Created by:
Andrew Marshall ,George Lever, Kyle Firman, Troy Won, Ali Ahmed, Aryan Anerao
Andrew Marshall ,George Lever, Kyle Firman, Troy Won, Ali Ahmed, Aryan Anerao
Background
The Vietnam War came as a result of the First Indochina War, where Vietnam rebels revolted against France, the colonial ruler of Indochina at the time. The U.S. supported France due to the policy of containment and China supported the rebels. China’s backing of Viet Minh and France’s defeat concerned U.S. officials about the potential spread of Communism. Eisenhower coined the term “domino theory”, stating that if the Communists were not stopped, it would spread to the rest of Asia. Eventually, America started committing troops and the First Indochina War escalated into the Vietnam War.
Active U.S. military involvement began in 1954 and by 1955, President Eisenhower pledged his complete support for South Vietnam, which opposed the Northern Communist forces. Up until 1964, U.S. involvement in Vietnam had been on a relatively small scale. The Gulf of Tonkin incident changed this when a two U.S. destroyers reported that they had been fired upon by North Vietnamese forces. The U.S. responded by deploying more troops into Vietnam and committing additional resources to the war. This led to the draft of 2,215,000 young Americans. This is similar to how the U.S. interacted in the middle east with Iraq. The U.S. Intervened in foreign affairs that did not have any direct impact on the U.S.
After years of fighting in Vietnam, it soon became apparent to the American people that the war was extremely costly, with approximately $168,000 being spent for every enemy killed, and that America would not be victorious in this war. American involvement in the war was increasingly becoming unpopular; massive anti war protests in the home-front pressured U.S. officials to end the war. Being “the only war that America has lost”, the Vietnam war officially ended on April 30, 1975.
Podcast
Podcast Essential Historical Questions
1.What factors contributed to widespread United States involvement throughout Southeast Asia and Vietnam?
2. What was the domestic perspective of the Vietnam War inside of the United States?
3. How did anti-war efforts affect morale and the war effort?
4. To what extent did the required draft affect the friends and family of servicemen?
2. What was the domestic perspective of the Vietnam War inside of the United States?
3. How did anti-war efforts affect morale and the war effort?
4. To what extent did the required draft affect the friends and family of servicemen?
Podcast
Artifacts
Work cited
“How Much Did The Vietnam War Cost?” The Vietnam War, 5 Apr. 2016, thevietnamwar.info/how-much-vietnam-war-cost/.
Lind, Michael. “Why We Went to War in Vietnam.” The American Legion, www.legion.org/magazine/213233/why-we-went-war-vietnam.
“How Deployment Stress Affects Children and Families: Research Findings.” PTSD: National
Center for PTSD, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs,
www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treatment/family/pro_deployment_stress_children.asp
Imgur. “My Grandfather in Vietnam, Ruffly '62.” Imgur, 28 Aug. 2016, imgur.com/gallery/2LzJJ.
“Jeep.” We Ride Vietnam Motorbike Tours, We Ride Vietnam, www.weridevietnam.com/tag/jeep/.
Murrmann, Mark. “‘Why Lose When You Can Win?" Scenes from a pro-Vietnam War Rally 45 Years Ago.” Mother Jones, 24 June 2017,
www.motherjones.com/media/2015/04/vietnam-pro-war-rally-washington/.
MyBrain, mybrainsociety.blogspot.com/2018/02/?view=classic.
“1963 Navy Ha(l)-3 Det-3 Navy S.” End of World War 1 Picture | Germany Gives Up & Ends World War 1 1918 | N/A WWI |,
www.vetfriends.com/MilitaryPics/large.cfm?picture=49992.
The New York Times, The New York Times, archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1115.html#article.
“The New York Times Company.” The New York Times, The New York Times, learning.blogs.nytimes.com/on-this-day/.
archive.org/details/1967-10-24_Anti-War_Demonstrators_Storm_Pentagon.
“Peace With Honor: Nixon's Broadcast On Vietnam.” Watergateinfo,
watergate.info/1973/01/23/nixon-peace-with-honor-broadcast.html.
“Uniondale Schools - American History - Americans' Reaction - Standard 1.” Loudoun County Public Schools - AP Biology - Young - Growth, Reproduction
and Maintenance of the Organization of Living Systems Require Free Energy and Matter, galedc.com/site/uniondale/lawrence_history/4356.
“Vietnam War Draft.” The Vietnam War, thevietnamwar.info/vietnam-war-draft/.
“Why the United States Went to War in Vietnam.” Foreign Policy Research Institute, www.fpri.org/article/2017/04/united-states-went-war-vietnam/.
*Unless otherwise cited all pictures are courtesy to David Henry Cassidy
Lind, Michael. “Why We Went to War in Vietnam.” The American Legion, www.legion.org/magazine/213233/why-we-went-war-vietnam.
“How Deployment Stress Affects Children and Families: Research Findings.” PTSD: National
Center for PTSD, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs,
www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treatment/family/pro_deployment_stress_children.asp
Imgur. “My Grandfather in Vietnam, Ruffly '62.” Imgur, 28 Aug. 2016, imgur.com/gallery/2LzJJ.
“Jeep.” We Ride Vietnam Motorbike Tours, We Ride Vietnam, www.weridevietnam.com/tag/jeep/.
Murrmann, Mark. “‘Why Lose When You Can Win?" Scenes from a pro-Vietnam War Rally 45 Years Ago.” Mother Jones, 24 June 2017,
www.motherjones.com/media/2015/04/vietnam-pro-war-rally-washington/.
MyBrain, mybrainsociety.blogspot.com/2018/02/?view=classic.
“1963 Navy Ha(l)-3 Det-3 Navy S.” End of World War 1 Picture | Germany Gives Up & Ends World War 1 1918 | N/A WWI |,
www.vetfriends.com/MilitaryPics/large.cfm?picture=49992.
The New York Times, The New York Times, archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1115.html#article.
“The New York Times Company.” The New York Times, The New York Times, learning.blogs.nytimes.com/on-this-day/.
archive.org/details/1967-10-24_Anti-War_Demonstrators_Storm_Pentagon.
“Peace With Honor: Nixon's Broadcast On Vietnam.” Watergateinfo,
watergate.info/1973/01/23/nixon-peace-with-honor-broadcast.html.
“Uniondale Schools - American History - Americans' Reaction - Standard 1.” Loudoun County Public Schools - AP Biology - Young - Growth, Reproduction
and Maintenance of the Organization of Living Systems Require Free Energy and Matter, galedc.com/site/uniondale/lawrence_history/4356.
“Vietnam War Draft.” The Vietnam War, thevietnamwar.info/vietnam-war-draft/.
“Why the United States Went to War in Vietnam.” Foreign Policy Research Institute, www.fpri.org/article/2017/04/united-states-went-war-vietnam/.
*Unless otherwise cited all pictures are courtesy to David Henry Cassidy