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Thesis: When protecting the nation against perceived threats, such as communism, the U. S. government has the responsibility to consider the opinions and wishes of its citizens and of other nations; in essence all parties involved in our country's international affairs.
Context
IdeologicalMany U.S. citizens felt the need to go on marches because they felt that the government wasn't recognizing their opinions. During the Vietnam War, there were many many citizens who felt the need to go on these marches in the hopes that their government would consider their opinion.
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PoliticalThe aim of the Cold War was to stop expansion of the political system of communism. The Vietnam War was just an extension of that goal. People believed that if communism was allowed to gain a foothold in Vietnam, it would be able to spread and influence countries all over Asia. The government took into account the opinions of its people, that communism was a huge threat and it needed to be stopped, and went to Vietnam to fight this war.
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Social
Having the ability to claim the "American Dream" has always been
important to the people of the United States. People hold the idea that if
you work hard enough, you can bring up your social status. Communism
rejects that idea. To many people that meant that it went against the very
social structure on which that the U.S. was built.
important to the people of the United States. People hold the idea that if
you work hard enough, you can bring up your social status. Communism
rejects that idea. To many people that meant that it went against the very
social structure on which that the U.S. was built.
Historical Development
U.S. as a World PowerWhen the United States became a world power at the end of the 1800s it stopped following the wishes of it's people to stayed as an isolated country: we began to interfere in affairs that did not take place on our own soil. During the late Cold War and the Vietnam War, we expressively did not follow that policy, going to Vietnam for reasons that most Americans did not believe was a problem with which we should be involved.
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Progressive EraSocial reform was one of the big focuses of the Progressive Era. Throughout this time period U.S. citizens brought their concerns to the focus of the government. Although these concerns were different in many ways from the concerns facing American citizens during the Cold War, they were similar in the respect that Americans were looking at the social features of their world and were finding things that they liked or didn't like.
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World War IVeterans who returned from the battlefront during World War I were heralded as the heroes that they were. The public opinion of them was always very high because they put their lives in danger serving their country. These veterans, from the day they left for battle to their deaths, were given an immense amount of respect.
Alternatively, during and after the Vietnam War, veterans were often ignored when they came home from fighting. If they weren't ignored, oftentimes they were ridiculed. They were at times even spit at and called such horrible things as "baby killers". The people who called them these things were referring to the My Lai massacre. Although it was only a few solders who participated in that massacre, it brought shame on all veterans. Men who fought just has hard for their country as the veterans of WWI had, were not given the respect that they deserved. In the public opinion they were monsters who had betrayed their country. However, some people did respect them for what they did, and called for veterans to participate in anti-war protests. |
Roaring 20'sDuring the roaring 20s a shift happened in what was considered the biggest upcoming threat to the nation. U.S. citizens began to worry about communism during this time. Despite the economic prosperity of the era, Americans began worrying about a social issue that would become the focus of a major war in U.S. history.
The few citizens that were truly worried about Communism though, didn't voice their opinion lough enough, so the government didn't "hear" their message. |
Great Depression & New DealDuring the Great Depression, the government lost the support of many of the citizens of the United States. That loss of support for the government is similar to the loss of support that occurred at nearing the end of the Cold War. At the end of the Cold War, U.S. citizens felt that their opinions weren't being considered in the official policy of the War. During the Great Depression though, the government tried to listen to its citizens and help them in any way they could. But they failed completely for a long time in this situation.
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Specific Events
The Pentagon PapersThe Pentagon Papers were documents that were written secretly by officials at the pentagon. It had both official statements and unofficial Defense Department memos. It also contained other information that was not available to the public, including problems with American public opinion and tactics for peace and negotiation. The Pentagon Papers revealed U.S. officials disregarding the opinion of the people and of other officials in official and private meetings about Vietnam and the rest of the Cold War. Daniel Ellsberg, who was working as an aid in the Defense Department, leaked the Papers to the New York Times. Although nothing in the papers specifically incriminated Nixon, he believed that they would make it harder to move ahead his policy in Vietnam. Nixon tried to obtain a court order against the New York Times to make them stop printing, but by the time he had gotten the order, both the Washington Post and the Boston Globe had begun printing them as well. The Pentagon Papers caused citizens to loose their faith in the government because they believed that their government was not being faithful to them and giving them all of the information they deserved.
Nixon decided that it was in his best interest to try to dig up incriminating information against Ellsberg for the upcoming court case, by breaking into his psychiatrist's office. When the people that Nixon sent were caught, Nixon got in big trouble. That break-in became an important part of the Watergate scandal that caused Nixon to resign. |
CambodiaIn 1970, the United States military decided to invade Cambodia. This decision was based on the fact that North Vietnam troops essentially controlled parts of the eastern border of Cambodia. They used this area to store troops and weapons and also as a base for ground attacks into South Vietnam and to provide a hiding spot for hit-and-run attacks into South Vietnam.
The public condemned this invasion. They saw it as another example of the irrationality of the United States government and the stupidity of the war, attacking a country that the public considered to have no part in the war, and it gave they yet another reason to hate the Vietnam War and the U.S. government. |
My Lai Massacre
In the small sub-township of My Lai on March 16, 1968, there was a massacre of between 347 and 504 unarmed old men, woman, and children. The unprovoked attack outraged people all across the United States who soon began to stand up and voice their opinions so everyone, especially the government could hear them. The opinions of the did not factor into the decision to attack My Lai, and the public reacted likewise even though the Army was only trying to protect the US.
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War Powers ResolutionThe War Powers Resolution was a movement passed by Congress in 1973 in order to restrict the complete power of the office of the president and allow the opinions of other people, such as congressmen, to be heard and acknowledged, before the president acted unilaterally. It insist that congress be notified if a significant number of US troops are moved. The War Powers Resolution is still enacted today.
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Watergate and the fall of South Vietnam The Watergate Scandal that began with the release of the Pentagon Papers resulted in even greater consequences than the resignation of President Richard Nixon. During peace talks with North Vietnam, Nixon had promised to return with the full force of the American army if South Vietnam became threatened.
When Saigon (the capital of South Vietnam) was attacked on April 30, 1975, South Vietnam urgently asked the United States for the support that Nixon had promised, and they were denied. Nixon had resigned because of the Watergate scandal and his successor, Gerald Ford, did not see a reason to send troops back to Vietnam. The public of America hated Nixon and ignored all of the good things that he'd done trying to protect them and only focused on the negative things that he'd done. |
Significance
The attacks on the World Trade Centers on September 11, 2001 caused national fear and outrage. The president suggested we go to war in retaliation. Still many Americans did not and do not see the reason for continued occupation in the middle East. It similar to the Cambodian invasion in 1970, where many Americans saw absolutely no reason for our attacks there. In Cambodia the attacks were considered unjust but during the War on Terror, it is the length of the occupation in the Middle East that most Americans are finding unjust.