Year 10 Australian History – 2013 Task 1: the Vietnam War

Source 1 Type of source This Newspaper Article is a secondary source of information because it is not a first-hand report. Secondary sources are sources that interpret and analyze primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event. Secondary sources may have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them. E.g. Source 1 includes a photo of Robert Menzies. This newspaper Headline was written based on the primary source; Robert Menzies delivered a statement explaining that the decision was made in response to a request for ‘further military assistance’ by the Government of South Vietnam and in consultation with the United States Government that he would be deploying Australian troops to Vietnam.
Perspective of Source This newspaper article was written by “THE SUN”. This front-page article was a brief message to inform the Australian population that Robert Menzies (Australian Prime Minister) was telling the Parliament that he would be deploying Australian Troops to Vietnam. The perspective Menzies was trying to get across was that Australia was going to Vietnam to help the Southern Vietnamese defeat the Northern Vietnamese in the Vietnam Civil War. Australia became involved in the Vietnam War because
Usefulness of Source At the time of the Vietnamese Civil War Australia felt threatened by the expansion of communism. Many people within Australia believed that if South Vietnam became a communist country, other countries would soon follow. Some Australians saw what was happening in Vietnam as a threat to Australia’s security. This was called the “domino effect.” So Menzies. So for some Australians, this article was very comforting to know that Australian Troops were going to Vietnam to put an end to communism.
Reliability of Source Usually newspaper articles are not reliable but in this case, it can be considered reliable to Historians today. Although this is not a first-hand report it is based on a primary source. The statement from Menzies saying that along with America, Australia was assisting Southern Vietnam in the Civil War against the Northern Vietnamese. I do not believe that there is any bias involved in this newspaper headline because it is just a short three letter headline informing Australians about the decisions that their Prime Minister has made.