The Vietnam War was created by Cath Senker, an experienced author who specializes in modern history. The origin of the book was created by Heinemann Library publications in 2012. It was written to inform readers about the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam war. The book is composed of chapters which are broken down into […]
The Vietnam War had a big effect on the Cold War, being a very deadly war with, at times, no end in sight. After China became a communistic country, communism began to spread throughout Indochina. In 1954 Vietnam had gained its independence from France. But Vietnam was split into two parts at the time, Communistic […]
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Get startedCity, he pointed out that the U.S. intervention in Southeast Asia as little more than imperialism and that We were taking the black young men who had been crippled by our society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in southwest Georgia and East […]
The author of this novel, O’Brien recounts his experiences from the Vietnam war. Joining the war was a battle in itself for O’Brien, as after receiving his draft notice in June of 1968, he almost fled because he was so opposed to the war itself. O’Brien describes himself as “too good for this war, too […]
“The Things They Carried” is a story that presents various accounts of painful experiences and traumatic events of the soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War. The author explores the great use of literary devices in explaining the occurrence of every event. In a well-developed piece that uses imagery, metaphors, reality, and fiction, O’Brien represents […]
The Things They Carried is a collection of stories fiction and nonfiction told by author Tim O’Brian. Through the narratives told through the eyes of his characters, it links them together because of what they carry, but paradoxically it distinguishes them as well. His recollection of short stories conveys the grotesqueness of the Vietnam War, […]
The frustration of Nixon was clearly building with the failure despite all sorts of efforts. A futile invasion of Cambodia, continued but ineffective Vietnamization policy, no cooperation from PRC, and an attempt to cripple the North into negotiations through bombing; nothing seemed to be working. This incapability to find a solution further led the Nixon […]
The novel of The Things They Carried is comparable to the real-life experience of Roger Donlon in the Vietnam War. On the Rainy River is a short story the author never tells because he is too embarrassed. It makes him look like a coward. The main character’s name is Tim O’Brien. The only war he […]
The United States Military took part in the Vietnam War, which started in 1957 and ended in 1975. At that time of war Vietnam was divided into North Vietnam (Communist system) and South Vietnam (non communist). North Vietnam didn’t want the U.S. to support South Vietnam. South Vietnam took U.S. help to make Vietnam single […]
The civil war between North and South Vietnam was known as the Vietnam War which started on November 1st, 1955 and lasted until April 30th, 1975. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and North Korea and South Vietnam was Supported by the United States, Thailand, Australia, New Zeeland, and the Philippines which […]
Rippling effects/cost: During the war vietnamese, citizens were treated very badly. Many veterans raped, cut off limbs, randomly shot at citizens, bombed village twice as much than they did in world war 2, poisoned food stock, and damaged much of the countryside of south Vietnam.US troops also carried out massacres, beatings, arson, and Kidnapping. Most […]
Propaganda is how closely what people are told aligns with the government’s objectives. Propaganda can promote a legitimate war such as World War II, Korea, Persian Gulf, Enduring Freedom or a flawed conflict such a Vietnam. The use of propaganda in wartime has a lingering effect. When propaganda is effectively it can portray a conflict […]
The 1960s are often looked at as a time of great change in American culture. Many issues were at play, Consumer advocacy, environmental reform, organic foods, the sexual revolution, personal growth groups, feminism, gay rights, the antiwar crusade, and dozens of other issues clamored urgently for attention (Cobbs, 378). While many persons were looking to […]
1st Assignment for Grade 11/12 English POETRY Please read over all three poems below several times. “Hope” is the thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson “Hope” is the thing with feathers — That perches in the soul — And sings the tune without the words — And never stops — at all — And sweetest […]
If we the United States don’t prevent the wars that we provoke or interfere in and spend the same amount of time, money, and effort we share the guilt for the dead who are actually fighting. In other words if we don’t try to stop a war, we are as guilty of murder as the […]
“By the spring of 1975, the Vietnam War had ended in victory for the enemies of the United States” and ever since this, historians have been preoccupied with explaining why America failed in Vietnam. In the most part, the Vietnam War has been portrayed as a military failure, and whilst this is true it ignores […]
During his Presidential announcement speech in 2003, John Kerry famously said “ I saw courage both in the Vietnam War and in the struggle to stop it. I learned that patriotism includes protest, not just military service.” Yes, a quote may be a very cliched way to begin an essay but It is important to include this before I begin my essay. The true meaning of patriotism, specifically in the USA, had been corrupted for a very long time. Throughout history, Americans had thought of fighting for their country as the only way of displaying true patriotism. The idea that the United States is always right and the enemy is always wrong had been deeply ingrained within minds for centuries but a shift of opinion was due to come. When America declared war on Vietnam, this idea of Patriotism was very much existent. The people, along with the government, thought that South Vietnam would fall to the communists due to the domino theory. The public opinion was that it is our duty to defend the South Vietnamese from communist aggression and help stop this “disease” from spreading. But, The Vietnam War because of it’s cruel and gruesome nature would initiate a shift in the blind patriotic altitude of Americans by creating the anti-war movement and create a sense of distrust in the government.
