The USA Conflict Home and Abroad: 4.1 Flashcards
Opposition to the war
1
Q
When did opposition to the war begin to ramp up and why (65-68) ?
A
- 1965-68 (Johnson’s presidency)
- this is largely due to Johnson sending ground troops into Vietnam, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964, JOHNSON’S USE OF THE DRAFT and the US public feeling as if they and their Congressmen had no say in escalation of the war (when Johnson could have easily shortened the time of the war)
2
Q
Describe examples of growing opposition to the war from 1964 -67
A
- Martin Luther King had criticised the war privately from 1965, then publicly in marches and speeches from 1967
[] some criticised him, saying his anti-war activism detracted from his work in the civil rights movement - 2 November 1965, a Quaker self-immolated out of deference to Quang Duc in 1963 outside of the Pentagon
[] Pentagon = US military headquarters
[] visible and polarising protest
[] brought massive publicity to the issues in Vietnam - 9 November 1965, Catholic also self-immolated outside the UN building in New York
[] the UN was supposed to keep peace in the world, so was significant symbolically as well as bringing publicity due to being the second self-immolation of religious men in the space of a little more than a week - Oregon’s Senator was the only person in Congress who spoke against the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
[] despite this, many argued that his opposition was based on the fact that he was a pacifist, not any specific objection to the Vietnam War itself - 1967, Vietnam veterans formed the protest group Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW)
[] spoke at demonstrations and meetings
[] handed back their medals
[] collected evidence about US military misconduct during the war, including the regular murder of Vietnamese civilians
[] demonstrated the shift in public opinion, as well as the atrocities that the US was committing in Vietnam to be able to turn previously supportive people against it
3
Q
Give 3 ways in which public opinion about Vietnam was measured
A
- opinion polls like Gallup Polls
[] run regularly
[] covered variety of questions surrounding Vietnam, with some questions repeated to measure the shift in public opinion over time - looking at the changing policies of politicians
[] politicians had to have popular policies and beliefs amongst the people to gain votes
[] looking at the shift in policies from supportive to unsupportive of the war overtime demonstrated the shift in public opinion - looking at the size, demographic of the turnout and issues targeted in demonstrations/protests can determine the public opinion towards the war as well
[] media coverage of these protests and whether the coverage was negative or positive can also be significant
[] counter-demonstrations are also significant; more counter demonstrations than demonstrations meant that more people likely supported the view of the counter-demonstrations, whilst roughly the same amount and turnout etc. of demonstrations vs. counter-demonstrations can suggest that public opinion was evenly split, etc.
4
Q
Describe reasons for growing opposition to the war as time went on
A
- short term:
[] Tet Offensive
[] presidential policy changes that ran against former promises, like Nixon’s invasions of Cambodia and Laos in 1970 and 71
[] Johnson’s use of the draft to get ground troops for the Vietnam War - long term:
[] rising death toll
[] frustration with the US government for spending money on a foreign war rather than solving issues within the US such as racism and poor ghetto conditions
[] frustration amongst black people who didn’t want to fight for a country that regularly subjected them to racist violence and did nothing to stop it
[] media representation of the war as violent, cruel and bad vs. the government insisting that the US was winning and doing good in Vietnam
[] distrust of the government due to frequent lies and falsification to pacify the public
5
Q
Describe the growth and significance of the student movement in the US for opposition to the Vietnam War
A
- many younger Americans of university age began to stray away from the views of their parents
[] counter-culture became popular, leading to more open voicing of displeasure with the war - a minority of students took part in anti-war demonstrations and movements, BUT those who did generated mass publicity and positive media support
[] used similar tactics to civil-rights campaigners like sit-ins, boycotts and strikes where they refused to attend classes
[] unfortunately, as time went on, though student protest got larger and more organised, it also grew more violent, leading to a gradual collapse of positive attention from the nation generally
[] got lots of publicity because most students were white and middle-class, so were likely to be listened to more than black or non-white students - SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) set up in 1960 and were infamous across the US not only for protesting the war, but for supporting communists like the North Vietnamese, the Vietcong and Fidel Castro, the communist leader of Cuba
[] led to EVEN less positive attention for the student movement
[] led to some Americans viewing anti-war protesters as siding with the communists and thus led to increasing violence between anti-war and pro-war protesters
6
Q
Who were SDS ?
A
- Students for a Democratic Society
- established in 1960
- radical anti-war group that supported the communist regime in Vietnam and Cuba
- by 1965, had 3000 members on 80 college campuses
- used shocking slogans, like “Hey, hey, LBJ [President Johnson], how many kids did you kill today?”
