Nat Schulhof
Mr. Kemmerer
USH
3 April 2018
First 25 Notes
The Vietnam War was a fight between North and South Vietnam that took place from 1957 to 1975.
The US supported the South and they fought the Communist North.
This was a continuation of the War of Indochina.
The Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China aided the North, while The Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines sided with the South.
The United States death count was above 45,000 people making it the fourth costliest war in USH.
Ho Chi Minh was the leader in the North Vietnam with communist ideology.
Although there was fighting and war, both the North and South Vietnam wanted independence.
The US provided support and aid to the leader of Southern Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem.
Ngo Dinh Diem and JFK were assassinated within weeks of each other and this shook up the way the US had to handle the war.
The US fought the war with the strategy to fight a war of attrition.
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3401804406/UHIC?u=pebb92117&sid=UHIC&xid=36b4974f.
11. The youth of America along with many others were very opposed to the war in Vietnam.
12. People believed that if this was a civil war in Vietnam, the US should let them fight it.
13. The reason the United States got involved was because this was during the cold war and the United State’s fear of Communism kept them involved.
14. In America during the war, there were many anti-war protests and movements that effectively expressed that the American public did not support the war.
15. The first protests began in 1965 in Washington DC where 10,000 people gathered.
16. A group called SDS or Students for a Democratic Society were very prevalent in promoting the protest of the civil war. They primarily worked on Cold War civil rights and the Civil Rights Movement before focusing on Vietnam.
17. In 1965, when US involvement seemed minimal, people kind of ignored the protests, however when the involvement picked up again, the protests became much more supported.
18. When Nixon began to plan troop withdrawals, this calmed down the protests.
19. The anti-war movements suffered its worst setbacks after the death of MLK and Robert Kennedy.
20. The people were not happy with the way Nixon wa handling the war and throughout his presidency the protests seemed to be more and more supported.
21. The handling of the war and the burnden it cause made LBJ decide not to re-run for president.
22. In 1968 a lot of people who supported the war turned toward bringing troops home because of events like the Tet Offensive and the Attack on the US Embassy in Saigon.
23. This war caused an immense amount of civil distrust in its government.
24. People became furious when student protesters were killed during their protests.
25. Nixon’s watergate scandal caused even more civil distrust in its government than the handling of the war had before.
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3427300334/UHIC?u=pebb92117&sid=UHIC&xid=4df68cd2
Historical Background
Revised Inquiry Question: What factors led to the rise of the anti-war movement during the Vietnam War?
Throughout the middle of the twentieth century, after the end of WWII, United States military officials became very concerned about containing the spread of communism throughout the free world. With this concern, the US felt the need to involve themselves in international affairs. They helped rebuild Europe through the Marshall plan which was the US pumping funds into Western Europe in order to be strong and focus on becoming self-sufficient, capitalist nations again. Once the United States saw that Vietnam could “fall” into the trap of communism, they felt the need to step in. Ho Chi Minh, the leader of Northern Vietnam really liked the idea of turning Vietnam into a communist nation. This greatly scared the United States and prompted them to send military “advisors” (actually soldiers) into Vietnam. Vietnam inevitably became divided among North and South and the United States began to fight the Vietnamese civil war alongside the capitalist South Vietnam. The United States supported the South Vietnam Leader Ngo Dinh Diem who in essence ran an United States like government under the close watch of US Officials. Once the war in Vietnam broke out in 1964, the United States began to draft eligible men to fight in Vietnam. People had very mixed emotions about this because young men were being sent to fight a war that the public believed the United States had no business being involved with. A large group of people believed that this was a civil war between North and South Vietnam and United States involvement would only exacerbate the situation and force unnecessary United States soldier casualties. Another reason the public were so divided was because an individual could evade the draft if that person was enrolled in college. This made it possible for wealthier families and individuals to buy their way out of military service and effectively not put their lives at risk just because they had the funds needed to buy their safety. Therefore, families and men who were in the middle to lower, or working classes in America had no way to buy their way out of the war and were sent overseas to fight a war they did not believe in, while the wealthier Americans evaded the process completely. Even the most famous of people such as Elvis Presley and Willie Mays were drafted for service in Vietnam. The draft itself caused many issues even though it was only used for about one third of the total military