Vietnam War Effects

The Vietnam War was the longest deployment of U.S. forces in hostile action in the history of the United States, lasting from 1955 to 1973. Although there is no formal declaration of war from which to date U.S. entry, President John F. Kennedy's decision to send over 2,000 military advisers to South Vietnam in 1961 marked the beginning of twelve years of American military combat. The war also had great effects on the
American people at home. It was the first war ever to broadcast on television. The public was able to see what happened on the battlefield. Therefore, one of the main effects of the war was the division it caused among the people. Not since the Civil War had
America been so divided. This war would have lasting effects on the United
Furthermore, Johnson's decisions were based on complicated political and military considerations. By 1968, the number of American troops in Vietnam exceeded half a millions, and the conduct of the war had become more and more brutal.
Throughout the process, the U.S. military continued its bombing campaigns, so heavily that by the end of the decade it had dropped more bombs than in Europe during World
War II. Despite the enormous number of bombs used, the campaign had little effect.
Target selection was difficult against the hidden Viet Cong and rural, civilian North
Vietnamese. They were always willing to accept higher casualties and costs than their
American opponents, and this gave them a distinct advantage. For this reason, although more than ten Viet Cong soldiers were dying for each U.S. soldier killed, United States felt themselves to be losing the war. Even though, Americans still supported the goal of a non-Communist Vietnam, public confidence in the President and Johnson's popularity declined sharply. Just weeks from the early presidential primaries, Johnson announced that he would not seek another term as President. And as Johnson announced in
As the war escalated, the domestic response included the largest round of antiwar protests in American history. It was during these protests in the spring of 1970 that National Guard fired at antiwar protestors at Kent
State University in Ohio, killing four. Two weeks later, police fired on students at
Jackson State University in Mississippi, leaving two more dead. Public support for the war was rapidly warning. Outraged by the unauthorized invasion of Cambodia in 1973,
Congress passed the War Powers Act. It required the president to seek congressional approval for the commitment of American troops overseas (Foner 26 1030).
In 1973, Nixon achieved a negotiated settlement in Vietnam. The Paris peace agreement, it made possible the final withdrawal of American troops. Nixon characterized the Paris Peace Agreements as "peace with honor," but primarily it allowed the U.S. military to leave Vietnam without resolving the issue of the country's political future. The compromise left in place the government of South Vietnam, but