1. When the Vietnam War ended...
a) Many Americans wanted to return and win
b) Many Vietnamese wanted to leave the county for the safety of America
c) Many people still trusted the government and its decisions
A: b?
2. Roughly how many soldiers were killed in the Vietnam War?
A: 60,000
3. What country controlled Vietnam before the Vietnam War?
A: France
4. True or false: the death of Kennedy moved the country into a new time period where people questioned things more.
A: True
5. True or false: President Johnson did win reelection in 1964.
A: true
6. True or false: President Johnson thought the Vietnam War was going well enough that he decided to run for reelection in 1968.
A: False
7. Why did the Vietnam War become increasingly unpopular to the point that every presidential candidate had plans to leave the war without victory?
A: The Vietnam War became increasingly unpopular for two reasons. The first reason was the use of the draft. Many people did not want to fight in a war that they did not necessarily believe in. It was also very difficult for people to watch their friends and loved ones be forced into a war that they knew they would likely not returned from or possibly be killed in. Another reason the Vietnam War became so unpopular was the Tet Offensive, a series of major attacks by Vietnamese communist troops in the Vietnam War. Although American troops were able to push the Vietnamese back, it cost many American lives and made it seem to citizens that the war could not be won. Newscaster Walter Cronkite reinforced this idea in citizen's heads by saying that the United States was at "a stalemate," meaning that the U.S. could not longer win the war but could continue to fight and, in turn, lose more American men.
All your answers are correct! The
"official" number for #2 is 58,000 American troops. Millions of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians died in the conflict, too.
On question #7, your text may not say so, but many Americans also began to realize that the conflict in Vietnam was more a civil war than it was about communism versus capitalism. Yes, North Vietnam was communist and backed, to some extent, by the U.S.S.R., but the war was more about uniting North and South Vietnam than it was a threat to the United States. Therefore, many Americans began to feel that it was not worth the cost in lives and money to us.
Wait, what?
To answer this question, we need to understand the historical context of the Vietnam War and the reasons behind its unpopularity. We can break it down into two main reasons:
1. The Draft: The implementation of the draft during the Vietnam War was a major factor in its increasing unpopularity. The draft allowed the government to conscript young American men into military service against their will. This caused widespread discontent among the American public, as many did not want to fight in a war they did not necessarily believe in. Additionally, witnessing friends and loved ones being forcibly sent to fight in a war they may not return from or potentially be killed in added to the opposition.
2. The Tet Offensive: The Tet Offensive was a series of coordinated attacks by Vietnamese communist troops against South Vietnamese and American forces during the Vietnam War. While American troops were able to push back the Vietnamese forces, the Tet Offensive had a significant impact on public perception and contributed to the war's unpopularity. The offensive demonstrated that the war was far from over and that victory was not easily achievable. News coverage, particularly by newscaster Walter Cronkite, further reinforced this idea by stating that the United States was not winning but rather in a "stalemate," indicating that the war was not fruitful and would only result in more American casualties.
These two factors, among others, led to the Vietnam War's increasing unpopularity to the extent that nearly every presidential candidate during and after the war had plans to withdraw from it without achieving a victory.