Loss of american public support for the vietnam war book

General vo nguyen giap, commander of the north vietnamese army, wrote in his memoirs that his army was on the brink of collapse, but the u. Military assistance command, vietnam macv made military. The american people and support for war by lawrence wittner. He found that support for the wars among the general public followed a pattern for decline that was remarkably similar, even though the media were neither as pervasive nor as critical during the korean conflict as they were during the vietnam war. Also, be sure to check out vietnam 67, a series by our colleagues on opinion that features. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our. That is indeed a grim distinction in a span that included two world wars, the assassinations of two presidents and the resignation of another, the great depression, the cold war, racial unrest, and the drug and crime waves. The gallup news service began asking the american public whether it was a mistake to send troops to vietnam. Why the us lost the vietnam war common dreams views. American public opinion and the war in vietnam jstor. A history communist forces in the vietnam war lost most battles and suffered disproportionally higher casualties than the united states and its allies throughout the conflict. American public will easily tolerate the prosecution of long drawnout wars of. The gallup news service began asking the american public whether it was a mistake to send troops to vietnam in august 1965. Estimates include both civilian and military deaths in north and south vietnam, laos, and cambodia the war persisted from 1955 to 1975 and most of the fighting took place in south vietnam.

By the early 1990s, when i began studying the vietnam war, the american public had largely lost interest in the history of that conflict. The vietnam war was a period of american involvement in southeast asia from 19611975 in which u. There were two major wars against the communists in vietnam. The unending war jljy god, weve kicked the vietnam syndrome once and for all. As the war continued and more young men were drafted, it became. The vietnam war was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. By then, american public opinion and much of the media were antiwar. The united states committed some 550,000 troops to the vietnam front at the height of the conflict, suffered more than 58,000 casualties, and engaged in battle. Why did support for the vietnam war decline over the duration. Forty years ago this week the vietnam war ended with the conquest of free vietnam by the communist regime in the north. Aug 22, 2017 in the united states, popular support for fighting communism in south vietnam started strong and then declined as the war dragged on. The defeat came after negotiations in paris and a vote in congress to end american support for our beleaguered ally.

Despite all the wrong policies, if us support of south vietnam wasnt there, most of southeast asia would have been all under communists including singapore, thai, myanmar, indonesia, malay, besides laos and cambodia. The inspiring true story of green beret medic gary beikirch, medal of honor recipient. How walter cronkites broadcast changed the vietnam war the. In the vast literature on the vietnam war, much has been written about the antiwar movement and its influence on u. List 3 thingsevents that eroded americas public support for the war. Also, the loss of public support back home took a huge toll. Feb 22, 2019 how the tet offensive shocked americans into questioning if the vietnam war could be won. Cronkites nightly newscasts helped shape public opinion about vietnam, which became known as the livingroom war, in the words of michael arlen of the new yorker.

Believing the vietnam war to be a just and necessary cause, the pro war movement pushed for more direct american military intervention in southeast asia throughout the kennedy administration, lobbied for intensified bombing during the. How the tet offensive shocked americans into questioning if. The tet offensive completed the process by depleting public support. Civil war was the highestrated series in the history of american public television, and his work has won numerous prizes. What most undermined support for the war was simply the level of american casualties. Lucian pye, massachusetts institute of technology a splendid book, in many ways the best history of the war yet to appear. That war lasted from 1946 to 1954, when the french lost the battle of dien bien phu. The american soldiers who returned as veterans of the vietnam war faced their own personal challenges. The woodrow wilson centers history and public policy program welcomes pierre asselin for a book launch discussion of vietnams american war.

