How Did African America's Involvement In The Vietnam War

The history of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War is neither looked upon fondly or openly discussed. Eager to step in and get involved with the matters of an outside country, America blindly disregarded the civil strife taking place within its own nation. While the war continued with no clear end in sight, the Civil Rights movement shifted its gaze to include anti-war sentiment. African Americans already suffering injustices within America rallied against the unjust burden of the draft. Likewise, young adults and a growing leftist party could no longer bear to send and be sent off to the battlefield. As such, began the largely successful anti-war movement to protest the draft and put an end to U.S involvement in the Vietnam War. In the eyes of the people, the Vietnam War was faraway, unknown, and held little relevance to American daily life. While the beginning of the war brought about an initial economic boost, the costs soon outweighed the benefits. Not only was the war expending valuable government money, it was taking lives with no end in sight. Additionally, the draft failed to serve its purpose as an indiscriminate means to enlist soldiers. Those who could evade the draft did so by fleeing the country or getting a deferral. Meanwhile, African Americans, young
By 1968, only a third of Americans supported the war, (Levy). The anti-war movement gained strength when organizations and individuals such as Martin Luther King Jr. became involved. Although anti-war sentiment increased, there remained those against the protests. The administration in particular was not interested in the anti-war message and worked to quell it where possible. Additionally there was a growing number of people who did not support the protests such that, “Inside the White House, Richard Nixon frequently remarked that student protests increased his appeal to the “silent majority” he depended on for support,”