You are an opponent of American involvement in Vietnam. Use the evidence in this chapter to begin formulating ideas to make a poster or a leaflet putting forward your views. You will work on this in class on Friday. You can include stories and images from pages 353-61. However, you must also include an explanation that will convince the supporters of containment that the policy is not working in Vietnam. OPTIONAL: Instead of opposing the war, you can support it. Feel free to make a COUNTER-ARGUMENT that the war is necessary to contain Communism.
1. Note all of the reasons why you feel the war in Vietnam is wrong.
-no reason to be there; let them solve their own problems
-killing millions
-wasting billions of dollars
-isn't morally justified
-far away from the US
-domino effect is absurd
2. Note what you re trying to achieve with this poster. (e.g. to convince people to write to their Congressmen to get the troops out.)
-convince people to vote out congressmen who support the war
-convince people the war is wrong
-get people to join the antiwar movement
-get people to talk to their congressmen about it
3. List possible images for your poster. Think about: background (e.g. destroyed villages); the central image (e.g. picture of a young soldier); whether you will need words to explain your image.
-monks burning themselves; this is what the US backs
-My Lai massacre
-young soldier
-burning forests and villages
-dead bodies
-peace symbol
-south Vietnamese police officer killing the young Vietcong man
4. List some possible slogans for your poster.
-Hey hey LBJ...
-make love not war
-End the War Today
-Stop the Atrocities Now
Showing posts with label My_Lai_Massacre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My_Lai_Massacre. Show all posts
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Vietnam War Turning Points
1. Why was the Tet Offensive a turning point? Explain your answer.
The Tet Offensive was not a turning point. Neither side gained anything from it, in fact both sides probably lost an equivalent amount of man power and resources as a result of it. Furthermore, it did not sway public opinion in the US to thoroughly, and public opinion was what in the end decided the outcome of the war. However it was around the point that Johnson decided that the war could not be won militarily, however his successor, Richard Nixon did not share this belief continued to fight in Vietnam. NOTE: The article does not agree with this but Nixon's own memoirs admit that he tried to end the war with the US in a honorable way, however this was not going to be possible without further involvement in Vietnam.
2. Are Sources 51 and 52 making the same point about the My Lai Massacre?
Sources 52 and 2 do not agree. 51 is opposes the reasons behind the My Lai Massacre, calling it a Nazi thing to do. However, it also says that many of the soldiers did not know what they were doing. Source 52 says that it was not a massacre of people at all, just the killing of pawns who supported a bad idea; communism.
3. Why do you think it took 12 months for
anyone to do anything about the massacre?
It probably took 12 months for anything to be done about the massacre because 1), manny people thought that nothing incredibly inhumane or different from anything else in war had happened, and 2) it was greatly discrediting to the US military and would have enraged many antiwar protesters who were already angry about the war.
4. Why was the massacre so shocking to
the American public?
The massacre was so shocking to the American public because no one thought that the US military would ever do something so evil as to kill around 400 innocent civilians, and it was done by ordinary Americans, many who were drafted into the war. Furthermore, it was the type of thing that they were led to believe that Communists would do, not Americans.
The Tet Offensive was not a turning point. Neither side gained anything from it, in fact both sides probably lost an equivalent amount of man power and resources as a result of it. Furthermore, it did not sway public opinion in the US to thoroughly, and public opinion was what in the end decided the outcome of the war. However it was around the point that Johnson decided that the war could not be won militarily, however his successor, Richard Nixon did not share this belief continued to fight in Vietnam. NOTE: The article does not agree with this but Nixon's own memoirs admit that he tried to end the war with the US in a honorable way, however this was not going to be possible without further involvement in Vietnam.
2. Are Sources 51 and 52 making the same point about the My Lai Massacre?
Sources 52 and 2 do not agree. 51 is opposes the reasons behind the My Lai Massacre, calling it a Nazi thing to do. However, it also says that many of the soldiers did not know what they were doing. Source 52 says that it was not a massacre of people at all, just the killing of pawns who supported a bad idea; communism.
3. Why do you think it took 12 months for
anyone to do anything about the massacre?
It probably took 12 months for anything to be done about the massacre because 1), manny people thought that nothing incredibly inhumane or different from anything else in war had happened, and 2) it was greatly discrediting to the US military and would have enraged many antiwar protesters who were already angry about the war.
4. Why was the massacre so shocking to
the American public?
The massacre was so shocking to the American public because no one thought that the US military would ever do something so evil as to kill around 400 innocent civilians, and it was done by ordinary Americans, many who were drafted into the war. Furthermore, it was the type of thing that they were led to believe that Communists would do, not Americans.
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