Vietnam+War,+1955-75

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The Vietnam War- 1950-1975: Operation Name: Rolling Thunder by Emily M and John S
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Tasks I: Explain the natureand scope of the conflict.-- Due Friday, November 18th The Vietnam War was one of America’s most controversial wars. Vietnam began in 1950 and ended in 1975, it was fought between the Vietnamese and the Americans because the United States was assisting France in trying to contain the spread of communism; this war caused deep divisions in the United States. American citizens began to question our involvement in the war because not everyone agreed on a purpose for being there, one of the reasons many believed we went into war was because of the domino theory, in the words of Kenneth R. Stevens author of Domino Theory: Cold War “fear that the withdrawal of colonial powers from Southeast Asia would lead to the fall of Vietnam…and perhaps India, Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia". Citizens were so involved with the war because of the over dramatization that the media supplied to them. President Lyndon Johnson tried to bolster public support, says James Willbanks and author, by launching, “a public relations campaign emphasizing that progress was being made” (Willbanks). The war ended when the Paris Peace Accords was signed stating, “in-place cease-fire and the withdrawal of U.S. troops by March 1973 (Willbanks). This ended the war however it did not end the citizens opinions, just the opposite, it sparked Americans questioning their government, which is still a debate argued today, and it didn’t fully resolve the divisions in our society.

Stevens, Kenneth R. "Domino Theory: Cold War." // World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society //. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

Willbanks, James. "Vietnam War (Overview)." // World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society //. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

Task II: Analyze the U.S.’s involvement in the conflict.- Due Tuesday, November 22nd The Vietnam War fits in with the topic Pacification. We fought in Vietnam to occupy foreign territory to contain communism. The Vietnam war was established on a precedent because as stated in Bromley Smith’s, and Executive Secretary and National Security Council member, LBJ’s decisions for war document, “before formalizing decisions on the deployment of additional forces he [Johnson] wished to review the present situation with Council members present.” Johnson was the president responsible for bringing troops into war but Nixon was responsible for taking troops out of war. Many citizens wrote to Congress to ask for the troops in Vietnam to be sent home. One of these people was Frank H. Mentz, a man who lost his only son to a disease he contracted while fighting in Vietnam, Metz asks “ How, Gentlemen, can you justify the loss of over 45,000 young American boys' lives in that hell-on-earth for what we have gotten in return, or ever hope to get in return?.” Nixon responded with the Nixon Doctrine that started the “Vietnamization” of the Vietnam War. This Doctrine was ideal for the Vietnam War because it argued a pursuit of peace through a partnership of American Allies, this lead to the soldiers evacuating the foreign territory and ending the war.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon all made big decisions during the Vietnam War. Eisenhower and Dulles increased the military assistance the West in Vietnam. Eisenhower and Dulles also established the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization in September 1954. Modeled on the NATO agreement, SEATO (Brinkley). This treaty would create alliances with the Communist powers. Some decisions made by Kennedy were to try to avoid a nuclear war by not using ours. He increased the military by sending in more helicopters and Military advisors. Also Kennedy wanted to provide Military support for South Vietnam against Communsim. Johnson launched several operations transforming Vietnam into a full-scale American conflict, this is why America became so involved in the war and that why this war gets blamed on Johnson (Edward). Poeple think he got us involved when we didn't need to.

R,Cuddy, Edward. "Vietnam: Mr. Johnson's War-Or Mr. Eisenhower's?." // Review of Politics // 4(2003):351. // eLibrary //. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. "Dwight D. Eisenhower." // The Reader's Companion to the American Presidency //. 2000. // eLibrary //. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. Frank H. Mentz " Open Letter to Congress on **Vietnam**," //Annals of American History.// <__ [|http://www.america.eb.com/america/article?articleId=387410&query=**vietnam**] __> [Accessed November 21, 2011]. . ||
 * < Smith, Bromley. //Student Resources in Context//. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2011.

TASK III: How did United States' Public view this conflict? Due Tuesday, Noevmber 29th The Vietnam War was a highly publicized war that made divisions in our country that show today. Not all American citizens agreed on our reason for being in Vietnam and many protested, these differences lead to arguments that eventually divided the citizens, making Vietnam one of the most controversial wars. Many citizens who’s loved ones fought in the war agreed with Frank H. Mentz when he wrote a note to Congress expressing his frustrations, “Because or your [Congress’] inactivity to stop our participation in this useless, senseless war.” Frank H Mentz sent this letter after he lost his only son to a disease he contracted while fighting in Vietnam. Many other citizens were bitter with the war because of the use of, as Nancy L Stockdale of The University of North Texas says, “conscription ; the draft sent hundreds of thousands of U.S. men to fight in Southeast Asia alongside recruits.” Citizens did not want to send their father’s, uncle’s, brothers, sons, and etc. into Vietnam in the first place. The support a citizen has for a war shows that they understand and believe in the reason of why we are fighting, however, since many citizens were confused and frustrated with the Vietnam War there was no support for the war on the contrary many protested it. When soldiers arrived home from Vietnam they arrived home to a country that was different, a place with divisions that were cutting all over like cracks in a sidewalk, cracks that would forever remain in our country today.

[Accessed November 28, 2011]. ||
 * Frank H. Mentz " Open Letter to Congress on **Vietnam**," //Annals of American History.//< [|**http://www.america.eb.com/america/article?articleId=387410&query=**][|**__Vietnam__**] >

Stockdale, Nancy L. "conscription in the Vietnam War." //Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society//. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 28 Nov. 2011 .

Task IV: Did the U.S. achieve its goals? -- Due Friday, December 2nd At the end of the Vietnam War many people had their opinions on the outcome and some of the decisions made by our presidents. The US started bombing North Vietnam because to talk make agree to a talk about a peace treaty. South Vietnam was falling North Vietnam and Communism and the US wanted out. After finally getting them to agree to negotiate, President Nixon began a policy of "Vietnamization ," which slowly started bringing home United States troops and replacing them with South Vietnamese (Britannica). We finally got out of Vietnam in 1974 we were totally uninvolved in the war. Success was measured in different ways a lot of Americans think we lost the war because we gave up, but others think in long run we would have won. Vietnam affected many people, the people that fought in the war came back with post-traumatic stress.The markers of post-traumatic stress include nightmares; avoiding reminders of the traumatic event; hyper arousal, a physiological response to stress that can lead to irritability and restlessness; and drug use and alcohol abuse (Bannerman). These men and women were coming back with these symptoms. Another problem the war caused was it divided the public, everyone had different opinions about the war. Our enemies (North Vietnam), took over 2/3 of south Vietnam but at the end they came back reunited. Vietnam was also one of the most costly wars we have fought. We lost around 58,000 men and 303,000 were wounded. Also a lot people didn’t agree with the decisions of our presidents. Lyndon B. Johnson was not viewed well because he greatly increased our involvement in the war and people didn’t think we needed to be there. This what Vietnam caused in the United States and elsewhere.

//Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia//. 2003. //eLibrary//. Web. 01 Dec. 2011. Bannerman, Stacy. "Report from the Front Lines: A Perfect Storm: PTSD." //Foreign Policy in Focus//. 12 Mar. 2007: N_A. //eLibrary//. Web. 01 Dec. 2011.

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