These occurrences had numerous students believing that the forces of law and order avowed to defend them had deceived the principles of the United States
Young citizens who were coming of age were becoming inquisitive about the war in Vietnam, the draft, and the overall ambitions of America. Every family unit in the United States was concerned regarding the war and the draft.
In the mid to late 1960s, every man in the United States had to register for the draft. Initially, the belief was that if a young person was attending college or university, or working in certain profession, these young people would not be involved in the draft because the Selective Service System preferred the upper and middle classes. Every male student hoped that the war would soon be over thus keeping him protected from the draft. As the war continued, the draft became a lottery system and many students ended up going to war. The war had become a young man’s war and students started protesting and burning their draft cards. The increasing casualties and thoughts of strife began to turn many Americans publically against the war. The result was the gradual withdrawal of the United States from Vietnam by 1975.
Beginning in 1968 president Johnson decided not to run for president again shocking the citizens of the United States. Democrats wanted Hubert Humphries to replace Johnson as president and the Republicans wanted Richard Nixon to run. Furthermore, In The Vietnam Era 1963 -1965 (2005) the Democratic convention of 1968 was another anti war protest which caused President Johnson not to show up. A new face was up to run for the Democratic ticket, George Wallace of Alabama decided to run on a new party ticket called the American Independent Party surprising many by receiving 13.5 percent of the vote. It seemed that liberal reform was over with the election of Richard Nixon.
Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger the National Security Advisor worked at ending the war with honor and began bringing the soldier’s home. Although, Nixon wanted to compel North Vietnam back and started bombing Cambodia.
Evidently, bombing Cambodia did not solve the problem and the North Vietnam would not back down. Protesting of the war had escalated and troops started coming home with no success at all in Cambodia leaving Nixon with a major domestic crisis to deal with. Nixon and Kissinger worked at easing the Cold War anxieties by working with Japan, Iran, and Zaire. Furthermore, Nixon and Kissinger would make allowances for the Soviets based on nuclear weapons. The soviets would than be held to pressuring North Vietnam to discuss an end to the war. St the same time Nixon would open relations with China with the hope of the Soviets being more with the United States. This seemed to appease and satisfy some Americans but left the country to wonder how this would help end the United States presence in Vietnam.
During the sixties African Americans, Latinos and American Indians began protesting all wanting rights as citizens of the United States. Next were the Asian Americans who also wanted a third world revolution against the United States. During the mid 1960s, fundamental gay and lesbian organizations began assembling to lift individual awareness and to institute a gay society in which they felt free, and women’s groups of the 1960s and 1970s commenced to drive for impartiality in a more detailed way. In 1966, The National Organization for Women established to incorporate women alongside African Americans, Latinos, and other minorities as a faction sheltered by federal affirmative action programs.
Consequentially, politics showed the exactly how bad the separation of American society was, as it did the ongoing dispute over Vietnam. Nixon had North Vietnam bombed again while Kissinger went to Paris in hopes of a resolution even though South Vietnam had put up a few roadblocks themselves. Finally, the peace treaty written in January 1973 and all American soldiers were home in March.
Postwar America struggled with the subsequent concerns of the war. Sitikoff, (1999) states that the disturbing damage of Vietnam caused numerous soldiers to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and had to experience psychological treatments. Antiwar activists also treated veterans as if they were the enemy. Furthermore, veterans endured social anxieties and economic complexities that left many soldiers dispossessed or institutionalized.
Over 30 years have passed since the end of the Vietnam War and numerous individuals have healed from the destruction of the Vietnam War. In the meantime, many of those fine young men are still suffering. The antiwar movement and student turbulence unquestionably made a noteworthy contact on the judgment of the war and possibly the outcome of the Vietnam War. Many may diverge by saying that these protests prearranged by a disobliging and unpatriotic civilization (Sitikoff, 1999).
As time moves forward, everybody has had the occasion to discover more about the Vietnam War and the all the proceedings surrounding it. There has been a greater approval for the soldiers who made the definitive sacrifice and followed their patriotic responsibility. Whether the Vietnam War was correct or incorrect, the antiwar movement has left a never-ending memory with the entire United States, which will have repercussions, and discussions on the subject will continue for years to come.
References
Axia College of University of Phoenix. (2008). The Vietnam Era. Retrieved August 25, 2008, from Axia College, Week Five reading, aXcess, HIS135—The American Experience Since 1945 Course Web site.
Sitikoff, H. (1999). The Postwar Impact of Vietnam. The Oxford Companion to American Military History. Retrieved August 27, 2008, from http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/vietnam/postwar.htm