The United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, a controversial, detrimental, and monumental event in American history, left marks on our country that remain to this day. America became involved in the Vietnam War in order to terminate the spread of communism. This involvement led to mission creep, which affected American culture, economy, and policy. The complexity and sacrifice of the conflict evoked strong opinions of opposition, and along with this force, was an equal force that supported the war despite its flaws. Innocent American men were drafted into a war and were forced to fight for an unknown cause. The United States should not have been involved in Vietnam at this magnitude because nearly 60,000 American men were killed for a
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Johnson took office, he was determined to expand the US military presence in Vietnam but needed a driving force. Many Americans believed in the “domino theory,” which suggested that if one nation falls to communism, the others will fall as well, like dominos. Years earlier, President Kennedy wrote that if South Vietnam succumbed to communism, so would the entirety of Southeast Asia. This fear had been growing for over a decade.
In August of 1964, North Vietnamese ships fired at US ships located in the Gulf of Tonkin, off the coast of North Vietnam. President Johnson called on Congress to take action, who instructed Johnson to "take all necessary measures" to stop the North Vietnamese, but Johnson promised a “limited and fitting response.” Johnson started Operation Rolling Thunder which was an intense bombing over North Vietnam and sent US troops for combat. Soon America fell into “mission creep,” an involvement in the war greater than expected. The conflicts of the Vietnam War came back home once America became involved. According to The History Channel, the opposition started out small, but once the US started bombing North Vietnam in 1965 the opposition grew rapidly. Americans turned on their televisions nightly to see their soldiers being sent home in caskets. Friends, family members, and neighbors were being forced into battle via the …show more content…
College campuses were places where students could express and spread their stances, while a majority of the country still supported the war. A population of young people and few celebrities began to spread messages of peace and freedom. Walter Cronkite, a CBS newscaster, was quoted saying, “We should be very careful believing that what we think is right in America is necessarily right for the rest of the world.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rallied the cause when he spoke out against the unjust actions in Vietnam. On October 21, 1967, about 100,000 protesters gathered around the Lincoln Monument in Washington DC. These protestors marched all the way to the Pentagon, where they were greeted with a heavy police line. Some were arrested and others were able to enter the Pentagon before they were escorted out. Many citizens, mostly young and white, were willing to risk their well-being and reputation to stand up against this
Johnson took office, he was determined to expand the US military presence in Vietnam but needed a driving force. Many Americans believed in the “domino theory,” which suggested that if one nation falls to communism, the others will fall as well, like dominos. Years earlier, President Kennedy wrote that if South Vietnam succumbed to communism, so would the entirety of Southeast Asia. This fear had been growing for over a decade.
In August of 1964, North Vietnamese ships fired at US ships located in the Gulf of Tonkin, off the coast of North Vietnam. President Johnson called on Congress to take action, who instructed Johnson to "take all necessary measures" to stop the North Vietnamese, but Johnson promised a “limited and fitting response.” Johnson started Operation Rolling Thunder which was an intense bombing over North Vietnam and sent US troops for combat. Soon America fell into “mission creep,” an involvement in the war greater than expected. The conflicts of the Vietnam War came back home once America became involved. According to The History Channel, the opposition started out small, but once the US started bombing North Vietnam in 1965 the opposition grew rapidly. Americans turned on their televisions nightly to see their soldiers being sent home in caskets. Friends, family members, and neighbors were being forced into battle via the …show more content…
College campuses were places where students could express and spread their stances, while a majority of the country still supported the war. A population of young people and few celebrities began to spread messages of peace and freedom. Walter Cronkite, a CBS newscaster, was quoted saying, “We should be very careful believing that what we think is right in America is necessarily right for the rest of the world.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rallied the cause when he spoke out against the unjust actions in Vietnam. On October 21, 1967, about 100,000 protesters gathered around the Lincoln Monument in Washington DC. These protestors marched all the way to the Pentagon, where they were greeted with a heavy police line. Some were arrested and others were able to enter the Pentagon before they were escorted out. Many citizens, mostly young and white, were willing to risk their well-being and reputation to stand up against this