Vietnam War: Social and Political

¶ … Vietnam War: Social and Political Outcomes

The Vietnam War remains one of the most fascinating aspects of American culture to study because it reveals much about the human psyche. The war might have started out innocently but as it raged on, those forced to devote their lives to this cause became increasingly concerned with what was happing overseas. Protests erupted because students felt like they should know about the war if they were going to be drafted to fight in that war. In addition, the protests spread to the public, who began to question the purpose of the war. While public opinion would not have changed the outcome of the war, it did change how politicians approached it.

Student protests were fueled by fur because "draft policies largely exempted college students and men with critical civilian skills, the armed forces in Vietnam were largely composed of the least privileged young Americans. African-Americans were disproportionately represented in the army and accounted for disproportionately high share of combat fatalities" (Bailey 961). The invasion of Cambodia set off a flurry of protests. The most famous of these incidents is Kent State University in Ohio when the National Guard was called in to control the angry crowd of students. Four students were killed in an attempt to quiet the crowd. In a similar event at Jackson State College in Mississippi, two students were killed. These two events represent the unrest that was bubbling beneath the surface as tension grew. Bailey claims that the United States "fell prey to turmoil as rioters and arsonists convulsed the land" (961). President Johnson endured brutal chants from protesters that simply would not go away. In 1967, over 300,000 protested in New York and many began burning their draft cards in defiance of the war. Protesters marched on Washington and those in Washington realized that this problem with the war was not going to go away.

It did not help matters that America seemed to be floundering in Vietnam. Things were not good for the soldiers and there was no plan for things to get better. This state of affairs in Washington only made tension in America worse. As time went by, "key moderates within and outside the government became convinced that victory was beyond the resources of the United States" (1207). Davidson writes that student protests "forced policy makers and citizens to take a sobering look at the justice of the war" (Davidson 1206). Robert McNamara, Defense Secretary, was the "most dramatic defector from the establishment position" (1207). McNamara eventually came to doubt the success of America and finally began to question the morality of the situation. In 1968, things took a turn for the worse when television reports showed the "Vietnamese side of the war" (1208) and this event was followed by the Tet Offensive, which caught Americans off guard. These events were shocking to the Americans and combat news on the television every night took its toll. Davidson notes that the "problem with morale only underlined the dilemma facing President Nixon" (1217). The public outcry against the war took down President Johnson and it was such an important issue that it became part of the presidential primary.