Jessica Stanley

1/11/19

Mid-Term Research Paper

International events have influenced individuals and families as well as bring rise to a
new era. These occasions create a new trend that will forever be remembered in history. The
Vietnam War, a long and harmful battle between the communist government of North Vietnam
and South Vietnam with their ally, the United States, can be seen as a positive catalyst for a new
trend or as a degradation of the American military system. This international affair sprouted a
new era of activism. This war began a new wave of students becoming politically active and
opposed to this detrimental war. These students found flaws in the plans and orders of this war
and made it their job to make a change. This war was found to be unwinnable. The United States
was sending in troops and they were being immediately killed. No one in the United States knew
about what was truly happening to us or the Vietnamese. The U.S. became involved with this
war, despite the fact that Vietnam had no direct threat to us and we used this opportunity to
overpower Vietnam when our country was really there in pursuit of being an ally to South
Vietnam. Finally, this all sprouted from lack of responsibilities as Congress never released a
formal declaration for this war before beginning and readying troops. This is what enraged this
new generation of activists, and it could be proven that the Vietnam War instituted this new
generation of political activism.

The Vietnam war, with the involvement of U.S. as an ally, began in 1954 originally, after
the ongoing battle between North and South Vietnam. This tension dated back to World War II
and was reignited in the late ‘40s.​1​, Many aspects of this war were seen as absurd because there
were things happening that the society didn’t think the government was seeing. This instituted a
revolt or a strong opposition to the war. Many reasons for opposition created riots,
demonstrations, political talks, and many other ways of communication by these student activists
in pursuit of change. This war started the rise of student activism and this trend only went up
from there.

This all began because the government broke the laws. Every time the U.S. wants to go to
war, or even simply be an ally to another country, Congress needs to vote on this decision and
then release a formal declaration that the U.S. will be going to war. However, for the Vietnam
war, this wasn’t the case. Without any input from the people or Congress, we went to war. This
created a large uproar in these activists because they believed that if they can’t vote and use
common sense when deciding, then how can they, as a country know if they’re using common
sense for any important decision making. Ann Froines, a political activist and student at the time
said in an interview,
 According to our constitution, Congress is supposed to vote on whether the United States
goes to war and in the case of Vietnam, that never happened. President Kennedy sort of
started intervening and sending green berets and special forces in the U.S. army to
Vietnam secretly in 1962-63 and then President Johnson escalated the war in 1965
without consulting Congress. So part of our opposition was that U.S. soldiers were being
sent to Vietnam more or less at the behest of the Pentagon and the president, not as a
result of Congress declaring war officially.​2

She felt, like many others, that the voice of the U.S. hadn’t been conveyed in the decision
making on whether or not the United States should be an ally for South Vietnam. This what
began the era of activism. Many activists believed that if there was rule following and if the
government had gone through with the thought process, then they could have avoided this
situation. They could avoid being apart of this war, where they are simply going and getting
killed and not gaining the benefits. If Congress was able to vote, it would have been determined
that going to war with such a powerful force was not the best move for us. Instead, we went to
war, because of the president’s and the Pentagon's order. If America had followed the correct
steps and gotten the opinion of Congress, this war could have been easily preventable. The
activists used the flaws of America to make a change, but within this action, they started a
movement.

The Vietnam War was a long detrimental war that caused the murder of millions of
people from both the U.S. and Vietnamese. This is one of the causes of this new rise of student
political activism. What they saw was a war completely unwinnable. The U.S. was being easily
overpowered and it was clear that we were the inferior ally. These students saw what was going
on and had the realization that the U.S. was sending troops from the U.S., one after another, to
just get a message home that they were all dead. We were putting the U.S. on the line because we
were fighting the fight and being affected by the casualties, but we never seemed to gain the
benefits. Ross Canton, a Vietnam veteran, joined the anti-Vietnam movement after coming
home. He said in an interview, “Most of us, our parents were immigrants who really came here
for the American Dream. We grew up with that idea that it would be a new country, a new world,
and a better world.”​3​ Canton believed that everyone was simply trying to succeed and live the
American dream, but constantly the government would come and pick from the groups and take
young men away to simply be killed. Brothers, sons, fathers, and uncles were being drafted into
this war, when everyone knew the outcome. These activists saw that the U.S. was dooming each
man, one after another, to gain nothing. This caused a major rumble within the activists. This
started demonstrations and riots to show the government that the U.S. is not advancing, but
simply destroying the lives of hundreds of thousands of men. In 1968, many anti-Vietnam
activists marched in front of the white house, in pursuit of sharing the message that every man
was dying. They walked around holding signs and chanting, “‘Stop the War,’​4​ ‘Bring the GI's
Home Now,’ and ‘We Mourn Our Soldiers, They Are Dying in Vain.’” Their sons, fathers,
husbands, and brothers were being taken away from their own homes, and the activists were
infuriated because it directly affected them and their family. The Vietnam War directly affected
each person in the U.S., which clearly instituted this new trend of activism.

