The Vietnam War was an extreme waste of time and energy in the minds of the American people. They protested the war constantly which lead to tensions against the government. Many events occurred that would tear the country apart due to their differing opinions on the Vietnam War and this is largely because it changed the American economy for the worse, destroyed American family lives, and finally presidents made promises in political elections and did not follow through with them.
The economic policies and budgets instituted by the United States government was all but helpful in the minds of the Americans. The Vietnam War had a lasting fiscal legacy from the increasing levels of government expenditure, of which was not financed by the American …show more content…
Selective Service Act, where over 2 million American men had to be drafted to serve in Vietnam and additionally 8,000,000 enlisted in the Vietnam War. This choice to enlist was not because they wanted to go into the war, but rather to “beat the draft” (Small, Melvin). However, many American men dropped everything they had and left the country to avoid the draft, and an estimated 570,000 were draft offenders. The number of imprisoned men for draft offending was swamping the judiciary system and the men placed in the same place as murderers, rapists and bank robbers were sentenced to. If Americas hadn’t avoided the draft, then surely they were sent to fight. Thus, Americans were quite upset over the number of husbands, brothers, and fathers that were taken away from their families to fight in this …show more content…
For this reason, a large number of riots broke out such as the one in Kent State that resulted in 13 students being shot, four of whom died. This manufactured a giant uprising over the wrongful deaths of the students. Just five days after the shootings, over 500,000 American men and women demonstrated in Washington, D.C. against the Vietnam War and the killing of innocent, unarmed, student protesters. Richard Nixon took cover in a safe house during this time and according to Charles Colson, a Special Councilmen for Nixon’s administration stated: "The 82nd Airborne was in the basement of the executive office building ... with their rifles cocked and you’re thinking, 'This can 't be the United States of America. This is not the greatest free democracy in the world. This is a nation at war with itself.” (Kent State Shootings) This quote truly shows the commitment to the cause that the protestors had over pulling out of Vietnam. They were incredibly emotional over the deaths of their family members and students when all of this could have been prevented in their minds. Even after the war, the war was still bringing out the worst of
The economic policies and budgets instituted by the United States government was all but helpful in the minds of the Americans. The Vietnam War had a lasting fiscal legacy from the increasing levels of government expenditure, of which was not financed by the American …show more content…
Selective Service Act, where over 2 million American men had to be drafted to serve in Vietnam and additionally 8,000,000 enlisted in the Vietnam War. This choice to enlist was not because they wanted to go into the war, but rather to “beat the draft” (Small, Melvin). However, many American men dropped everything they had and left the country to avoid the draft, and an estimated 570,000 were draft offenders. The number of imprisoned men for draft offending was swamping the judiciary system and the men placed in the same place as murderers, rapists and bank robbers were sentenced to. If Americas hadn’t avoided the draft, then surely they were sent to fight. Thus, Americans were quite upset over the number of husbands, brothers, and fathers that were taken away from their families to fight in this …show more content…
For this reason, a large number of riots broke out such as the one in Kent State that resulted in 13 students being shot, four of whom died. This manufactured a giant uprising over the wrongful deaths of the students. Just five days after the shootings, over 500,000 American men and women demonstrated in Washington, D.C. against the Vietnam War and the killing of innocent, unarmed, student protesters. Richard Nixon took cover in a safe house during this time and according to Charles Colson, a Special Councilmen for Nixon’s administration stated: "The 82nd Airborne was in the basement of the executive office building ... with their rifles cocked and you’re thinking, 'This can 't be the United States of America. This is not the greatest free democracy in the world. This is a nation at war with itself.” (Kent State Shootings) This quote truly shows the commitment to the cause that the protestors had over pulling out of Vietnam. They were incredibly emotional over the deaths of their family members and students when all of this could have been prevented in their minds. Even after the war, the war was still bringing out the worst of