Vietnam War: Costs and Consequences Flashcards
How much did the US reportedly spend on the war?
Over $170 billion (close to $1 trillion in todays money)
It is estimated that a similar amount has been paid in benefits or pensions for Vietnam Veterans or families of dead soldiers
What did the Vietnam economy cause people to have to face in Vietnam during the war?
The country was made poorer, and so many people faced starvation during and after the war
What was the ‘Great Society’?
A series of social reforms that President Johnson had promised for the US public. However, money was diverted away from these reforms and instead, spent on the Vietnam War
What was the environmental cost to Vietnam?
Between 1964 and 1973, over 7 million tonnes of bombs were dropped on Vietnam. This destroyed bridges, roads and irrigation systems
Chemicals such as Agent Orange destroyed farmland and still cause cancer and illness to soldiers and children
What were the human costs for Vietnam?
Number of soldiers killed at an estimate of 1 million, with 2 million wounded
An estimated 2 million Vietnamese civilians were killed and another 5 million wounded
Estimated 11 million people became refugees, because the homes had been destroyed
What were the human costs for the US?
Around 58,000 US soldiers were killed during the war, with an average age of 23
Over 300,000 wounded
Soldiers who returned home received negative feedback by the public, from both supporters of the war and anti-war
Many soldiers were affected psychologically as a result of drugs and the horrors they had witnessed
How many civilians left Vietnam when communists took over in 1975?
Over a million
What were ‘boat people’?
The civilians who left Vietnam after it was taken over by communists. Many of them resettled in North America and European countries
What were the costs for the USA’s reputation home and abroad?
The Vietnam war split the US into supporters and opposition
Vietnam became a communist state, as did Cambodia and Laos
US actions in the war, such as the My Lai Massacre, damaged people’s belief in the government and America’s claim to lead the world in promoting peace and freedom
What were the costs for Vietnams reputation after the war?
Vietnam continued to face hostility from the US after the war
US President Ford opposed Vietnam joining the UN; this isolated Vietnam from the international community
Vietnam emerged from the war as a united country, but many who lived in the south resented the communist rule that had been opposed on them
