may have protested against the war because they felt that they were supporting those oppressed by the American authorities.
Sources E and J are both photographs so unlikely to be biased in their content. However they could be interpreted in different ways depending on the context in which they are presented. For example, if the American believed that the children were trained soldiers, people may see that they were justified in their actions.
One of the things that made fighting the Vietnam War difficult were the guerrilla tactics used by the Vietcong forces. Sources D and F show these tactics, both from the American and Vietnamese points of view. Source D is a Vietnamese poster, showing American soldiers in Vietnam, unaware that they are surrounded by Vietcong fighters. Although the American significantly outnumber the Vietcong fighters, it is obvious that the Vietcong have a distinct advantage. This poster may have motivated Vietnamese soldiers, but was probably not one of the primary causes for the American withdrawal from Vietnam.
However, the article describes the difficulties in fighting a guerrilla forces and illustrates the fact that civilians were being killed, and that leaving Vietnam was the only way that this could be stopped. Articles such as this may have played an important role in changing American public opinion, as they realised that the US forces had no way of defeating the North Vietnamese.
Source G was written in 1968, only 23 years after the end of the Second World War. Much of the American population had memories of the conditions during the war in the Nazi countries, so reading that the American forces in Vietnam were ‘turning into Nazis’ would have had a profound affect on many older Americans. ‘It was a Nazi thing. We didn’t go there to be Nazis.’
This article also draws attention to the atrocities committed by American forces, ‘slaughtering whole villages of women and children’ thinking that ‘they were going to do something courageous for their country.’ To realise that the American were killing innocent people on behalf of America may have had a dramatic affect on the views of the American people.
Source K shows the results of a public opinion poll in Australia between April 1969 and October 1970. The views of the Australian population were probably very similar to those of the Americans, and the results show a significant change from supporting the war to opposing it. These results show that between April and October 1969, there was a 9% drop in support for the continuation of the Vietnam offensive. Between April 1969 and October 1970, there was a significant 10% rise in those wanting troops withdrawn from Vietnam, from 40% to 50%. As the war progressed, people also became more definite in their views. In April 1969, 12% of those questioned were undecided, but by October 1970, only 8% were not sure about their views .
Source H is a British cartoon showing that vast amounts of American money were being put into Vietnam, and not into America. It shows a train representing the American economy, fuelled by President Johnson’s notion of ‘Great Society’ policy. This policies were centred around a goal of improving the conditions of those living in America.
The train is producing a dark cloud of smoke, and the smoke represents the war in Vietnam. This may have made the people realise that the war was costing America large amounts financially as well as in human losses. Those in Britain seeing the cartoon may have interpreted it to mean that Johnson was so idealistically obsessed with winning the war that he was blind to what was happening in America.
To conclude, television was not the most important factor in the loss of the Vietnam War, but did play an important part along with other sections of the media. The media was important as without this people would not have been aware of what was happening in Vietnam due to distance.
However, if the Vietcong had not been defeating the Americans militarily with their guerrilla strategies, the American army would not have been required to use the extreme strategies that they did, leaving to the massacre of Vietnamese civilians. This was then highlighted by the world media, turning public opinion against the American, and in turn, this led to the American withdrawal from Vietnam.