The anti-war movement had existed before the Vietnam war but with a very small following. The cold war had given some fuel to this movement but the growth was still very slender compared to what it would eventually become. “The escalating nuclear arms race led to the creation of National Committee for A Sane Nuclear Policy (SANE) which represented a goal of reduction in nuclear weapons. Another group, the Student Peace of Union (SPU), emerged in 1959 with a goal that went beyond that of SANE. Unwilling to settle for fewer nuclear weapons, the students desired a wholesale restructuring of American society” (Barringer, 1999). Even after the Vietnam War began, the anti-war following had been too miniature for it to establish itself as a movement. Many Americans may have disagreed with going to war but they did respect the president’s decision and weren’t outspoken with their beliefs. The creation of SANE and SPU marked a new chapter for the Anti-War movement that would prove very effective later on in the 60s. These groups, especially SPU, wanted to change America’s perspective on war and the government. Although these groups were not able to carry out completely throughout the Vietnam War, they did inspire the creation of Students for a Democratic Society(SDS).
SDS was originally formed in 1960 and was based on civil rights effort but later changed its focus nationally to anti-war efforts. On April 17, 1965, SDS performed the first major national protest against the war on Vietnam in Washington. Between 15-25 thousand protesters showed up from all across the country to march against the war on Vietnam and put an end to it. At that time, this was the largest peace march in American History. In his speech during the protest, Carl Oglesby (President of SDS) said “Far from helping Americans deal with this truth, the anti-Communist ideology merely tries to disguise it so that things may stay the way they are. Thus, it depicts our presence in other lands not as a coercion, but a protection. It allows us even to say that napalm in Vietnam is only another aspect of our humanitarian love… So we say to the Vietnamese peasant… You are better dead than Red.” (Carl Oglesby, 1965) His message echoed what a lot of America was thinking at this time. This speech at the march had been a response to President Johnson escalating the war by increasing the number of U.S. troops in Vietnam. Oglesby refers to the anti-communism idea as a ploy to distract Americans from the real truth.
The idea that the US was in Vietnam as a form of protection was sincerely being questioned by Americans everywhere. It created a sense of mistrust in the government that had never existed before. Americans questioned why the Vietnamese were being treated like savages and how exactly were they protecting them from communism. This brings me back to my opening paragraph where I talk about Patriotism gaining a new meaning because for a long time It had meant the same thing. But now people were beginning to realize that Patriotism not only meant fighting for your country when it is right but also protesting when it is wrong. In an article called Vietnam: The War that Killed Trust, Karl Marlantes recalls of a time during the Vietnam war when he was in college. He remembers arguing with his friends about the war and one of them saying that President Johnson is lying to Americans about the war. Marlantes replies to his friend by saying that the president would never lie to the people. All his friends burst out laughing and later on in life when he told this story to his children, they all started laughing too. In the article, he states “Before the Vietnam War, most Americans were like me. After the Vietnam War, most Americans are like my children.” (Marlantes, 2017) I think it is very important to pay attention to this quote because it shows us the importance of the Anti-war movement during Vietnam and the effect it has till today. For a long time, the people looked to the government as the absolute truth and the Vietnam War changed that. The citizens questioned the legitimacy of the war and for the first time, there was a sense of doubt within the general public. They felt betrayed by the very government that they put their trust in since the country was founded. The people and the government were high school sweethearts who loved each other very much and one day, the people found out that the government had cheated on them. The Vietnam War taught the American people a very valuable lesson in that the Government must be held accountable by the people as it should never have the right to do as it pleases.
The movement was gaining a lot of support as more and more media personalities expressed their disapproval of the war. By 1967, The country was very divided over the war and people who supported the war and those that were against it were called Hawks and Doves respectively. The Doves questioned both the morality and cost of the war. The people that were neither Hawks or Doves were disgusted by both the wars and the protests. They believed that the protests were disrespectful to the soldiers that were fighting in the war. The first national figure to speak out against the war in Vietnam was Muhammad Ali who refused to be drafted. In his statement “Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?”
