Argumentative Essay: Is The Vietnam War Justified?

     The Vietnam conflict has been known for being the most unpopular war in the history of the United States. The war of 1812, the Mexican war and the Korean conflict of the early 1950's were also opposed by large groups of the American people, but none of them generated the emotional anxiety and utter hatred that spawned Vietnam. The Vietnam war caused people to ask the question of sending our young people to die in places where they were particular wanted and for people who did not seem especial grateful.

The Vietnam War was the longest war has the longest US combat force participation (17.4 years). People do say that we never should've fought in this war.

The Vietnam War, filled with controversy and tragedy, raised serious questions about its justification. When examining the facts, it becomes clear that the reasons provided for the United States' engagement in this conflict fall short. All while leaving a path of destruction and suffering. Known to be one of the longest and most unpopular wars of the 20th century, lasting from 1954 to 1975. The Vietnam War arose from tension between the Soviet Union and the United States.

The Vietnam War can be considered as a hot battle that was part of an even greater conflict, the Cold War. It began with little political involvement and left the country divisive by the concluding years of the war. The atrocities that American troops experienced and committed helped shape the unpopular opinion on the war. The war in Vietnam became America’s longest running conflict that coincided with chaos, controversies and ultimately distraught citizens back home.

Document 26.4 states, “We therefore encourage those Americans who prefer to use their energy in building democratic forms within this country. We believe that work in the civil rights movement and with other human relations organizations is a valid alternative to the draft.” This quote encourages American citizens to avoid joining the Vietnam War. Instead of joining, Americans should focus on reforms at home. This ideology was shared by many Americans at the time. Unfortunately, and despite the protests going on at the time, America would not leave the Vietnam War until 1973.

The Vietnam War was the longest war in the history of the United States it lasted from 1959-1975. Billions of dollars was spent trying to win and unwinnable war. Countless of lives were lost and America failed to achieve its objective. The origins of the war stem from the Indochina wars that occurred in the late 40s and early 50s. After many years of colonial war, the Viet Minh a communist group led by Ho Chi Minh sought independence for Vietnam. The French were not reluctant to let go of their crowning jewel without a fight. The French were aided militarily by the Unites States who sought the membership of France to the NATO and were willingly to provide as much aid to ensure that they won the war and Vietnam did not fall to communism. This led to an eight year war which culminated with the defeat of the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. A cease fire was issued and peace agreements known as the Geneva Accords where drawn during the 1954 Geneva Conference. The agreement issued a temporary division of Vietnam along the 17th parallel which created a Communist North Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh and a democratic South Vietnam led by prime minister Ngo Dinh Diem. Vietnam was supposed to unify after the nationwide election of 1956 which Diem refuse to acknowledge.

The new technology used in American agriculture made it overall more productive and widespread while creating mixed results for the farmers. The advancement in machines like reapers, threshers, and mowers to harvest grains produced contrasting outcomes. An obvious benefit was some of the ease brought to the farmers. The human labor involved in harvesting grain by hand with a scythe or by a simple, one horse-powered machine was far greater than harvesting with a big, multi-horse powered machine. The devices made work simpler, faster, and more efficient for the farmers by relying on animal energy and technology (Document D). With promises of larger crops with less exertion, the new machines became very desirable to farmers in order to stay in competition with their peers; however, buying these machines also pushed many of them into unfortunate financial situations. Not only was the actual

Moreover , when we observed this two wars fought by the U.S, we see some main differences .Firstly, the war between the U.S and Vietnam is considered the longest war Americans got involved from November 1955 to January 1973 as

with the European countries and could connect to the events that happened, where as the public had little information about the country of Vietnam and what was happening. This view can be seen in a poll that was taken in 1964 that stated, “A Gallup poll in 1964 revealed that two-thirds of the American people had paid little or no attention to developments in South Vietnam…” Americans had a very hard time trying to figure out where this place called Vietnam was, the majority of the country could not point it out on a map. Even soldiers who were drafted for the Vietnam War had no idea where Vietnam was. I conducted interviews with two Vietnam Veterans, and they both said the things about when they were drafted, one stated, “I had no idea where Vietnam was. I was a farm boy from

Some ask the question, was the Vietnam War just? Some may say yes it was just,and others say that it is unjust. However,Certain people view justice as slippery concept. There are always ways to get aroud justice, and that is why people believe that justice is a slippety concept. Even Plato one of the brightest of his time could not figure out whether war was just or unjust. A Certain individual, by the name of Aquinas, also attempted to elaborate his view on the war through the document Summa Theologica. His reasons consisted of, First, the authority of the sovereign by whose command the war is to be waged(Article 1). The second reason being, a just cause is

The Vietnam War is the longest war fought in America’s history (1954-1973). The Vietnam War occurred because North Vietnam followed Communist ideas and the United States followed democratic ideas. The North wanted to interfere with the South into becoming Communist but the U.S did their best to reduce or eliminate the North interference in South Vietnam. The Vietnam War was the first ever war to be shown on television. Although the U.S won the battle, the T.V exposed the horrors and struggles of the war. It seemed like the U.S was just killing random people for no reason. It made a lot of people question whether the U.S was the good or bad side. During the war, there was a theory “Domino Effect/Theory, that basically meant that once one fell under communism than the others would fall too. This war was extremely difficult because they were fighting in a forest. There were trees and bushes and everything would block the sight of the soldiers. So there was Guerilla Warfare which meant unconventional fighting, surprise attacks and ambush. Helicopters were extensively used. It was a fast in and an easy out. After the Tet Offensive, people started to distrust the government and increased the number of protests. There were war-hawks and doves. They were two completely different groups. One was anti-war and the other was pro-war. The war made a drastic impact in American Culture. Especially with the American people. The Vietnam War created division. (History.com)

The Vietnam War escalated from a Vietnamese civil war into a limited international conflict, in which the United States was deeply involved. The Vietnam War was fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerilla forces aided by the North Vietnamese. Despite increased American military involvement and signed peace agreements in 1973, the Vietnam War did not end until North Vietnam's successful invasion of South Vietnam in 1975. The Vietnam War may have been the longest war in American history, but after South Vietnam collapsed, America was left to question their highly controversial involvement in a lost cause.

“The Vietnam war was a costly and very long conflict that eroded the communist regime of North Vietnam and its allies against the South Vietnam and its ally, us the United States of America (Unknown Source).” The Vietnam War began on the eve of 1959, causing a struggle between two of our major national forces. These two forces were attempting to unify the country the both love, Vietnam.

In the middle 1960s, every male in America had to register for Selective Service Draft at age 18. He would then be eligible for the draft and could be inducted into the Army for a period of two years. If you were a college student, you could receive a deferment and would be able to finish college without the fear of being drafted. However, once finished with college, a students name would be put to the very top of the draft list and could be deployed at anytime. The anti-war movement was about young men being drafted and then sent into war that most Americans did not believe threatened the security of the US. The Vietnam War was America’s rebellious war, a war without popular support

Reasons for United States' Involvement in Vietnam In this essay I will be writing about why America got involved in the Vietnam War, between the 1950s to the 1960s. This was a steady and slow process with many deaths all because of communism. It was very costly and bloody. This essay will focus on political reasons, military reasons and economy reasons.