Vietnam war. Why did the USA fail to win the hearts and minds of the American soldiers and public?

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 hearts and minds of the American public.

Protesting was not the only way in which Americans reacted to war, some Americans thought that the war was right but was being handled poorly. Most Americans were mainly affected by the war through media unless they had friends or families fighting in the war. Vietnam was heavily reported. There were photographers and journalists everywhere. US civilians saw what was happening to the US soldiers in great detail. They saw the soldiers get killed and injured but also saw the soldiers killing and beating prisoners. The Vietnam war was called ‘The first televised war’ because it was the first war in which people saw what was happening in conflict and how the soldiers were affected by it. Horrific scenes brought the war home to the USA which the American public protested about. Also, TV and photojournalism coverage weakened government attempts to justify the war.

The USA failed to win the hearts and minds of the American soldiers because of the influence of veterans. Some veterans of the fighting joined the protests and their stories of brutality and pointless suffering were very helpful. Some veterans gave back medals that they had won to show their opposition. It was hard for supporters of the war to dismiss veterans’ opposition because of their involvement in to war.

Another reason in which caused the USA to fail at winning the hearts and minds of the American Soldiers was the treatment in which they were given, especially black Americans. Black Americans often felt they were being sent to Vietnam while white Americans avoided the draft. The draft was unfair and many middle classed white Americans managed to avoid it; working-class and black Americans got drafted. In 1970 the system was changed to a fairer lottery – but many still tried to avoid it.

Overall, the USA failed to win the hearts and minds of the American soldiers and public because of their poor hospitality and bad use of media. The American public didn’t approve of what was going on in the war therefore protested against the government.