force, however, the drafted men became the riflemen, also known as ground soldiers, who were put in the most dangerous of situations and were killed more than any other branch section in the military. Another factor that really upset the public was the fact that the United State’s policy on the draft was not made completely clear to the American People and this led to people feeling as if the draft was more subjective rather than objective. On top of that, the rules of exemption were not always enforced as well as people expected it to be. From this the Anti-War movement began. A major form of protest coming directly from the Anti-war movement was the burning of draft cards by men who were drafted. This was an offense that was considered to be a criminal offense and could inevitably lead to a fine or even time in prison. Another form of protest by young drafted males was to flee the United States and make their way north to Canada who had no interest in being involved with an international conflict of which they had nothing to gain. The Canadian mindset was the belief of many Americans during war time. The Anti-War movement was a series of protests throughout America against the Vietnam War and especially the fact that young, American men were being killed for apparently no reason. People also began to protest against the government of the United States because of an immense amount of distrust in the government under Richard Nixon. This all began after certain confidential documents about the Vietnam War agenda were leaked to the New York Times revealing all sorts of information that not only had Nixon held from the people of the United States, but also, the Congress and Senate. The people who were told to really trust their government and follow their lead to restoration after the Great Depression, are now finding out that their government has been lying to the public and keeping secrets from the other people within itself. This untrusting mentality among the public of the United States only fueled the already chaotic fire of protests throughout the late 1900’s.
Focused 25 Notes
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of 1964 was effectively the beginning of the Vietnam War and led to the American people desiring a response to the Vietnamese attacks.
The United States never effectively declared war on Vietnam because a declaration must come from congress.
LBJ sent troops to Vietnam because the President can’t declare war but can send troops as a response to a conflict.
LBJ was using the Gulf of Tonkin resolution in order to back his extensive bombing campaigns and to justify sending hundreds of thousands of troops.
Marches of protest against this war began as early as April of 1965 in DC.
The beginning of the draft led to massive amounts of protests on college campuses.
Lack of accurate communication between the government and the people led to an increase in protest against the Vietnam War.
Also, the increase in American casualties sparked a huge uproar of angry people about the war.
The antiwar movement became a part of the culture in America because it was a motion that people could really get behind and be a part of.
The American people did not like the fact that young men were being dropped into an unfamiliar area and forced to find and kill people who were expecting them.
Popular forms of resistance to the draft and the war was the burning of the draft cards.
While effective in getting across the point, this could land people with fine or in prison.
This was an issue because of the Selective Service Act of 1948 which forbids someone to evade registration in the military after being drafted.
Americans who knew that the United States had not actually declared war felt that this was not a legitimate war.
This formed a notion that they had the right to stand up to “Illegitimate Authority”
With this, a document called “A call to resist illegitimate authority” was formed and was signed by over 300 people.
Five major antiwar activists were arrested when their plan connected to this document was revealed. They were planning on blatantly disobeying the Selective Service Act.
This document was released and circulated to the public in summer of the 1967.
This document was all over magazines and newspapers.
This led to a huge revolt by many members of the antiwar movement turning in 1000 draft cards of people refusing to fight the war.
On October 21st 1967, 70’000 people marched on Washington to “confront the war makers”.
Also, when the Pentagon papers were released to the public, thousands went and protested at the Pentagon.
The release of the Pentagon papers further added to the people’s mistrust of their government.
The public was even more infuriated when it was released that the United States was bombing Cambodia.
The movement calmed down once the troops were brought home.
"Raskin, Marcus, Waskow, Arthur, and Chomsky, Noam." American Social Reform Movements Reference Library, edited by Carol Brennan, et al., vol. 4: Primary Sources, UXL, 2007, pp. 173-187. U.S. History In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX2587100076/UHIC?u=pebb92117&sid=UHIC&xid=919511a9. Accessed 16 Apr. 2018
Three Primary Sources-
“A call to resist illegitimate authority”
"PRIMARY SOURCE: Draft Card Burning Protest: Protestor Ken Love burns his draft card in Chicago, June…" Government, Politics, and Protest: Essential Primary Sources, edited by K. Lee Lerner, et al., Gale, 2006. U.S. History In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PC2687587057/UHIC?u=pebb92117&sid=UHIC&xid=a4ca56a7. Accessed 17 Apr. 2018.
