Back to category: History

Limited version - please login or register to view the entire paper.

Explain why there were such different reactions in the USA to the country’s involvement in the conflict in Vietnam in the 1960s.

It cannot be denied that the Vietnam War split the American nation like no other war before it. Eventually it polarized everyone into two rival camps: the hawks (pro-war), and the doves (anti-war). By 1968 the nation had been separated into these two factions.
This happened partly due to the relatively new invention of television. Direct reports into living rooms across the country meant that the government could not control public opinion as other governments had done in the past, using propaganda and censorship. The honour of the armed forces was greatly affected by television coverage of atrocities in Vietnam, such as the My Lai massacre of March 1968. The people of America were increasingly critical of events in Vietnam as the war wore on.
However, public opinion showed a different point of view at the beginning of the war. In the 1950s America had come to view itself as the leader of the non-communist world, and in this position had become very concerned about the sit...

Posted by: Adriana Alvarez

Limited version - please login or register to view the entire paper.