Youth Activism In Vietnam Essay

Margaret Mead once said to “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world” (“Quotes about activism”). Many students around the world wholeheartedly agree with Mrs. Mead, and two prime examples were youth activism in Vietnam Era and in the pro-democracy movement of China. The Vietnam Era in the United States got its name from the longest and most controversial war in American history. In the year 1955 president Lyndon B Johnson decided to send American troops to assist the democratic South Vietnam against communist North Vietnam, which sought to unify the country. At first many people were for the containment of communism, yet as the war progressed many people turned cynical towards the tactics and impacts that were caused by the conflict. This led to people developing a …show more content…
The United States entered the war to contain communism from spreading through Southern Vietnam and all of Indochina. At first the United States lended only economic support to Southern Vietnam; however, an event called the Gulf of Tonkin soon changed that. President Johnson stated that “two U.S ships in the Gulf of Tonkin...were fired upon without provocation by Northern Vietnamese” ships (“The Vietnam War”). The Gulf of Tonkin provided Johnson with the exact excuse needed to get full power from congress to stop Northern Vietnamese aggression. One of the first thing President Johnson did was increase the number of troops stationed in Vietnam and set up a draft system for forced military involvement. The draft system was mandatory for all adult males from ages eighteen to forty-five. Because the draft system affected mainly the youth, they took a particular dislike to the war. The youth also disliked the fact that Americans were being forced into military participation with a high possibility of death, against their