Nagin, Kush Per.

2 April 20, 2011 Vietnam DBQ Overall, the Vietnam War was an unpopular conflict that failed in terms of the defense of Vietnam against the communist North Vietnam and changed many Americans opinions about the nations role in the world and on their lives. The war was yet another example of the unneeded escalation of the Cold War, and Communist fears, but in it, America was completely misguided and the damage done to society was immense. American involvement in Vietnam was huge, and increased conflict and tension in the United States because of the unpopularity of the governments decisions, which caused great social mistrust and disobedience, political corruption in the Nixon and Johnson administrations, and economic mismanagement of funds for the war effort compared to domestic social programs. As America became more involved in Vietnam, the governments reasoning behind adding more troops and advisors became more and more confusing to the general public. Following the taking of office by Lyndon B. Johnson and Congress initiation of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964, the was a sudden surge of troop number in the Vietnam region. By empowering President Johnson to take any means necessary to check against the Communist posed against Americas safety, Congress granted a dangerous amount of power to the executive branch (Document A). Once the military draft was instated in 1965,

men were being sent to Vietnam without any choice over the matter, often times only having and high school education, and being below the upper class (Document F/B). May of these men being colored, fighting for rights they didnt even have back home, and having the highest death rates out of all combatants to fight (Document C). In Vietnam, many of these men suffered injury and extreme cases of psychological meltdown, leading to drug addictions, post traumatic stress disorder, depression, and homelessness upon returning home to America. Currently, a third of the homeless population is composed of veterans from the Vietnam War. Following the Tet Offensive in 1968, the end of the war was far off in the horizon, as the Viet Cong had made a defiant push back into the South and its capital of Seoul. A good amount of younger people back in the states became involved in protests and drug use, causing the middle class American citizen to feel distant from the radical hippies. This war in Vietnam caused a great social divide between the younger generations and the older silent majority. During the Vietnam War, the office of the President was filled with rampant corruption and scandal, leading to the mistrust of the government and authority. Lyndon Johnson, though praised for his work in civil rights, was highly criticized for his insistence of involvement in Vietnam. In 1964, the American ships, the U.S.S. Maddox and U.S.S. C. Joy Turner were reportedly fired upon off the coast of Vietnam in the Tonkin Gulf, leading to United States air strikes in retaliation. Johnson used this incident to persuade Congress to grant power to him to take all measure necessary to defend Southeast Asia against aggression and subversion, yet when crew member of this ship were asked about the incident, they responded with confusion, saying nothing of the sort had ever happened. By creating this story, and spinning it to his favor, Johnson was able to gather a great amount

of power for himself, and use it in his favor (Document A). In 1968, upon realizing that he had no chance at reelection, Lyndon Johnson decided not to run for the presidency another time. His successor was Richard Nixon, a Republican. Initially, President Nixon had good approval ratings, and received great support and popularity, allowing him to be able to mobilize the silent majority of America, making the war a matter of patriotism, rather than Communist discontent (Document G). Though Nixon decreased the war effort, he was still highly paranoid about the escalated rivalry between the Democratic and Republican parties that was an effect of the war. During the midst of this war, the Watergate Scandal broke loose, ruining Nixon, as he cited what he called an executive privilege as a reason for not handing over recorded phone tapes. This refusal following the scandal caused a decrease of American faith in the government. Politics and the government during the Vietnam War were tainted, as seen by the events at the 1968 Democratic National Convention from which violence occurred, and the Watergate Scandal. Economically, the war took away from many programs that were important to John F. Kennedys War on Poverty, and Lyndon Johnsons Great Society program. Since, a large amount of the federal budget was being spent on the defense and military forces, there was an insufficient amount of money for these programs to properly function (Document D). The Great Society program of Lyndon Johnson was being overtaken by the tension caused by the war, and because each was at the opposite ends of a rope, only one could win. The negatives of his foreign policy were detrimental to his domestic social plans, causing them to not realize their full potential (Document D). This event was foretold to him though, as in President Dwight Eisenhowers farewell address in 1960, he warned the nation of the military-industrial complex, and once more repeated by George McGovern in 1972

(Document H). The only effective economic management of the Nixon administration was the gradual decrease of military involvement in Vietnam. However, because of the lack of funds, he could not provide the proper health care, and social programs much needed by the veterans returned home from the war. The unpopularity of governments decisions, corruption of the high political figures, and mismanagement of funds during the Vietnam War greatly contributed to the chaotic periods of the 1960s and 1970s. Even today, the effects of the war can be seen, as the publics faith in politics and foreign affairs has greatly diminished, leaving behind a bad memory of tension and lack of trust in the governing bodies, making politics and government hard to properly implement.