With Vietnam came the demise of the draft and Lyndon Johnson's Civil Rights Act brought major changes to America. Many men burnt and refused to accept the idea of fighting, what many thought, as an unnecessary war. With so many people against the war in Vietnam, rallies even in the nation’s capital were known. This antiwar spark led to a new kind of political activism and political rallies that still have an impact today. The most lasting political effect was the change in the voting age from 21 to 18. This allowed soldiers being drafted in Vietnam to have a say in the way the government they were fighting for was run. Though hard to see, the war not only powered the sixties, but the civil rights movement.…
The outbreak of the Vietnam War was due to the retaliation of South Vietnam, Australia and America against North Vietnam and the Communist regime. However, Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War was not necessary as the justifications behind sending Australian troops to Vietnam were not suitable enough. The reasons behind the unnecessary deployment of the Australian troops were the alliances between the members and protected nations, the Domino effect and the assumption of the Vietnam War being the next WW3.…
joined the Vietnam War because they were afraid of what was known as the “domino effect” (Schweikart and Allen 704). However, the U.S. became stuck once they were fully committed and the war dragged on due to poor decisions. Zinn also mentions the domino effect: “like a row of dominoes, if one country fell to Communism, the next one would do the same and so on. It was important therefore to keep the first one from falling” (Zinn 471). In addition, America became involved extremely quickly because Eisenhower and Kennedy sent thousands of military advisors to Vietnam when the U.S. was only permitted to have 685 advisors (Zinn 474). While Schweikart, Allen, Zinn agree on the reasons for U.S. involvement in the war, they disagree on the reasons for the anti-war movement. Schweikart and Allen explain that it started because the U.S. government made no attempt to portray their enemy negatively and “at no time did the administration launch even the most basic education campaign to explain the communists’ objectives to the American people” (Schweikart and Allen 718-719). Moreover, Schweikart and Zinn clarify that there were two main groups of Americans: doves, who opposed the war, and hawks, who supported it. However, Zinn traces the citizen’s disapproval of the war to the fact that many Americans had died in the war (Zinn 483), and ignores the people who supported the war, calling the time period “the greatest antiwar movement the nation…
The cold war period was marked as an ideological warfare between communism and capitalism. The concept and fear of communism was perceived as major threat to the democratic nations including Australia. Due to Australia’s fear of communism it became actively involved in the Vietnam War. There were underlying factors which led Australia to become engaged in the Vietnam War. These predominant reasons included the SEATO and ANZUS treaties, the domino theory and more importantly forward defence policy. It can be stated these factors will provide an evaluation and analysis in regards to considering whether Australia provided a satisfactory reason to its involvement in the Vietnam War.…
Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War (19541975) erupted because of the threat of freedom and danger towards Australia’s democracy and society. Officially in 1966 a full blown war erupted and Australia's military commitment increased. Australian troops also fought before the war in South Korea(19501953), as communist North Korea sought to unite them both into communism.The main reasons for Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam war was because of the fear of communism, which also relates to the theory of the domino effect and Australia’s allies with the US, Britain and New Zealand was also a reason for their involvement in the Vietnam war. The growing web of communism was a result of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam war. People in countries like the USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand feared that Eastern…
The Vietnam War which went from 1965 to 1975 involved America and its allies, including Australia, aiming to prevent South Vietnam from an invasion by the communist North Vietnaese. There were many key reasons for Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. The Americans provided valuable support when they arrived at our aid during the WWII so Australia felt a responsibility to return a favour to the US to maintain healthy foreign relations. Australia also became implicated in the war due to the threat posed by the expansion of communism, known as the “Domino Effect”. On the political front Australia was also very anticommunist and believed to stop the war arriving at our front step we should use the forward defence approach. For these reasons Australia found itself entrenched in an exhausting war.…
Anti-War displays in 1967 were things such as the burning of draft registration cards and the collecting of money for the North Vietnamese as done by the Monash University Labor Club. Pro and Anti was groups used cartoons and advertisements to create public awareness of their viewpoints. Additionally SOS used handouts, printed information, and campaigns such as ‘fill a falsie’ – fill in a false registration card. Originally anti-war movements were only against conscription. Slowly Australians developed these protests movements, against additional war issues and in the end against the war in Vietnam…
The Vietnam War was a conflict between the communist, North Vietnam and South Vietnam. In the wake of the Second World War western fears of a communist expansion throughout Asia were running high. The United States was concerned that if North Vietnam succeed and turned Vietnam into a communist state, neighboring countries were also likely to follow. As an ally of the United States and Australia’s involvement in South-East Asia Treaty Organization and the Australia - New Zealand - United States Security Treaty and the belief in forward defence Australia was an enthusiastic supporter of the American policy in Vietnam.…
The Vietnam Era Antiwar Movement was one of the largest social movements in American history. In 1964 the United States began its military involvement in Vietnam. At this time, very few Americans were not against the United States’ involvement. But some Americans believed that the United States should have stayed out of the Vietnam War and should have withdrawn immediately. The U.S intervened because they didn't want South Vietnam to have a communist take over by North Vietnam. When the U.S started regularly bombing North Vietnam and increasing the draft in 1965, the protests and the Antiwar Movement became more serious. The Antiwar movement started from peace and social justice organizations that already existed. In a massive show of civil…
They felt that they were being targeted and that this was a case of blatant racism from the U.S. and they felt that was the case with Vietnamese as well. The anti-war movement was no longer just about the U.S. involvement in the war, it was about the arbitrary actions the U.S. were taking against…
Australia grew more divided between the anti-war movement and government supporters. Australia’s anti-war movement was strongly connected to protests against conscription, or ‘National Service’ as it was called. The conscription lasted for 42 years.…
Many Americans believed it was important to prevent South Vietnam from falling to Communism. Others believed the country should not get involved in the region's affairs. In addition, many Americans were opposed to the government's authorization of required enlistment as a way to mobilize troops for the war. By the mid 1960s, public protests against American involvement in Vietnam were becoming more common. Perhaps nowhere was this objection more evident than on U.S. college campuses. Students staged rallies and marches. They penned essays and songs to express their opinions. Many of these protestors expressed their opposition to the war by practicing a strategy of passive…
It was mid-spring in the United States Capitol- Washington, DC, the grass was green and onlookers could take in the view of the Washington Monument. On the specific date of April 17, 1965, the streets were not only occupied by historical monuments and statues of American History, but also occupied of 25,000 outraged protesters against the Vietnam War. This rally, organized by the Students for a Democratic Society, was the first significant act of defiance towards the Unites States Government. And this act of defiance was the beginning of a societal trend of abhorrence towards the Vietnam War. An angered country, defiance in Society and opposition in many households, is just the commencement of the Antiwar Movement.…
The Impact of the Vietnam War On Vietnam Veterans and their Families And the Impact of the Australian Culture…
By 1965, few Americans protested involvement in the Vietnam War. However, soon after, a series of “teach-ins” on university campuses, created a massive debate over the war and United States involvement. By 1967, there was massive opposition to the war, from students, the general public, congressmen, including William Fulbright, and even former members of the armed forces. This opposition was not the only tension in the nation, however. There were riots over the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and over the actions taken by the Democratic Party at the Democratic National Convention. The economic tensions created by inflation also increased anti-war support, and created even more chaos in the US. The Vietnam War caused controversy throughout the country between it's supporters and opposition; which soon encompassed the entirety of the political, social, and economic atmosphere of the nation, leading to nationwide disturbances including riots, peace marches, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.…