From the US perspective‚ the Vietnam War truly was a war of inheritance. As congress never officially declared war‚ the war became defined by the choices of each successive president. However‚ according to the quagmire theory each president became more limited to what he could do based on what choices his successor made. If this belief is to be accepted‚ then it is necessary to ask the question; did any president have a clear policy about US involvement in Vietnam? If so‚ when did that change? The
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Throughout America’s history‚ few things have left the nation in such controversial turmoil as the Vietnam War. With an American death toll of almost 60‚000 troops‚ the Vietnam War has gone down in infamy as one of the most tremendous struggles Americans have faced both overseas and on the home front. Because of the tumultuous controversies caused by the war‚ Americans split into two social factions – those against the war and those who supported it. During the years of 1961-1975 - the era in
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The Vietnam War persisted for decades and outlasted many American administrations. The protracted conflict‚ which lasted from 1955 to 1975‚ was ostensibly a civil war between the communists in the north of Vietnam and the capitalist regime in the south; however it escalated into a proxy war between foreign powers. The United States’ level of engagement in the war was a direct result of the U.S. presidents’ foreign policy: American leaders who were passionately anti-communist such as Kennedy and
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DBQ Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidential reign began with the assassination of former president John F. Kennedy in 1963. While the people of the United States tried to recover from the loss of Kennedy‚ Johnson used it to his advantage. Many citizens did not notice that this was being done‚ and some even wonder if Johnson himself knew he was using it to his advantage. By him telling America that Kennedy would have wanted the Great Society‚ the people believed him and went through with
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The impact that Johnson had has been forgotten. Johnson remains in pretty bad standing in this country. In 2010 there was a poll asking Americans to assess the last nine presidents from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush. Kennedy came out on top with 85-percent approval. The only one close to him was Reagan with 74 percent. Nixon at the bottom with 29 percent. George W.‚ 47. And Johnson 49 percent. In another recent poll‚ Johnson is now down to 42 percent. Another poll‚ in which 68 percent of Americans
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The Easter Offensive By 1972‚ President Nixon had been in office for four years‚ dealing with the inherited quagmire that was Vietnam. With both sides tiring of the seemingly endless cycle of successes and setbacks‚ the North Vietnamese military decided to mount an invasion into South Vietnam commencing on Good Friday of that year. This was done in order to better their position at the Paris Peace accords‚ which would be closing soon‚ by gaining control of more land and crippling Nixon’s political
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damned if they let Communism threaten that. The draft was reinstated and young‚ able men were given a slap on the back and sent off to fight for their country. As‚ “Democratic”‚ war in Vietnam flared‚ many lives were being lost and many more ruined - physically‚ economically and mentally. Although the war in Vietnam had the complete support of the American government‚ the American people resented their governments actions. Unsurprisingly‚ as do many others‚ the movement started amongst college campuses
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defiant words‚ John F. Kennedy seemed to be spelling out his position on American policy toward the Vietnam War during his inaugural address on 20 January 1961. However‚ it is questionable whether or not he maintained this conviction throughout his brief stint as this nation’s leader. Throughout Kennedy’s term in office‚ evidence points to the fact that he initially felt strongly about staying the course with the policies handed down to him by the Eisenhower Administration; yet later he began to indicate
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During the Vietnam War ROA was initiated‚ it was a very controversial aspect of that conflict. Intended to reduce the change of friendly fire incidents and recognize international law regarding the conduct of war‚ especially to protect civilians. For Vietnam it was a political tool – Commanders and individual soldiers became frustrated. Chain of command links every uniformed service to each other‚ from the junior rank following the chain of command to the President. We will look at six of these levels
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split in the first place. After the civil war‚ the South had to agree to stop slavery before they could join back into the United States. Reconstruction was hard for African Americans because many white men didn’t treat them equal. The economy was a failure because many African Americans didn’t have a way to make money after being freed‚ many new laws were passed to make all men equal so political was a success‚ social problems sprouted because many white men didn’t agree with the African Americans getting
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