Another point is that the 1960s was the era of black people fighting for their equal rights, so there were many riots. These riots were mainly because they were fed up of being treated unfairly and wanted to be equal as everyone else. There were many race riots during the Vietnam War, about the unfair treatment of Black Americans in the US, and about the perceived inequality of the impact of the war in Vietnam on the black Americans. Thus, riots and violence ensued amongst African Americans, both in the army in Vietnam, and in the United States.
The Black population if America were also not very fond of the war because the money that could have been spent on their lives being made better was being spent on a war that America were going to lose. This can be supported by source B; the image shows the “Great Society” going up in smoke, towards the Vietnam War. The Black population believed the money that was meant to be spent on them was being wasted on the Vietnam War, so that America does not lose, even if they did in the end.
On the other hand, however, I disagree. I think there were loads of other reasons as to why Americans hated the war. Not only black people hated the war due to its economic destruction in America, in 1967, the taxes went up, and the government had cut spending costs throughout Americas, so that the money could go to the Vietnam War. This made everyone in America annoyed, not only the Black population. This can be supported by source B; the image shows the “Great Society” going up in smoke, towards the Vietnam War. The Black population believed the money that was meant to be spent on them was being wasted. The total amount spent on the Vietnam war was around $150, 000, 000, 000; 150 billion dollars.
The Kent State shootings occurred at Kent State University in the city of Kent, Ohio, and involved the shooting of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guards on Monday, May 4, 1970. The guardsmen fired 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others. This means that instead of Americans killing Vietnamese people in another country, they are now killing their own people in the country that is meant to have ‘freedom of speech’. In Source A, it shows a photograph of a student (Jeffrey Miller), shot dead on the ground for just protesting about killing innocent people back in Vietnam.
Another reason as to why Americans hated this war for reason other than racism is because they saw directly what actually happened in Vietnam. This was because it was the first ever ‘media war’. For example, in Source A, we can actually see photographs of the Kent State shootings, all because of the media. Another point, from my own knowledge, is the photograph of Kim Phuc, a Vietnamese girl who had napalm on her. There are many other pints as well, like the My Lai Massacre, where 400 people were dead, and the Tet offensive, where the Americans nearly lost the war. Because of these media pictures, people are were turning against the war, as what they saw shocked them, like when eh Vietnamese man was shot dead in the streets of Saigon without a trial by a general.
The Tet offensive had also changed the minds of many people. This was when the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese Army fought against the Americans and South Vietnamese Army, and they were taken by surprise. As a result of this, the Vietcong attacked into Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, and the Vietcong took over the US Embassy in Saigon, but only so temporarily. However, because of this, people lost faith in the US winning the war, and thought that this is a mistake. This is supported by Source D, in the song; the real meaning is that America might lose the war, as it is mocking the government.
Operation rolling thunder also changed the minds of many American Citizens. Operation Rolling Thunder was terminated as a strategic failure in late 1968 having achieved none of its objectives, which were to; bolster the sagging morale of the Saigon regime in the Republic of Vietnam, convince North Vietnam to cease its support for the communist insurgency in South Vietnam, destroy North Vietnam's transportation system, industrial base, and air defences, and to interdict the flow of men and material into South Vietnam. People thought that this was just killing everyone in the North of Vietnam, not only the Vietcong. This operation basically killed everyone it could; the only way this would succeed is by destroying everyone in that part of the country, until there is nearly no one left to kill.
The final point that I am going to make is that may US soldiers were dying. This could have made the public think that the war was a bad idea after all, as most of the people that were sent to Vietnam ended up coming back “...home in a box”, meaning that they are going to come back dead. The people who sung this song were young students, whom in the ‘60s, turned to the ‘hippie’ way of life. This meant that they believed in peace, love, and were rebellious. This could have been why they were against the Vietnam War, for peace and love. Sources A and D support this as they both show how different the youths are to the older generations, compared to in the ‘60s.
In conclusion, I think that the main reason as to why Americans opposed this war was not because that it was a racist war. I think that it was because there were just so many other factors, but the main one, in my opinion, are because it was a media war, and that it was an era of peace and love, making everyone think along the lines of the youths.
