Explain why there were such different reactions in the USA to the country's involvement in the conflict in Vietnam in the 1960's?
3) Explain why there were such different reactions in the USA to the country's involvement in the conflict in Vietnam in the 1960's. Most American people supported the Vietnam War at the beginning of the 1960's because they believed that it would stop the spread of 'evil' communism. Propaganda such as films and books were used to a large extent to make people believe that communism was a major threat to America and the rest of the world. Many people became scared of a media constructed idea of communism. Furthermore, to some extent support for the war was a hangover of McCarthyism. During the 1950s, Senator McCarthy led a witch-hunt against anyone suspected of being involved in Communist activity, called the 'Red Scare'. Alongside the media and anti-communist hype many people, especially the older generation, were extremely patriotic. People who supported the war at the beginning were known as 'Hawks'. On the other hand, not all American people supported the war in the beginning. A small percentage opposed the war, known as 'doves'. These included people from left wing parties who supported communism and wanted the Vietcong (NLF) to win in Vietnam. Early opposition also included liberals, who believed that encouraging democratic governments, rather than authoritarian governments was the best way of stopping the spread of communism. Last but not least were the pacifists,
Vietnam war. Why did the USA fail to win the hearts and minds of the American soldiers and public?
Why did the USA fail to win the hearts and minds of the American soldiers and public? The USA failed to win the heart sand minds of most soldiers and people due to many reasons including the anti-war movement, the media and the treatment of soldiers. These were some of the reasons why people opposed the war. There were a lot of protests made which involved demonstrations, burning draft cards, leaving the USA and violence. Protests were made because the war wasn’t being connected to most Americans. People opposed the war because it didn’t connect with all Americans. Many young Americans were dying for something that seemed to have no point at all. The US presidents weren’t always truthful about the way the war was going or what they were doing to try and win it. This made a lot of Americans upset and annoyed and resulted in protests. People were protesting because of the anti-war movement, the influence of veterans, people’s opposition to the draft and the influence of the media. The anti-war movement believed that the war was morally wrong, that the USA was lying to its people; the war was corrupting young US soldiers through drugs and mindless violence. Another thing they believed was that the South Vietnamese government was corrupt and that the North Vietnamese were fighting for freedom. The anti-war movement showed the government that the USA failed to win the
How Effective Were The Tactics Of Search And Destroy And Defoliation During The Vietnam War?.
How effective was the Tactics of Search and Destroy and Defoliation. Throughout the Vietnam War, there were many tactics used by the USA and General Westmoreland such as Search and Destroy and Defoliation. Throughout all, the tactics of Search and Destroy proved to be the most controversial. These tactics were primarily used to force the end of the war and force the spread of communism away and win ‘Hearts and Minds’ of the Vietnamese people. Search and destroy was mainly used to seek out the enemy and to eliminate its forces within the area. Many of these missions took place as General Westmoreland believed that, if they were able to lower the enemy forces and moral by a substantial amount it would win them the war. This he thought could be achieved by the USA’s superiority of firepower including intensive aerial bombardment and the uses of helicopters and tanks. Similarly, he used to the advantage of the huge amount of soldiers available in the USA. He already had approximately 16,000 men, but in1964 the troop number topped almost 500,000 men. However, these men were not adequately trained for the terrain and situation in Vietnam. Most of these men had been through only 12 weeks of training. This was hardly enough to ensure their survival. This made it extremely difficult for the soldiers as the enemy (Vietcong/Vietminh) and NVA were more trained to fight in this
The Vietnam War - causes and effects.
The history behind the Vietnam War started back when France governed this small country, during the 1890s Vietnam became a colony of France. The French hung onto Vietnam until World War II. At this time World War II occupied much of the forces for the French. The French basically deserted the Vietnamese people leaving them to govern on their own. When the war ended with the Japanese, being defeated in 1945. The French returned to Vietnam ready to control them again but, to their surprise the Vietnamese people refused to let them. As a result of this, tension grew and the Indochina War began in 1946. The French wasted no time in bombing cities. The city hit hardest was Haiphong, killing around six thousand Vietnamese people and civilians. Unprepared for this type of war the Vietnamese soldiers scattered into the jungle becoming guerrilla fighters. Waging guerrilla warfare, small, secret military bands lived and worked in the countryside. The Effect of the Vietnam War on Movies What has been the outcome of movies from the war in Vietnam? The Vietnam War has effected movies for years. How much did this war effect the people’s point of view on movies? The Vietnam War has also been called the Indochina War. The war started in 1957, when communist rebels started terrorist attacks. The president of the United States at the time pledged to support the Diem government. By 1963,
The failure of the United States to win the hearts and minds of the South Vietnamese people was the main reason why their strategy in Vietnam was unsuccessful. Do you agree?
‘The failure of the United States to win the “hearts and minds” of the South Vietnamese people was the main reason why their strategy in Vietnam was unsuccessful.’ Do you agree? Explain your answer. The ‘hearts and minds’ strategy, was developed to show the South Vietnamese people that the US were on their side. It aimed to undermine the popularity of the Vietcong and in turn lead to the people favouring the US and not harbouring Vietcong in their villages. The campaign was important in proving the United States was in the right, so much so that President Johnson underlined ‘hearts and minds’ in his ‘28 speeches’. The US built schools, bridges, clinics and roads; peasants were helped to improve farming and they encouraged the formation of a democratic government, under Diem. As part of the campaign the ‘Strategic Hamlet Programme’ was set up in 1962. It took peasants out of their homes and into safe villages, protected by wire and guns. The programme was unpopular with peasants, who had often been residents of the land for centuries. Similarly, they went from a tradition of farming, to digging trenches. Often these villagers turned to the Vietcong, who followed a Code of Conduct, similarly aimed at winning over the people. The ‘hearts and minds’ campaign was a success, as during the Tet Offensive civilians in urban areas did not up rise and support
How much impact did the Tet offensive have on conflict in Vietnam?
