US Opinions On The War Flashcards
Growth in opposition from 1965-68
MLK, from 1967, marched and spoke at anti war protests
1967, some Vietnam veterans formed Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Noman Morrison
Norman Morrison
2nd November 1965, Quaker, Norman Morrison burned himself to deah outside of the pentagon, mimicking Budhist monks in Vietnam
Senator Wayne Morse
Senator of Oregon who was one of two senators who spoke out against the Gulf of Tonkin resolution
Measuring public opinion: opinion polls
Most regular were gallup polls which regularly covered specific issues in Vietnam
Measuring public opinion: politicians
They tend to react if an issue is significant enough to affect votes. Their views can be useful for measuring public opinion
Measuring public opinion: demonstrations
Their size, the people involved and the issues targeted showed opinions on the war, as did counter demonstrations
Events in the war which caused growing opposition to the war in the late 1960s
Tet offensive, invading cambodia, changes in presidential policy
Imapcts on US civillians which caused opposition to grow in the late 1960s
Growing death toll, loss and injury of family members, length of the war and rising taxes (due to the cost of the war)
Black people’s opposition to the war
Many black people, including the ‘Black Panthers’ opposed the war because they didn’t want to fight for a country where they experienced racism. Mohammed Ali refused to fight for religious reasons also.
Why was the draft so controversial
Growing opposition to sending young untrained men to war
Mainly poor families were least able to avoid it
Lottery system introduced 1969- very unpopular
650,000 were drafted, 1,000,000 in reserve
How was the draft avoided
College students could delay until graduation
Studying or working abroad
Only sons were exempt
Some workers were exempt
Media coverage
It was the first widely-televised war where reporters travelled with troops amd weren’t censored. Americans saw news footage and documentries about the war
Media coverage of protests
Americans also saw reports of Anti-war protests, such as 100,000 strong protest on 21st October 1967 in Washington. Would’ve impacted public opinion.
How students protested against the war
Burning draft cards
Anti war marches + Anti anti war marches
Sit ins, boycots ect
Veiws on the war were mixed
Counter culture
Was based on going against the culture and ideology of your country in a movement
-anti authoritarian / anti government
Why student opposition grew
1965-70, student numbers rose by 2.5 million
Counter culture
SDS
SDS
Students for Democratic Society, set up in 1960
Had at least 3000 members by 1965
Opposed the war and supported the North Vietnamese
Carried banners of communist leaders
How did media coverage influence opinions of the war
TV showed antiwar protests as well as uncomfortable detail of the war itself.
CBS reporter Walter Cronkite said the Tet offensive was a stalemate at best, contrary to the government calling it a success. Suggested the gov was lying and the public belived him.
My Lai Massacre 1968: orders for charlie company
Search and destroy mission- were told they’d come under VC fire in My Lai village but didn’t
My Lai Massacre 1968: actions of charlie company
Over next few hours, led by Liuetenant Calley, killed every human and animal in the village and claimed they’d been ordered to. The US Army, immediately after, called it a successful search and destroy mission.
My Lai Massacre 1968: US Army cover up
They announce they’d killed 128 VC
Soldiers, a helicopter pilot and chiefs from other villages reported the massacre.
The Army, to cover it up, announced 20 accidental civilian deaths.
My Lai Massacre 1968: Ron Rindenhour
(Soldier) collected eyes witness evidence of the massacre. April 1969 he sent it to key US politicians
My Lai Massacre 1968: the enquiries
Criminal investigations division (CID) investigated what happened and the Peers enquiry looked into if there’d been a cover up.
My Lai Massacre 1968: new enquiry
15th July 1970 reported that army had covered up what’d happened.
My Lai Massacre 1968: lieutenant Calley is charged
5th september 1970, was charged with murder. First that the public heard of the massacre
My Lai Massacre 1968: newspaper reports
13th November 1970, 35 Newspapers reported the massacre. Reporters collected an eye witness testimony that over 500 civillians had been killed
Support for the war: fear of communism
After WW2, cold war fears led to the ‘red scare’. Fear of communist takeover was very strong
Support for the war: patriotism
Americans were fiercely patriotic and loyal to the US Government. Felt giving in to communism would lead to the US ‘losing face’
Support for the war: hard hat riot
1970: construction workers clashed with anit war protestors in New York. Peter J Brennan then led pro-war rally on the 20th May of 60,000 people. Were seen to represent the working class support of the war.
Support for the war: politcal support/support from congress
Difficult to judge because views often changed as president did. Support from congress changed over time but they still funded the war to a large sum.
Support for the war: silent majority
In 1969, Nixon apealed to those who didn’t campaign for or against the war. His speech on this group was remarkably successful and showed that many supported his policies.
Paris peace accords 1
1973
-all countries wanted Vietnam as a single country
-New government elected with international supervision
-US to give aid for reconstruction of North and South
Paris Peace accords 2
-US troops to be withdrawn in 60 days
-Ceasefire to begin
-No more US support for ARVN
-POWs and captured equipment to be returned in 60 days
Obstacles preventing good peace up until 1972
-hard for sides to agree on wether/how to unite
-what to do with the south
-how to manage troop withdrawals
-secret peace talks made it difficult for the south to agree to anything
-1972 Easter offensive shocked US
