ESSAY ONE
Introduction
In United States history, the movement against the Vietnam war establishment is considered a definer event for the country. Americans become engaged in the Vietnam war for the first time back in 1950 after the orders of President Harry Truman. President Truman ordered his troops to engage in the Vietnam war after his Underestimation of France’s effort on the fight. The war continued with later presidents Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy supporting the fights in the late fifties and early sixties. In the mid-1960s, the United States started to experience several critics from Americans on its involvement in the war. Although President Kennedy believed that involvement in the South Vietnam war would never achieve the indent goals, he continued with the fights since any move to withdraw from the war would make America look like a weak country. This paper seeks to provide a critical analysis of the antiwar movement.
Reflection on the antiwar
In the United States, both the Democratic and Republican presidents supported the Vietnam war willing because they felt that any move to withdraw would indicate that the country was weak. The presidents feared negative perception about withdrawing from the war without a win until the administration of the Johnson when they saw that there were no signs of the end of the war. After the public realized this, the country started to experience increased opposition to war, thus leading to the creation of the anti-war movement. The movement pressured the American administration this forcing them to withdraw from the Vietnam war. Although the antiwar movement did not comprise a single iconic to the leader, it comprised individuals from different parts of the country. A study conducted by Locke & Wright (2019) indicated that most participants in the antiwar included students, housewives, religious leads, and other iconic leaders such as Martin Luther King and Muhammed Ali. The American was divided on the opposition of the Vietnam war because of the draft and ethical, the legal argument against the intervention of the United States, and the presence of the media.
Why Americans Opposed the Vietnam War
First, the Americans opposed the move to engage in the Vietnam war because of the presence of the media. The war was covered live by several media, therefore, portraying the evil which was happening on Vietnam courtesy of American soldiers. For instance, in 1968, the My Lai Massacre, whereby approximately five hundred unarmed children and women were massacred by United States soldiers, thus painting a bad image for the country. Generally, huge media coverage made America look like a violent country, thus influencing the anti-war movement.
Secondly, the draft was considered as a major contributor to the ant-war movement in the 60s. According to the country’s history, the country required allowed 19 years and above soldiers to participate in the war, unlike the second world war, whereby the young age was 26 years. The move made the student demonstrate for their rights, indicating that they were not old enough to engage in the war. According to Foner (2011), the Movement supporters, it was not ethical to engage the young individual in the fight since they have increased chances of death, thus making the country lose its young generation.
Thirdly, the United States intervention perception contributed to the increased opposition to the Vietnam war. The majority of America applied the concept of the domino theory and communism threat. According to Americans, communist threat was used as a scapegoat while others believed that the intervention of America to Vietnam was a self-determinant since the war was a civil war for Vietnam; therefore, the country was wrong to intervene in other country’s affairs.
Lastly, the Americans opposed the movement Vietnam war movement to give a chance to peace and reduce the country’s increased expenditure. A study conducted by Foner (2011) increased the government expenditure to Vietnam, thus leading to a drop in economic performance. In comparison to the second world war, the country’s economy dropped more during the Vietnam war; therefore, increasing the pressure to give a chance to peace. The increased anti-war movement aimed at saving country economic performance.
How Americans expressed the opposition to the war
In America, the majority of citizens, including students, activists engaged in peaceful demonstrations as a way to express their opposition to the war in Vietnam. The move was not listened by the necessary authority, therefore, turning peaceful demonstrations to violence. For instance, students occupied their institutions paralyzing the academic while activists and other Americans blocked roads and burned buildings. In 1968, the antiwar movement groups stormed the Democratic National convention to prevent prowar candidate nomination as a way of expressing the opposition to the Vietnam war.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the anti-war movement in the United States has become part of the country’s history. The opposition to the Vietnam war resulted because of the draft, media coverage, Americans’ legal perception of US soldiers Intervention in the Vietnam civil war, and increased government foreign expenditure, thus leading to an economic drop. The participants expressed their opposition to the Vietnam war through demonstration, blocking of roads, and burning of the building. Generally, the antiwar movement is considered crucial since it changed the American policy, thus forcing the country to withdraw from the Vietnam war.
References
Foner, E. (2011). Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History. Vol. 1. New York and London: WW Norton & Company.
Locke, J. L., & Wright, B. (Eds.). (2019). The American Yawp: A Massively Collaborative Open US History Textbook, Vol. 1: To 1877. Stanford University Press.