What many don’t know about the opposition from these activists, is that there were things
going on in Vietnam that weren’t broadcasted. The U.S. was lacking to cover the devastation in
Vietnam that included rape and millions of Vietnamese deaths. Many people were enraged
because we were contributing to a war where our actions did not reflect our values and goals.
The United States went to Vietnam as an ally for South Vietnam. They went to assist and provide
aid to the South, however, they were committing crimes that were unnecessary and unneeded.
Rape ran rampant throughout the height of the Vietnam war, but there was no media output on it,
but these students activists wanted to do something about, even if it meant going against
America's troops. No one fully understood the obscenity of this war in Vietnam, but slowly,
reports were being broadcasted about the real truth of these crimes. Nick Turse, a journalist,
wrote that “On August 31, 1969, a rape was committed in Vietnam. Maybe numerous rapes were
committed there that day, but this was a rare one involving American GIs that actually made its
way into the military justice system.”​5​ These American troops were using their power to sexually
harass the Vietnamese, which completely goes against the morals of humans, but also their goal
in this war. Their goal was to not overpower and feel more superior but to help create change.
What people also didn’t know is how many Vietnamese were being killed in comparison to
Americans. Yes, the amount of Americans killed was significant, but when you truly look at the
facts, these casualties look like nothing compared to the other side. This was part of these
student’s opposition. They felt as if America was slacking off the damage that we were doing to
the Vietnamese. The United States military had 200,000 deaths, while Vietnam had a combined
3 million deaths.​6​ What infuriated these activists so much, is that we failed as a country to
properly represent these deaths in the same respect we would American soldiers, but we brushed
them away with no importance. America wasn’t just destroying the land and the people but
destroying their generation and their culture. The flaws of America's lack of respect was one of
the reasons for these activist’s oppositions. It acted as a catalyst for this new trend.

Beyond all this, America used its power to spread its culture throughout Vietnam and use
their superiority to make others do what they wanted them to do.​7​ This also branches away from
their goal, and it is another reason people were so opposed to the war. The United States was an
ally and was not directly in this war, nor a threat to any side. Ann Froines, a political activist
during the height of the war said in an interview,

Some of us, particularly the ones on the delegation I went with, felt that the United States
were acting like an imperial power and trying to exercise power and control of the
political change and economic outcomes in other countries even as far away as Vietnam,
on the other side of the world. It was part of a cold war strategy, but it was just
 illegitimate from our view for many reasons and as the war proceeded more and more
terrible war crimes were revealed where civilians in the thousands were killed by
bombing and by napalm.​8

It didn’t seem legitimate for the U.S. to control other countries outcome of the war when
the U.S. was never in a strong position. These activists began protesting because they didn’t
understand why the U.S., when it was evident that we didn’t have the same power as North
Vietnam, we got to decide the outcome of the war for other countries. The United States was
taking matters into their own hands in affairs that weren't theirs to claim. We took control of
their economics and their control.

It is clear that the Vietnam War was the catalyst to this new era of student political
activism. The flaws of this war brought out the power of change in these students and allowed
them a platform to share their opinion about affairs on an international level. It kick-started a
generation of people who can stand up for what they believe in and make it clear. Without the
Vietnam War, activism wouldn’t be anything that it is like in present-day time. Therefore, it can
be proven that the Vietnam War affected the lives of millions both nationally and internationally.
Endnotes
1. History.com Editors. "Vietnam War." History.com. Last modified October 29, 2009.
Accessed December 18, 2018. https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/
vietnam-war-history.

2. Ann Froines, "The Vietnam Opposition - Interview #2," by Jessica Stanley, audio file,
10:56, Soundcloud, December 8, 2018, accessed December 13, 2018,
https://soundcloud.com/user-340653657/saturday-06-47-pm.

3. Canton, Ross. "'There Was All This Chaos': Vietnam-Era Anti-war Activists Reflect."
Interview by Daniel Levy. Time.com. Accessed December 19, 2018
http://time.com/3676805/vietnam-antiwar-activists-reflect/.

4. Daniel S. Levy, "Behind the Anti- War Protests That Swept America in 1968," ​Time​,
[Page #], accessed December 5, 2018, http://time.com/5106608/protest-1968/.

5. Monika Bauerlein, "Rape Was Rampant during the Vietnam War. Why Doesn’t US
History Remember This?," ​MotherJones​, [Page #], accessed December 5, 2018,
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/rape-wartime-vietnam/.

6. Vietnam War," Britannica.com, accessed December 18, 2018,

https://www.britannica.com/event/Vietnam-War​.

7. Opposition to United States Involvement in the Vietnam War," Wikipedia, accessed

December 13, 2018,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposition_to_United_States_involvement_in_the_Vietna
m_War​.

8. Ann Froines, "The Vietnam Opposition - Interview #2," by Jessica Stanley, audio file,
10:56, Soundcloud, December 8, 2018, accessed December 13, 2018,
https://soundcloud.com/user-340653657/saturday-06-47-pm​.