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  • Essay / Why America Was Involved in the Vietnam War

    I have chosen the topic of the Vietnam War as the basis for my final article this semester. I chose this topic purely out of curiosity and a desire to know more about why America was involved in the Vietnam War and how it started. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The main reason I even wanted to know more about this was the fact that I wanted to understand why these students at Kent State were protesting this war in 1970, and I wanted to understand why those who were there that day and who lost their lives felt such passion to protest. What I didn't realize or anticipate was that I would find so much pleasure delving into the political cartoons that were being drawn at that time and I ended up absolutely loving looking at the works of political cartoonist Herbert Lawrence Block, known by his byline as Herblock who had written for the "Washington Post" during a career spanning more than 50 years. In this cartoon, it is called “The Other Ascent Towards the Unknown”. It depicts the image of an American soldier who appears to be walking up a staircase and at the top of the staircase which is full of cloudy smoke, there is a simple caption "VIET-NAM", written across the staircase. Which clearly indicates that this is a soldier marching into the unknown of the Vietnam battle and you can imagine someone looking ready for war, but the slight downward turn of the mouth gives me the The impression of a soldier heading towards something he is not ready for. because. From the look on this man's face, it seems to me that he is confused and already defeated, his posture in which the way he was drawn looks back at me. The soldier's back is stiff as if he is stopping and if you look at the soldier's left leg it looks like his foot healing is flat as if he is resting while the toe area of ​​his boot is slightly curved and it's almost like it's digging. on the step as if he were going to stop there while his left leg gives the impression that he is moving lightly to the next step. To me, that doesn't sound like someone who is ready to go into Vietnam, just like America as a whole was not ready to take on Vietnam and the devastation it would cause to our country. What I learned was that the Vietnam War began with America's commitment to intervening to contain and prevent communism during the Cold War. The communist nation of the Republic of North Vietnam fought against the American-backed Republic of South Vietnam for around fifteen years. The goal of this war was to help South Vietnam avoid being overrun, but the United States unfortunately lacked the tactical experience in gorilla "jungle" warfare that the Vietnamese used against them. Lyndon Johnson suggested during the 1964 presidential campaign that because of the problems between North and South Vietnam, he did not believe that candidate Barry Goldwater would be strong enough to keep the United States out of the war. Shortly after this election, Johnson's intentions made it clear that he actually wanted to increase American involvement in the Vietnam War, because he ultimately wanted to take charge of that war itself and prevent this takeover. by the communists. Johnson finally authorized the role in which he led his country. program in which America was led in the direction that allowed the United States to assume more direct military involvement in the Vietnam War and all that.