This unit in Policy we learned about wars, war policies and the soldiers who fought in them. Specifically, we focused on the Vietnam War and the Korean War. Throughout the unit I read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, a collection of stories about the soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War. The chapters we read focused on the specifics of war and the effect it had on the soldiers. Occasionally we would have discussions and got to share our thoughts with one another. As a class, we visited the National Veteran Museum where we visually got to understand war and inside the minds of the veterans. A tour guide showed us the Things They Carried exhibit, where I got to put the war in my own reality(it was quite eye-opening). For this Action Project, we had to choose a war that we've been learning about in or out of class. Then we had to choose whether America's involvement/entry in it was justified or not through the policies and actions throughout it. I choose to write a paper about Vietnam War because I feel strongly about it being unjustified and I believe it was morally wrong.
Below is my paper, enjoy!
Vietnam War, Britannica, 1955
The Vietnam War officially began on November 30, 1955, it all started with Ho Chi Minh, the communist leader in North Vietnam who founded the Indochinese Communist Party. He wanted to unite Vietnam under communism so he declared war in 1959 (Olson,6). South Vietnam was opposed to this idea and wanted independence from communism, in order to do so they got help from anti-communist countries such as the United States, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, New Zealand, and the Kingdom of Laos. The anti-communist fought against North Vietnam, who was allied with Soviet Union, North Korea, Pathet Lao and Khmer Rouge.The war was fought in four different locations: North Vietnam, South Vietnam , Laos, and Cambodia. America spent roughly $780 billion on bombs during the Vietnam War. US troops would use a burning chemical called Napalm. Napalm was a mixture of plastic polystyrene, benzene and gasoline that creates a jelly substance that burns up to 1,500 Fahrenheit to 2,200. It would usually be used on buildings (vietnamawbb.weebly.com) . Another tactic used by US ground troops were Agent Orange, a chemical herbicide that would destroy plants and agriculture. Agent Orange was later deemed a violation of the Geneva Contract and using any other herbicides during war. The Vietnam War was fought to stop the spread of communism of Southeast Asia, the immediate causes of it was: the communists attacking the capital of Vietnam and the Gulf of Tonkin incident.The underlying causes was to stop communism for the sake of capitalism. In order for capitalism to thrive in the U.S there must be other countries to build the market.The domino theory (the concern that communism would spread across the world) opposed to what capitalism wanted- free market and the ability to become rich.
The presidency in America throughout the war had no conclusion as how to deal with the it knowing that we were already in a sticky situation. The Vietnam War lasted for such a long time that 4 presidents served over the course of the 20 years: Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. As the years progressed, America got more immersed in the war, something we did not expect or want to happen. Dwight Eisenhower didn’t want to get involved with the war. During the President’s News Conference of 1955 Eisenhower stated: “I cannot conceive of a greater tragedy for America than to get heavily involved now in an all-out war in any of those regions.”(Presidency.ucsb.edu)JFk tripled the military in Vietnam thinking that it would be best for America and Southeast Asia. Lyndon B Johnson was appointed president in 1963 during the Vietnam War after the assassination of JFK. After assuming the position of Kennedy, LBJ had to take part in the crisis that was happening in Vietnam. His primary goal was to put an end with the involvement of the war , but instead he ended up deploying more soldiers. After two U.S warships radioed that North Vietnam had fired onto their surface, President Johnson requested permission from US congress to increase our military in Indochina. August of 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution that would further any military actions that Johnson saw fit to retaliate and maintain peace in Southeast Asia. This led to more violence, making the US more involved in the war than we ever were.
In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution. Congress proposed and passed the War Powers Resolution due to the negative and messy aftermath of the war. Congress wanted to ensure that there was an agreement between both legislative and the executive branch. It states that the President must notify Congress within 48 hours of sending armed forces into military action. The War Powers Act was passed by the House of Rep and Senate but was vetoed by President Nixon.
President Nixon vetoed the War Powers Act believing that it took away the rights of the President as the Commander in chief.“(The war resolution act) would attempt to take away, by a mere legislative act, authorities which the President has properly exercised under the Constitution for almost 200 years. …The only way in which the constitutional powers of a branch of the Government can be altered is by amending the Constitution.”(Presidency.ucsb.edu) Nixon began bombing Cambodia in secret without consenting with Congress or announcing to the public. People began to lose trust in the government because of this and that feeling of distrust intensified when the Pentagon Papers(a compilation of papers that revealed secret information about America’s involvement in Indochina) became public in 1971(Billofrightsinstitute.org). I believe that the War Powers Act is legal in every aspect. The role of Congress to is to declare war; the war powers resolution act assures that the President doesn’t declare or make any decisions along those lines. Stated in Article 1 section 8, Congress has the power to “...To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water.”(Loc.gov) Thus meaning that Congress and only Congress can declare war, but some may argue that the President as commander in chief has the right to send armed forces to the military. This blurs the role of the legislative and executive branch that eventually leads to conflict.The effects of the war powers resolution of 1973 were that it led to confliction between the executive and legislative branches.
America’s involvement in the Vietnam War was unjust, chaotic and immoral.We fought for free market-capitalism and to stop the spread of communism. America spent over $780 billion over the course of 20 years on bombs, weapons, and equipment. $780 billion wasted on killing people-- some even innocent--, destroying the lives of veterans that we as a country don’t acknowledge and ruining the land of Vietnam. Next time you hear about the Vietnam War, do not parade what seems to be a win on our part but recognize our losses.
Citations:
Dwight D. Eisenhower: The President's News Conference - February 9, 1955." The American Presidency Project. Web. 22 May 2017.
Napalm, Agent Orange - The Vietnam War. Web. 22 May 2017.
Nixon and the War Powers Resolution." Bill of Rights Institute. Web. 22 May 2017.
Olson, James Stuart, and Randy Roberts. Where the Domino Fell: America and Vietnam, 1945-2010. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2014. Print.
"Richard Nixon: Veto of the War Powers Resolution - October 24, 1973." The American Presidency Project. Web. 22 May 2017.
Napalm, Agent Orange - The Vietnam War. Web. 22 May 2017.
Nixon and the War Powers Resolution." Bill of Rights Institute. Web. 22 May 2017.
Olson, James Stuart, and Randy Roberts. Where the Domino Fell: America and Vietnam, 1945-2010. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2014. Print.
"Richard Nixon: Veto of the War Powers Resolution - October 24, 1973." The American Presidency Project. Web. 22 May 2017.
"War Powers." War Powers | Law Library of Congress | Library of Congress. Web. 22 May 2017.
