"Let every nation know, whether, it wishes us well or ill that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardships, support any friend, oppose any foe in order to assure the survival of liberty." This is just what the United States did during the Vietnam War. The goal of the United States was to preserve a separate, independent, noncommunist government in South Vietnam. However, whether or not the American people always agreed with the decisions the government made regarding Vietnam is not quite as simple.In the beginning, most Americans felt an enormous need to help South Vietnam resist the communist North Vietnam and the Domino Theory. They believed that in the long run, keeping ...view middle of the document...
Pretty soon Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Malaya would go." And so the idea of the Domino Theory was in full affect. The Domino Theory said that if the communists succeeded in controlling Vietnam, they would progressively dominate all of South-East Asia. America also needed to look at the issue of national security. At this time in America the government felt that the principal threat to U.S. security was monolithic, dictatorial communism. Therefore, the government thought it was absolutely critical that they help defend South Vietnam from communism, for America's sake.In 1963 American aid to South Vietnam had tripled. The number of U.S. military advisers in South Vietnam rose from a mere 900 to 15,000. Still, it was a very limited war that America was fighting. America believed in the Domino Theory and preserving their own national security, but they were still not sure that a full-fledged war was necessary for America. It was not until August 2, 1964 that a large American intervention began. This decision came about because of the Gulf of Tonkin incident. North Vietnamese torpedo boats allegedly attacked U.S. warships in the Gulf of Tonkin. President Johnson was now able to get the support he needed to enter the war. Johnson got approval from Congress to take any necessary action against North Vietnam to ensure success in Vietnam. At this point, most of the American people also gave their support to the U.S. involvement in the war.American involvement was increasingly growing greater throughout the years. In 1965 U.S. planes began combat missions over South Vietnam. In June of the same year there were 23,000 American advisers committed to combat and by the end of the year there were 184,000 U.S. troops based in the area. The United State's involvement did not stop there. In 1968 there were nearly 525,000 American men in the midst of Vietnam. However, the facts that influenced the American people's ideals the most was of a greater magnitude. In October of 1969, United State's casualties exceeded 40,000 killed and 255,000 wounded. The American people were not pleased with these statistics. People were trying to find something that they could believe in to give reason for being in the Vietnam War. The War Hawks could justify the war with the containment of communism and the Presidential administration justified the war according to the Domino Theory but what could the everyday American people validate the war with? Mothers were sending their babies off to die in a foreign land and for what, so that a nation clear across the world could stay non-communist? The American people were starting to second-guess their cooperation with the Vietnam War effort.Opposition to the Vietnam War only got stronger in America. The first of many organized nationwide anti-war protests were in October of 1965. Since there was an increasing shortage of volunteers, the government implemented a draft. Draftees and "doves" burned their draft cards and held rallies. The...
