Hist105 IP2

Vietnam Conflict

HIST105-IP2

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Vietnam Conflict

The Vietnam Conflict is a war that began in the 1960’s and continued well into the 1970’s. The twelve year conflict began after the democratic South Vietnam was overthrown and President Ngo Dinh Diem was assassinated by the North Vietnam Viet Cong. While South Vietnam established a democratic government North Vietnam established a communist government creating conflict between the two countries. After President Ho Chi Minh order the assassination of the South Vietnam president the United States intervened to prevent the North from making the South a communist government.

In the 1940’s and 1950’s American society was focused on communism and the potential threat it posed to the nation. Due to the Cold War and the nations fear of communism America was far more willing to get involved in a war to stop the Domino Effect. The Domino Effect was a belief by the American government that if communism was allowed to rule in one country it would create a domino effect causing other countries to turn to communism (Frost, 2009). Despite this belief many of the youth in America did not agree with the war and use the opportunity provided by the civil rights movement to voice their disagreement.

The Vietnam War resulted in the death of over 58,000 soldiers which was the worst consequence but the soldiers that did come back were rejected by society due to the turmoil in American society involving the war. When America went to war with North Vietnam it created outrage with the youth who did not believe husbands, brothers, and sons should die for a war that had nothing to do with America. Through major antiwar sentiment from tens of thousands of youths a counterculture of opposition to the government began to emerge.

Youths in opposition to the war conducted antiwar demonstrations, rallies, and concerts to voice their anger over the Vietnam War. The behaviors of the youths of the 1960’s were in complete opposition to prior generations with their traditional values. The youth of the 1960’s did not want to follow the lead of their parents and instead the quiet and conservative life of the 1950’s disappeared in favor of a more liberal society. The youth in the 1960’s rebelled against the structured and formal living of prior generations and resulted in long hair, drug use, premarital sex, and a willingness to use violence in order to be heard by the American government.

When youths fought against the Vietnam War they became a nuisance to Washington but the war continued despite their efforts. Even though tens of thousands of youths rallied against the war and due to their growing anger engaged in riots against the police to be heard, the American government did not consider stopping the war and it continued for 12 years. The war did not end until America and other Allies were defeated by the Viet Cong when Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, was captured by the North Vietnamese (Sitikoff, 1999). When the war ended instead of welcoming home the soldiers they were rejected by members of American society.

When Vietnam soldiers came home they were not only spit on and rejected by people from their home towns but they would be met at the airport by protestors screaming insults and calling them baby killers (Hunt, 2008). If soldiers were not treated cruelly when they arrived when they returned home people either refused to speak of the war or they would treat the returning soldier like the enemy. American citizens could not understand what the soldier went through in Vietnam and instead got caught up in the hype created by the antiwar sentiment of the 1960’s and 1970’s.

The Vietnam War did not change the role of America in the world but for the first time America was defeated in a war. Prior to Vietnam Conflict, America had been successful in all prior wars. The Vietnam War became a dirty word and the previous fear of communism in American society soon faded away. Even though the Vietnam War was ignored by people in American society for many years after it occurred and being a solider during this time was not an honor as in present society. Despite this many thing in American society changed after the Vietnam War.

When youths fought against the war they also fought against unequal treatment in society. While America was embroiled in a war far from home they were also experiencing social conflict within their own borders. Youths, African Americans, and women rose up and began to fight for equal treatment of all people in society. Due to this social conflict American society forever changed. No longer were white males in charge of every aspect of American society from the home to the government but now every member of society had an opportunity to fill roles in government or to become successful in the business world.

The Vietnam War was a response to America’s overwhelming fear of communism. Despite this belief a Domino Effect would occur if communist countries were not stopped but the opposite effect occurred and democracy has become far more common in the world than communism. The Vietnam War was not won but because of the antiwar sentiment it created in American society it helped support the efforts of the Civil Rights Movement and the ultimate positive changes in society. The American soldiers who came home from Vietnam were not treated the way they deserved but their efforts support great change in American society.

References

Frost, M. (2009). Domino Theory. Retrieved February 20, 2014 from

http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/april2009/domino-theory.html

Hunt, B. (2008). How Vietnam Vets Were Treated Upon Arriving Back In the United States.

Retrieved February 20, 2014 from

http://www.deanza.edu/faculty/swensson/interview_hunt_cominghome.html

Sitikoff, H. (1999). Postwar Effect of Vietnam. The Oxford Companion to American Military

History. Ed. John Whiteclay Chambers II. New York: Oxford UP