[] generated a LOT of publicity for the student movement and meant that the movement grew in size amongst students
[] HOWEVER, a lot of the media coverage and general opinion of such radical groups was vastly negative, especially due to the anti-communist hostility still very much present in the US after the second Red Scare, ending in 1957
7
Q
What was the draft ?
A
- compulsory service in the military forces, communicated to those chosen by draft cards (telling them where and when to report)
- people were drafted from 18 years of age upwards, although few over 26 were called to fight
8
Q
Why did the draft lead to a rise in opposition to the Vietnam War ?
A
- people argued that the draftees were much too young
- argued that draftees were not well enough trained
[] higher risk of death or severe injury, as well as being marketed by the public to the government as generally hurting the war efforts - argued that it took advantage of poor black (and white) families, as they’d be the least able to avoid the draft
- argued that it took advantage of wrongly imprisoned black people and civil rights activists, as they were offered to either go to prison (with an unreasonable sentence) or fight in Vietnam; for many, Vietnam was the preferable choice as they’d then be acquitted and could continue their lives
[] took advantage of the unfair situation and was a form of racism in itself
9
Q
How did Nixon make the draft system less objectionable in 1969 ?
A
- changed it to a lottery system
- men born between 1944 and 1950 assigned a random number
- each time more troops were needed, a random number was drawn and these were the draftees that would have to go fight
- made the draft system fairer and less targeted towards young, poor and often black men who couldn’t dodge the draft
- mixed up the ages of draftees, negating the issue of draftees being too young
10
Q
Describe the key ways in which people dodged the draft, or helped others to do so
A
- college/university students could delay participating in the draft until they graduated (educational grounds)
- clergymen and Church trainees exempt as violence went against religion
- some government workers, agricultural or industrial workers were exempt
- those who could prove that leaving their family would be a “hardship” were exempt (such as being the only breadwinner or carer)
- the only sons of a family were exempt
- physically and mentally unfit people were exempt
- people could apply to be Conscious Objectors (COs) and would be exempt from fighting as such, but still had to contribute towards the war effort through weapons/equipment factory work, and if refused they’d be imprisoned
- studying/working abroad (usually only an option for the rich)
- illegally leaving the USA or going into hiding (about 40-50 000 were estimated to have done this, though numbers are uncertain)
- anti-war activists educated people of their rights and gave out pamphlets instructing people in applying to be COs or applying for exemption under any other category that they fit the bill of
11
Q
Describe the importance of the media for growing opposition to the war
A
- the Vietnam War was the first televised war, where reporters could go into war zones with troops and were not censored in their coverage of events
- ordinary Americans saw footage and documentaries about the war, as well as reports on both pro and anti-war protests
[] 21 October 1967, Washington, a 100 000 strong anti-war protest was broadcast live
[] seeing protests like these as well as hearing speeches made and seeing the turnout could influence public opinion greatly - showed Americans the war in uncomfortable detail and MADE them think about it, which led to an increase of opposition to the war
- coverage that conflicted with what the government had stated led people to lose faith in the government and to trust the media and reporters more
[] this meant a rise in opposition overall, as well as greater tendency to side with the “biases” of anti-war reporters, again increasing opposition indirectly
[] the Tet Offensive and Walter Cronkite of CBS’ coverage and honest statement of the Vietnam War’s unwinnable state is a perfect example of this
12
Q
Describe the key events of the My Lai Massacre of 1968
A
- 16 March 1968
- US troops in the Charlie Company, led by lieutenant Calley sent to village My Lai
[] told would come under VC fire - inaccurate, as there were only civilian women, children and old people in the village - for 4 hours, the Charlie Company massacred the innocent population of My Lai
[] even stopped for lunch
[] photographers present took pictures and released them to the media (but weren’t shown to the public) - Lieutenant Calley later argued that he was under orders from higher-ups to kill everyone in the village regardless of VC affiliation
[] plausible; the structure of the US military as well as training provided often forced any instinct to question orders out of personnel, HOWEVER, such a breach in consciousness and right and wrong due to simply following orders without any question is unlikely due to the nature of the massacre
13
Q
Describe the key events in the cover-up and then subsequent exposing of the My Lai Massacre, March 1968
A
- military announced successful mission straight after the massacre, saying:
[] My Lai VC base destroyed, 128 VC killed - soldiers and a helicopter pilot present at the time of the massacre reported the violence to army officers, as did chiefs from villages near to My Lai
- army organised a cover-up
[] faked investigation, saying 20 accidental casualties during the mission - one soldier collected eyewitness evidence about the massacre and sent it to key US politicians in April of 1969 to expose the cover-up
