Escalation - On the ground in South Vietnam the outlook remained grim in the final weeks of 1964, as the Vietcong continued to make gains. U.S. officials responded by laying secret plans for an escalation of American involvement. On July 28, Johnson publicly announced a significant troop increase, disclosing that others would follow. By the end of 1965, more than 180,000 U.S. ground troops were in South Vietnam. In 1966 the figure climbed to 385,000. In 1967 alone U.S. warplanes flew 108,000 sorties and dropped 226,00 tons of bombs on North Vietnam. In 1968 troop strength reached 536,100. The escalation was significant in that each American escalation brought not victory, but a new North Vietnamese escalation. The Soviet Union and China responded
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Describing the weather of Vietnam Caputo says, “It was as if the sun and the land itself were in league with the Vietcong, wearing us down, driving us mad, killing us.” His descriptive and horrid depiction of the war was another reason for many people to protest the war. The book was significant in showing that the Vietnam war was violent, with horrible bombings, insubordinate soldiers, torturing of soldiers, killing of civilians, and the emotional detachment of senior …show more content…
The FSM did win back the right to political speech, but not before state police had arrested almost eight hundred student protesters. The Free Speech Movement was significant for two reasons. One, many people saw the administration’s actions as a failure of America’s democratic promises, and they were radicalized by the experience. Two, the victory of the FSM also demonstrated to students their potential power. By the end of the decade, the activism born at Berkeley would spread to hundreds of colleges and university
Describing the weather of Vietnam Caputo says, “It was as if the sun and the land itself were in league with the Vietcong, wearing us down, driving us mad, killing us.” His descriptive and horrid depiction of the war was another reason for many people to protest the war. The book was significant in showing that the Vietnam war was violent, with horrible bombings, insubordinate soldiers, torturing of soldiers, killing of civilians, and the emotional detachment of senior …show more content…
The FSM did win back the right to political speech, but not before state police had arrested almost eight hundred student protesters. The Free Speech Movement was significant for two reasons. One, many people saw the administration’s actions as a failure of America’s democratic promises, and they were radicalized by the experience. Two, the victory of the FSM also demonstrated to students their potential power. By the end of the decade, the activism born at Berkeley would spread to hundreds of colleges and university