Public opinion during the Vietnam War played a massive role in many Senate decisions. From outright support to total resentment, the public opinion weighed heavily in the world of politics. Whether a politician supported or disagreed with American action in Vietnam resulted in the amount of support they received from the public and affected the voting polls. Even Richard Nixon who was heavily favored as the presidential candidate and elected, lost much support from the nation when he decided to permit American forces to invade Cambodia. Thus, many politician began scrambling to increase their votes and support through paying heed to the public opinion. Statistics and studies were taken by many universities around the country during the Vietnam
…show more content…
This journal examines certain political moves made and how the politicians in office came to pass them through the public spectrum using a sociological discipline. Though the two journals seem very similar, they each are different from each other in two ways: the supporting evidence provided (since they were different studies conducted on the same topic, but with different goals), and from which spectrum they analyze from (one from the Senate's position and the other from the public point of view). With that in mind, the public opinion of American citizens during the Vietnam can be scrutinized from multiple aspects and disciplines. The goal of this analysis is to examine the public opinion from the political science and sociological disciplines to understand the effects of the American public opinion on the Senate during the Vietnam War era through the two journals from Yale University and the Universities of both San Francisco and California …show more content…
escalation in Vietnam with statistical data through voting polls. The early stages of the conflict in Vietnam refers to the time period between 1955-1966. Lunch & Sperlich concluded that the public opinion supported the escalation in general in the early years of the conflict. The reasons provided by the journal is that most Americans followed the president's leadership. Another reason for American support of escalation was that many of the American citizens had little knowledge about the conflict stirring up in Vietnam. Statistical evidence provided in Table 1 shows that 61% of people in 1965 believed that intervention in Vietnam wasn't a mistake (Lunch & Sperlich, 1979, p. 25). Table 2 shows that in 1964-1966, more citizens were in favor of escalation versus withdrawal (Lunch & Sperlich, 1979, p. 27). A statement in the journal aims to support the claim that many Americans had little knowledge is," two-thirds of the American people "said they paid little or no attention to developments in South Vietnam,"(Lunch & Sperlich, 1979, p. 22). This statement in the journal was not done by a study conducted by the statisticians of the journal, but is rather an outside study used to support their theory behind the trend of Americans supporting escalation. The claim on the reason behind the trend is also
This journal examines certain political moves made and how the politicians in office came to pass them through the public spectrum using a sociological discipline. Though the two journals seem very similar, they each are different from each other in two ways: the supporting evidence provided (since they were different studies conducted on the same topic, but with different goals), and from which spectrum they analyze from (one from the Senate's position and the other from the public point of view). With that in mind, the public opinion of American citizens during the Vietnam can be scrutinized from multiple aspects and disciplines. The goal of this analysis is to examine the public opinion from the political science and sociological disciplines to understand the effects of the American public opinion on the Senate during the Vietnam War era through the two journals from Yale University and the Universities of both San Francisco and California …show more content…
escalation in Vietnam with statistical data through voting polls. The early stages of the conflict in Vietnam refers to the time period between 1955-1966. Lunch & Sperlich concluded that the public opinion supported the escalation in general in the early years of the conflict. The reasons provided by the journal is that most Americans followed the president's leadership. Another reason for American support of escalation was that many of the American citizens had little knowledge about the conflict stirring up in Vietnam. Statistical evidence provided in Table 1 shows that 61% of people in 1965 believed that intervention in Vietnam wasn't a mistake (Lunch & Sperlich, 1979, p. 25). Table 2 shows that in 1964-1966, more citizens were in favor of escalation versus withdrawal (Lunch & Sperlich, 1979, p. 27). A statement in the journal aims to support the claim that many Americans had little knowledge is," two-thirds of the American people "said they paid little or no attention to developments in South Vietnam,"(Lunch & Sperlich, 1979, p. 22). This statement in the journal was not done by a study conducted by the statisticians of the journal, but is rather an outside study used to support their theory behind the trend of Americans supporting escalation. The claim on the reason behind the trend is also