how much impact did the tet offensive have on the conflict in vietnam? At the beginning of the vietnam war president Johnson started to gradually increase the numbers of US advisers in the south providing support and protection from the vc and the spread of communism. The tet offensive was a big turning point in the war as it had great impact on the strategies deployed by both sides as well as the public support for the war and the diplomacy between the VC and the US. in 1965 president johnson started to thread through troops into south vietnam. The war was still young and johnson had greatly undermined how well the vc was prepared. the us was a military force. The vc were cunning, clever and they were just as skilled from a military perspective. giap (the general of the vc) foresaw that if the vc used large scale attacks they would have no impact on such a rich, powerful military force like America. The vc tackled this by using guerilla warfare (a ancient tactic also known as sun tzu) which consisted of small scale attacks and continuous use of booby traps this was used as their main military strategy. The guerilla tactic needed tactical minds and people with very agile minds. This tactic affected the american soldiers a lot, causing them anxiety, fear and tension. one of the key success of this was their quick executioning of the ambushing of american troops. This was a
How significant was the domino theory as a reason for the U.S involvement in the conflict in Vietnam?
History Controlled assessment on Vietnam The defeat of the French is a key point that led to increased US involvement in the problems in Vietnam. After the defeat of the French the country split in to two, the North being communist and the south being the opposite. The north which the leader of the time was Ho Chi Minh wanted to take over the south. America did not want this to occur because it would cause the domino theory to take action which directly links to countries that are in American interest. The Americans began to fear that communism was about to spread its way across South East Asia when in 1949 China became a communist country under the leadership of Mao Zedong, and when he started to provide the Vietminh with essential military supplies (2). The USA feared that if one country in South East Asia fell to communism, the rest would also fall like a row of dominoes, this was the Domino Theory (2, 3). They were also scared that the Philippines which was in their power at the time would turn against them and also try to become communist due to Vietnam becoming communist. This made the Americans feel much more strongly about getting involved with the conflict in Vietnam and put the theory of the Truman doctrine in to action to stop the spread of communism. A second reason to show that the significance of the Domino Theory was a reason for the US involvement, is that
Why Did America Lose The Vietnam War
Why America failed the Vietnam War? The americans were not suited to Jungle warfare and the vietnamese had the advantage over them as they knew the jungles well and the USA government were not prepared to keep losing large numbers of troops. 2) The peace movement against the war had been gaining momentum since 1970 until it reached a point where the American public were against the war in such high numbers the government were forced into action. 3) There was a massive drug problem with the American troops and high rates of desertion. 4) The Americans were unable to stop troops and supplies being deployed along the Ho Chi Min trail to the Vietcong 5) The Vietnamese were experts in guerrilla warfare. All they wanted was self-rule. They were a nation who had defeated the Mongol hordes and seen off invasion by China. The people were a collective unit who had centuries of practice in warfare and were indomitable As Henry Kissinger said "We ignored the oldest and most fundamental rule of warfare-know your enemy". The American government failed to understand the mind-set of the Vietnamese. We lost the war because of America's foreign policy. It was to stop the spread of Communism, not do be rid of it. They would have been able to destroy Communism in many different times like the Korean War. Lyndon B. Johnson didn't want to be rid of Communism because that would make us sound like
The Vietnam War.
The Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was a terrible war fought between the years of 1945 to 1975. Even though the war started in 1945, America did not enter the war until 1961. During 1945 World War II was nearing an end, the Japanese invaded Vietnam, kicked out the French colonial government, and seized control of Vietnam by controlling Bao Dai, the emperor of Vietnam. The history of Vietnam is filled with information, a few of those things would be: how it started, how the United States (U.S.) got involved, the different things that happened during the war, and how the war ended. On September 2, 1945, a scrawny man in a plain khaki tunic spoke before a crowd of half a million people at Ba Dinh square in Hanoi, Vietnam. That day, shops, offices, and schools had been closed for the occasion. Red flags and banners bearing nationalist slogans hung from city buildings as people crowded the streets chanting for a man walking towards the middle of the town to speak. The man, a Communist leader who had taken the name Ho Chi Minh ("he who enlightens"), declared Vietnam to be independent both of Japan and of France. His speech began with the words, "We hold truths that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."(Leone 15) These phrases borrowed from the Declaration of
What different tactics were used by both sides in an attempt to win the conflict in Vietnam between 1956 and 1968?
Sam Coleman MAU 12/7/2001 What different tactics were used by both sides in an attempt to win the conflict in Vietnam between 1956 and 1968? The U.S.A expected an easy victory in Vietnam. The US president Johnson had access to vast financial resources and the latest in technology, and of course they were fighting a third world country that had no such resources or money. The VC/NVA expected to win because they had already defeated the French and Japanese using guerrilla tactics and therefore expected to defeat the U.S.A. The war was being fought in Vietnam; therefore the VC/NVA had a better knowledge and experience of fighting in the forest area and environment, gained from conflicts against the French, as well as the support from their fellow Vietnamese. Knowledge of the forest was particularly helpful as the US troops were inexperienced at fighting in this environment. As the war developed, both sides had to adapt their tactics due to the way that the opposition was fighting. The VC/NVA used a strategy of guerrilla tactics. This involved winning the support and co-operation the peasants. They did this by promising them land and freedom from imperialism. The guerrilla's would hide in a community of a small village or town. The guerrillas did not wear a uniform and therefore it was