Assignment
U.S. involvement in Vietnam was a very contentious topic. As the war went on Americans began to question the U.S. government's reasonings for that involvement and its portrayal of how much success the U.S. was having there. While some Americans began to openly protest and question the U.S. government, others saw those actions as unpatriotic. Using your readings from the text and the sources below consider the following questions:
• Summarize the reasons that one individual might have been strongly opposed to the Vietnam War while another person from the same family or circle of friends may have supported the war.
• Describe the media images you've seen concerning attitudes toward the Vietnam War. Hypothesize why the media has tended to showcase the antiwar demonstrators more than people who argued in favor of the war.
• Discuss the ways in which public perceptions of the Vietnam War changed between 1964 (the time of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution) and 1969 (the year in which Nixon was inaugurated). Then discuss the ways in which Nixon's policies may have affected public perceptions of the war.
• Summarize John Kerry's and President Nixon's arguments for and against immediate troop withdrawal from Vietnam.
• Debate whether it's necessary and fair to require men over the age of 18 to register for the draft. Should women also be required to register? Is the draft a fair way to recruit people during a time of war? Was the draft a fair method of selecting people to fight in Vietnam?
Provide a thorough discussion of the topics mentioned above and include information from several of the sources provided (your textbook can be one) and cite those sources.
Nixon's Silent Majority
Statement of John Kerry
The Whole World was Watching
The War in Vietnam: A Story in Photographs
CIA's Vietnam Histories
Vietnam War Protests.