3. Nixon’s speech on Cambodian Incursion
Outline
I. Introduction
A. The Vietnam War, from the get-go was not supported by the American people. The amount of death and lack of progress in this war infuriated the American public because these were young men dying in a foreign land because the US is fighting a civil war for another country. Also, the discovery of the government lying to the public sparked a huge amount of speculation and mistrust.
B. Throughout the middle of the twentieth century, after the end of WWII, United States military officials became very concerned about containing the spread of communism throughout the free world. With this concern, the US felt the need to involve themselves in international affairs. They helped rebuild Europe through the Marshall plan which was the US pumping funds into Western Europe in order to be strong and focus on becoming self-sufficient, capitalist nations again. Once the United States saw that Vietnam could “fall” into the trap of communism, they felt the need to step in. Ho Chi Minh, the leader of Northern Vietnam really liked the idea of turning Vietnam into a communist nation. This greatly scared the United States and prompted them to send military “advisors” (actually soldiers) into Vietnam. Vietnam inevitably became divided among North and South and the United States began to fight the Vietnamese civil war alongside the capitalist South Vietnam.
C. What factors led to the rise of the anti-war movement during the Vietnam War?
D. Your answer to the Research Question—Your Thesis Statement
While the people involved with the Antiwar Movement in America during the Vietnam War protested the war as a whole, a combination of lack of support for the soldiers in Vietnam, and the lack of progress made by troops who seemed to be getting killed for no reason, along with a growing distrust of the American government by the American people led to the rise and continued progress of the Antiwar movement.
II. Historical Background (Who, What, When, Where)
A. What is the history of your topic?
The Antiwar movement is something that has been around America since America’s founding era, however, the Vietnam War was when the war was at its most prevalent. Once the Vietnam War broke out, a series of events that upset the public of the US led to the rise of the Antiwar Movement.
B. What happened? Specifically outline this
A factor that really upset the public was the fact that the United State’s policy on the draft was not made completely clear to the American People and this led to people feeling as if the draft was more subjective rather than objective. On top of that, the rules of exemption were not always enforced as well as people expected it to be. From this the Anti-War movement began. A major form of protest coming directly from the Anti-war movement was the burning of draft cards by men who were drafted. This was an offense that was considered to be a criminal offense and could inevitably lead to a fine or even time in prison. Another form of protest by young drafted males was to flee the United States and make their way north to Canada who had no interest in being involved with an international conflict of which they had nothing to gain. The Canadian mindset was the belief of many Americans during war time. The Anti-War movement was a series of protests throughout America against the Vietnam War and especially the fact that young, American men were being killed for apparently no reason. People also began to protest against the government of the United States because of an immense amount of distrust in the government under Richard Nixon. This all began after certain confidential documents about the Vietnam War agenda were leaked to the New York Times revealing all sorts of information that not only had Nixon held from the people of the United States, but also, the Congress and Senate. The people who were told to really trust their government and follow their lead to restoration after the Great Depression, are now finding out that their government has been lying to the public and keeping secrets from the other people within itself. This untrusting mentality among the public of the United States only fueled the already chaotic fire of protests throughout the late 1900’s.
III. Consequences and Analysis (How and/or why)
A. What factors led to this event , idea, or person happening the way it did?
The Antiwar movement was constantly protesting and resisting the war and in essence the American government as a whole. While certain information was released about the Vietnam War, or the lie coming out of the government to the people really spiked the amount of resistance.
IV. Conclusion
A. What is the answer to your question?- Restating of your Thesis
While the people involved with the Antiwar Movement in America during the Vietnam War protested the war as a whole, a combination of lack of support for the soldiers in Vietnam, and the lack of progress made by troops who seemed to be getting killed for no reason, along with a growing distrust of the American government by the American people led to the rise and continued progress of the Antiwar movement.
B. What does this all mean? What does this tell us about the world?
This shows that the people of America are able to rally together and stand up for something that they believe in. This gives the people strength, power and the ability to rise above the stigma of protest in order to stand up for what is right. This shows that the Antiwar movement fought for the people fighting for freedom when it seemed as if the United States was fighting a war that caused nothing other than American casualties.