It meant dragging out the war, harassing the enemy, avoiding serious engagement except where the likelihood of success was high, withdrawing before serious losses were sustained, and counting on the american public to tire of a seemingly endless but unwinnable war. Jun 27, 2014 vietnam syndrome, like other postwar syndromes, was first used in early 1970s to describe the physical and psychological symptoms of veterans coming back from the vietnam war, later best known as posttraumatic stress disorder ptsd. Public opinion of the war in vietnam vietnam war 9781422238912. The vietnam war was arguably the most traumatic experience for the united states in the twentieth century. Why did support for the vietnam war decline over the. Originally published in the britannica book of the year. Today, many scholars contend the war marked the loss of american.

Opposition to united states involvement in the vietnam war began with demonstrations in. At the end of the war, it began to be manufactured in largescale. It is hardly novel to observe that american military involvement in vietnam. The american publics support of the vietnam war decreased as the war continued on. Although support for the war dwindled, until saigon finally fell april 29, 1975, many still refused to believe we could lose. At the time less than a quarter of americans polled, 24. How the tet offensive shocked americans into questioning. Johnson to state, if ive lost cronkite, ive lost middle america.

From the awardwinning historian and filmmakers of the civil war, baseball, the war, the roosevelts, and others. Reading his book made me realize a key reason why the u. How walter cronkites broadcast changed the vietnam war. During the vietnam war, 30% of wounded service members died of their wounds. Escala tion continued to lose favor until 1970, when pollsters stopped asking respondents. In 1950s, there were only 9% of american home who owned a television, but this figure rose dramatically to 93% in 19661. While this was the case for world war i and world war ii and, to a lesser extent, korea although as humphrey noted, democrats were not able to sustain public support for the war, with vietnam it. America in vietnam will have a profound impact on all subsequent historical writing on vietnam.

Projects business global events books fiction newsletters. Jan 08, 2014 the american people and support for war by lawrence wittner. Public opinion and the war in vietnam american political science. While the list of books about this conflict includes hundreds of enlightening works, we pick ten of the best texts offering illuminating perspectives on the war, its context and the effects it had on vietnam. One factor that influenced the failure of the united states in vietnam was lack of public support.

After the second world war france attempted to reestablish control over vietnam. To what extent can the media be blamed for america losing. If we examine trends in public opinion, opposition to the war crossed an important threshold in 1968 when the majority of americans decided that becoming. Estimates of casualties of the vietnam war vary widely. The american public s support of the vietnam war decreased as the war continued on. The vietnam war has scarred, transformed and inspired countless writers and art practitioners. The tet offensive, 1968 in late january, 1968, during the lunar new year or tet holiday, north vietnamese and communist viet cong forces launched a coordinated attack against a number of targets in south vietnam. More than 58,000 americans and as many as 3 million vietnamese had. This is the strategy vietnam had used to defeat the french. Opinion why vietnam was unwinnable the new york times.

The same phenomenon occurred in connection with the vietnam war. As with any democracy you will see, the weakness lies with publicpolitical support not actual military power. However, the communist forces were prepared to accept great losses, while the us population was becoming. Believing the vietnam war to be a just and necessary cause, the prowar movement pushed for more direct american military intervention in southeast asia throughout the kennedy administration, lobbied for intensified bombing during the johnson years, and offered coherent, if divided, endorsements of nixons policies of phased withdrawal. Mcnamara, once a champion of the escalation of the vietnam war, says in a memoir to be published in the coming week that he has now.

By 1971, 71% of americans felt that the war in vietnam was wrong39, this public consensus piled further pressure upon the administration, which would have to accept civil unrest as a fact of life if america were to remain in vietnam. As television news became more and more popular throughout the turbulent years of the vietnam war era, americans increasingly relied on visuals to inform them of the situation in vietnam. Feb 14, 2020 vietnam war 195475, conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam and its allies in south vietnam, the viet cong, against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. How the vietnam war broke the american presidency the atlantic. Adamson chair of insurgency and terrorism at the u. How vietnam haunts the democrats politico magazine. In any case, american disillusionment with the war was a product of many causes, of which the media was only one. With no clear sign of victory in vietnam, american military casualties helped. Tactically speaking, the offensive was a disastrous defeat for north vietnam. Further disillusionment for war was brought on by the my lai massacre of 1968.

