The Vietnam War – America Divided
The war in Vietnam was not originally America’s war. Like Korea, it was divided into communist North
and American-backed south. As the communists fought to take over South Vietnam, America sent military
advisers and supplies to help the South Vietnamese. The number of Americans in Vietnam grew throughout the
1960s.
When President Lyndon B. Johnson escalated the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, almost two-thirds of the
American public approved. Hawks – supporters of the war – argued that
America was fighting to defend the freedom of South Vietnam. They
believed that without American help South Vietnam would fall and the
communists would take over all of Southeast Asia (the Domino Theory).
When the war did not end quickly, a growing number of people
began to question United States involvement in Vietnam. Doves –
Americans who opposed the war – argued that the United States could not
win a guerilla war in Asia. They claimed that the loss of live was too great.
They argued that the United States had no right to become involved in what
really was a civil war between rival groups in Vietnam. The doves said that
instead of saving South Vietnam, American bombers were destroying its
land and killing many of its
people. They said the billions of dollars spent in Vietnam should be
used to help America’s poor.
Unlike today, the U.S. did not have a volunteer army. Men
between the ages of 19 and 26 were drafted. By 1967, more than
30,000 young men were being drafted each month. Some resisted by
burning their draft cards, going to jail, or leaving the country. There
were many large protests, especially on college campuses.
Television made the Vietnam war different from earlier wars
by bringing it into the nation’s living rooms. Scenes of soldiers dying in faraway jungle villages and of
protesters shouting antiwar slogans angered and confused many people. By the end of 1967, America was
almost evenly divided between those who thought U.S. involvement in Vietnam was a mistake and those who
approved of it. The war would become even more unpopular over the next several years. In 1973, the U.S.
withdrew its troops from Vietnam, and the North won the war by early 1975. Vietnam became one country,
ruled by the communists. Cambodia and Laos fell to communists soon after, but the rest of Southeast Asia did
not fall as the Domino Theory had predicted.
Vietnam War
1. At the beginning of the war, what portion of the American public approved of the war?
2. Give two reasons the Hawks thought we should be fighting in Vietnam.
3. Give five reasons the Doves thought we should not be fighting in Vietnam.
4. If people didn’t want to go fight in Vietnam, what could they do?
5. How did television make the Vietnam War different from other wars?
6. By 1967, the war was becoming unpopular. What portion of the American public approved of the war
by 1967?
Bonus: In what ways does the Vietnam War sound similar to the war in Iraq?
In the purple book, answer the questions on page 177 using the Casualties chart. Ask Mr. Kessler for a copy
of the page, or wait until he gets home to scan it. When these words turn blue, click here.
Note: Casualties are people who are wounded or killed in a war.