American Public Opinion of the Vietnam War
At the beginning of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, in 1965,the American Public favored the idea of war because they feared thethreat of communism. Polls conducted in 1965, showed 80 percent of thepopulation agreed with President Johnson and were for the war(Rousseau 11). The U.S. got involved with the war to stop communismfrom spreading throughout South Asia. Americans were afraid if onecountry on South Asia turned to communism, it would extend to othercountries, which is known as the “Domino Theory”. The United Statesthought if they stopped communism in Vietnam, it would stop the spreadof communism. At this time, America saw itself as the “good guys” ofthe war. By 1969, the supposed quick war was not over, the amounts ofAmerican casualties were rising, and the cost of War had increased theamount of taxes, which frustrated the American people. Theparticipation of the United States in the Vietnam War was
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the subject of much debate with the American Public throughout theduration of the war.
The war in Vietnam did not cause any direct harm on the United States.The conflict was between the Vietcong, rebel communists in NorthVietnam, and the South Vietnamese. The U.S. became involved to preventthe spread of communism. America had confidence they could go intoVietnam and stop the communist with no problem, because they had wonevery war they entered, they had the best army and air force, and werethe richest country at the time. The USSR was also a communist countryat the time. The U.S. disliked the USSR, because they had differentbeliefs than th…
…rican taxpayers had to pay for it.Students were against the war because after the African Americans,they were the next to be drafted. The students saw the Vietnam War assomething they could fight against. They held peaceful
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demonstrations and protests at universities all across the country.
In conclusion, the American Public turned against the war in Vietnambecause the U.S. military would not have been able to win the war. Thewar had lasted much longer then anyone had expected and America hadlost many men. The media coverage of the war also convinced people thewar needed to end. People today still remember the horrible picturesand footage displayed on the nightly news. The U.S. got involved in1965 to stop the threat of communism and by 1975, the war was over andthe U.S. was defeated.