How the tet offensive shocked americans into questioning if the vietnam war could be won. It could be pointed out, for example, that the gallup poll question on support for the war in vietnam one of the three used by berkowitz did show that support for the war declined more or less gradually from i965 onward and. The vietnam war and the media britannica encyclopedia britannica. How america lost vietnam after winning the war against a. The lost chance for peace and the escalation of war in vietnam. Public opinion and the war in vietnam volume 61 issue 2 sidney verba, richard. Antiwar demonstrations and american public opinion on the. Vietnamization was a policy of the richard nixon administration during the vietnam war to end u. When it comes to war, the american public is remarkably fickle. Vietnam war 195475, conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam and its allies in south vietnam, the viet cong, against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. By the end of 1970s, vietnam syndrome was no longer a medical term and it came to have a pure continue reading vietnam syndrome. Perhaps the real legacy of vietnam is just thatnever again should americas service members return home to find the people.

They argue that the medias tendency toward negative reporting helped to undermine support for the war in the. In this book, sandra scanlon shifts attention to those americans who supported the war and explores the wars impact on the burgeoning conservative political movement of the 1960s and early 1970s. In south vietnam itself, however, popular support for the war was. May 25, 2018 cronkites nightly newscasts helped shape public opinion about vietnam, which became known as the livingroom war, in the words of michael arlen of the new yorker. At the end of the program, the producers tell us, the vietnam war was a tragedy. In january 1946, britain agreed to remove her troops and later that year, china left vietnam in exchange for a promise from france that she would give up her rights to territory in china. More than forty years after it ended, the vietnam war continues to haunt our country. Mcnamara, once a champion of the escalation of the vietnam war, says in a memoir to be published in the coming week that he has now concluded that the united states could and should.

The notion that the vast majority of american youths took to the streets to end the vietnam war is equally false. Read the essential details about the background to the vietnam war. Washington, april 9 former defense secretary robert mcnamara, who argued successfully to escalate american involvement in the vietnam war, now says in a new book that both the kennedy and. America did not experience a lost victory in vietnam. The notion that the vast majority of american youths took to the streets to end the vietnam war. Berinsky department of politics princeton university email. In south vietnam itself, however, popular support for the war. My life in the us army from world war ii to vietnam american warrior series john r. However, the notion that the war initially was prosecuted by the government against the wishes of the american people is false.

They were steeped in drugs and corruption, and kept in power by intensive use of american air power. American views on the vietnam war historical society of. Opposition to united states involvement in the vietnam war. France during the first indochina war, to support for an independent south vietnam after the 1954 geneva confer ence, to the commitment of u. It was part of a larger regional conflict as well as a manifestation of the cold war. Much of the war was fought in a nontraditional guerilla style, and there were many casualties on both sides. The vietnam war and our national identity new york, viking press. Historians at war national association of scholars. I investigate the effect of accounting for dont know responses on the shape of public opinion on the vietnam issue using a number. The public attitude about service in the military during times of war now has evolved to hate the war, not the soldier. Notable among those few is the 1968 tet offensive, the coordinated series of surprise attacks throughout south vietnam by the north vietnamese army and viet cong that eroded u. The frustrated hawks, tet 1968, and the transformation of.

The story of a marine grunt in the first battle of khe sanh april 1967 duration. The prowar movement university of massachusetts press. Television coverage brought images of the war home to the american public, yet these images were rarely a true reflection of the war itself. Nothing, certainly not our film or book, can make the tragedy of the vietnam war all right. But he could not countenance being seen as the first commander in chief to lose a war. In the united states, popular support for fighting communism in south vietnam started strong and then declined as the war dragged on. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war. More than forty years after it ended, the vietnam war. So said president george bush in a euphoric victory statement at the end of the gulf war, suggesting the extent to which vietnam continued to prey on the american psyche.