Comment on this post -- Why did the Vietnam War prove so divisive? How did it hurt the image of the United States? Does the war hold any lessons for today?
The Vietnam War was widely unpopular, especially with liberals who greatly opposed President Lyndon B. Johnson’s foreign policy and with the younger generation who believed the war was completely avoidable. The domestic programs that President Johnson had been pursuing during his administration were also unpopular with conservatives.
The Vietnam War was supported by the American public at first, when they believed that the President was taking the correct actions to stop the spread of communism. However, the number of US forces that were sent to Vietnam went from just 60,000 military advisors, to over half a million under President Johnson. President Johnson used his power under the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to dramatically increase personnel in Vietnam. This resolution was passed after the U.S. Maddox ship was supposedly attacked by North Vietnamese. It gave President Johnson the authority to use armed force in Vietnam without asking Congress for a declaration of war. As the American role in Vietnam switched from advisory to combatant, more and more troops were deployed. The support that was once there from the American public was draining, and the number of American casualties was drastically increasing. Fueled by graphic images and videos from media coverage, and the disastrous surprise attack of the Tet Offensive, public opinion turned against the war. The Tet Offensive was a planned and coordinated attack that the North Vietnamese forces executed on multiple areas across the South. It was an example of how the Johnson administration was lying about the war almost being over and about the real state of affairs. The actions of President Johnson in Vietnam had greatly hurt his public standing, so he announced he would not seek reelections and withdrew from the race of 1968.
One of the lessons from the war was that the Domino Theory was in fact, just a theory. The fear was that if South Vietnam fell to the North and succumbed to communism, that the rest of the surrounding countries would all fall as well. The withdrawal from Vietnam did not rest well with the nation, as they considered it the first war the United States had “lost.” It also had the United States think they were losing the battle to Communism all together. However, by the end of the 1980s, it became apparent that it was not the case.
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Good post Hannah, the United States involvement in Vietnam was solely to stop the spread of communism. This war also involved the draft, where 30 percent of combat deaths involved draftees. I believe the War in Vietnam could have been won with better preparation and more gorilla warfare training. Many of these Soldiers and Marines were civilians six months ago and were instantly just thrown into the war. The movie Full Metal Jacket shows how quickly they were thrown into the war. Lets also not forget that many of these Soldiers and Marines were treated terrible when they returned home from the war. People would spit at them and call them terrible names. The VietCong also had the advantage that the war was on their home turf. They knew every high ground and every square inch. The United States were already at that disadvantage in the war. Like you said after the war the United States thought they lost the battle of Communism but it was not the case in the end.
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