- new enquiry began, and 15 July 1970, reported that there was indeed a cover-up
- 5 September 1970, Calley charged with murder and the public FIRST HEAR OF THE MASSACRE
[] MUCH PUBLICITY
[] SHOCK
[] RISE IN OPPOSITION TO THE WAR AND DISTRUST OF THE GOVERNMENT DUE TO THERE BEING TWO YEARS BETWEEN THE COVER-UP AND ITS EXPOSING, AS WELL AS THE FABRICATION OF EVIDENCE FROM HIGH-UP ARMY OFFICIALS - 13 November 1970, 35 newspapers reported the massacre and even further publicity and outrage spread throughout the public - many didn’t know what to believe as evidence and accounts between the government and eyewitnesses were contradictory; many didn’t want to believe their government and military would lie to them
[] CID (Criminal Investigations Division) conducted further investigations and found that 347 were killed at My Lai in total and that 35 Charlie Company members should have been prosecuted
[] also found that Calley was following orders of superiors, and the cover-up was organised at high levels, including even generals - 5 December, the photos taken at My Lai were shown on CBS
14
Q
Describe the key features of Lieutenant Calley’s trial and charged against the Charlie Company, as well as the public’s reactions to the outcomes in 1970-71
A
- 18 officers out of the 35 proposed by the CID investigation were given criminal charges, but only Calley stood military trial
- Calley was found guilty of killing 22 civilians and was sentenced to life imprisonment on the 29th of March 1971
[] many thought it was unfair that only Calley stood trial despite the fact that the other men actually followed his and his superiors’ orders too instead of protesting, and also that senior officers were equally guilty by giving the order in the first place - Calley appealed against the life sentence
- 3 April, Nixon promised to personally review Calley’s case
[] also ruled that Calley should be confined at his military base, not prison, whilst his appeal was heard - on appeal, his sentence was reduced to 20 years
[] Calley was released after only 3 and a half years under house arrest
[] public outcry and discontent at the relatively light slap on the wrist for an outright massacre of the Vietnamese villagers in My Lai
15
Q
Describe the events leading up to the Kent State Shootings
A
- 30 April, Nixon announced invasion of Cambodia
- 1 May, students buried a copy of the Constitution as protest
[] one, who was a veteran, buried his discharge papers too
[] 500 students altogether protested - evening of 1 May, fighting between anti and pro-war groups
- 2 May, many demonstrations and counter-demonstrations
- evening of 2 May, Officer Training Corps building on Kent State campus was burned down
[] now over 1000 student protesters
[] Mayor declared emergency, and National Guard troops arrived with rifles and tear gas - 3 May, several demonstrations broken up by the National Guard with tear gas
- 4 May, officials banned a 12am demonstration
[] the ban was ignored by around 2000 protesters
[] the National Guard couldn’t break up the protest with tear gas
[] students threw bricks and empty tear gas canisters at the National Guard
[] the National Guard fired into the crowd and killed 4 unarmed students
16
Q
Describe the public reaction to the Kent State Shootings
A
- mass public horror
[] BECAUSE STUDENTS WERE WHITE AND MIDDLE CLASS
[] two black students at Jackson State University were killed two weeks later in anti-war demonstrations, with significantly less publicity - photos taken by a photography student of the shootings were published in worldwide news and generated a lot of opposition to the war internationally and nationally
[] artists like Bob Dylan wrote protest songs, with some even being banned from being played on the US radio because of how they badly reflected on the government’s violence
17
Q
Describe the key reasons for political opposition to the war (in Congress)
A
- some congressmen were pacifists and simply opposed any and all war regardless of situation
- the war was extremely costly, costing $167 billion in total
[] this money could have been used for the good of the US instead - there was growing possibility for tensions and war with the USSR and China, especially in the context of the Cold War
- the USA with every new press release was being internationally condemned more and more
- political opposition to the war later on in the war won politicians more votes, so more politicians adopted anti-war views that helped them win votes and elections
- some politicians saw the war as unwinnable
[] knew that the NV would simply take over as soon as the US left
[] limited war prevented USSR and Chinese tensions with the US but did very little in actually achieving the goal of stopping the North Vietnamese and Vietcong communists
[] the VC guerrillas were extremely difficult to hunt out due to dressing like civilians, and accidental murder of civilians suspected to be VC gave the US extremely bad publicity
18
Q
Describe worldwide opposition to the war
A
- USA was supposedly the leader of the “free world”
[] seeing the press release showing the USA to support oppressive South Vietnamese government and using violent, cruel tactics to keep them in control was deeply shocking to a lot of the world - gave the USSR and China Cold War propaganda against the USA
- from 1965 onwards, there were regular international demonstrations against the war in Vietnam, with events like My Lai sparking bigger protests
[] June 1972, a photo of 9 year-old Kim Phan showed the destruction and harm caused to civilians by using napalm to bomb Vietnam, and set off many worldwide demonstrations just the day after its release to the press
