Following a victory over a battle with the French, North Vietnam in 1954, set ways into communism and in turn proceeded to try and reign over the now divided Southern Vietnam. The Soviet Union and china were the biggest supporters for the Northern Vietnam, while the United States was the backing for the Southern. It was at this point President Kennedy sent in Green Berets, to help maintain the democracy in Southern Vietnam. Three United States presidents had continued to back the fight against communism in the world, and to stop it from spreading. Thus, proving we would do whatever it
In the 1930's, communism seemed good to some people in the United States. After World War II began, the United States Congress passed something called the Alien Registration Acts. These acts made it a crime to organize a group that would overthrow the U.S. government. The Alien Registration Acts also required that all foreigners in the United States register with the government. This act was mainly directed at communists.
I will use the method of focusing on the misconceptions the press expressed to the public, false interpretations of the Tet Offensive regarding American military and government as well as facts that the press failed to express to the media. I will analyze two relative primary sources, one being a news broadcast and the other being a photograph. By the end of the Investigation I will express a complete understanding of the question, “To what extent did the media affect the American public’s opinion on the war in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive of 1968?” B. Summary of Evidence: • Tet offensive was expressed as a defeat by the New York liberal media but was agreed by many
They both reinforced their beliefs in the Paris Peace Accords time and time again. While this is the image that they portrayed to the American people, who wanted no part in Vietnam to begin with, Nixon and Kissinger could be seen as men who only wanted to satisfy Americans but not intend to keep their promises of peace. Behind the scenes, it is ultimately realized that Nixon and Kissinger knew full well that the Paris Peace Accords were destined for failure and its sole purpose was to appease Americans domestically and remove POW’s from behind enemy lines (Madaras Pg. 378). As soon as North Vietnam violated the agreements of the Accords, which was all but a guarantee, Nixon would fulfill his promise to South Vietnamese President
Anchors and reporters quickly became trusted, household names because the public turned to them every night for the day's information about the war. Walter Cronkite was even referred to as the "most trusted man in America" throughout the war ( Hallin, 1986, p.106). Even though the American viewers thought the images they were viewing were accurate accounts of the Vietnam War, they were actually watching, were edited thirty-minute versions of an extremely complex war. The most damaging statement came from the "most trusted man in America", Walter Cronkite. In a CBS special, Cronkite concluded, "To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past, to say we are mired in a bloody stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory conclusion" ( Hallin, 1986, p.170) This did not help increase the support for our troops in Vietnam.
It certainly seems that they tried to mend the damage done by appearing on public affairs programs and making speeches about how the Tet was an allied victory and a Communist defeat, but it seems that the damage had already been done. [7] “The Johnson administration’s public relations efforts to salvage popular support for the US Vietnam War policy in the aftermath of the Tet assault failed. Maybe the media is given the same freedom to report and access today, in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, as they were in Vietnam. It may just be that the heart of the American people today are just so hardened with hate for the people we are fighting that we just overlook the atrocities and incompetence that is reported. I am sure that looking back on it, the Johnson administration wished that it had a better handle on the media by maybe using more censorship and giving the media less access to the fighting.
This was the balance of terror. Why were US backed radio stations an effective means of propaganda? America also used financed radio stations like Radio Free Europe and the government’s official station, Voice of America. They broadcasted news to inform people who were trapped behind the iron curtain and to give them a taste of American music. The radio free Europe station broadcasted propaganda which was very successful in undermining support among young people for the Communist
The government reacted by charging Snowden under the Espionage Act, he is also seen as a heroic whistleblower looking out for his country. Interested in the general welfare of the citizens of America, he is willing to sacrifice his privileged life in America to protect the rights of privacy for Americans, therefore he is a whistleblower despite the government’s efforts to portray him as a traitor.. Snowden landed a job as a security guard for the NSA, he then switched to the CIA and was stationed in Geneva, but in 2009 he left to work for private contractors Booz Allen Hamilton which was a tech consulting firm. He went to Japan to work as a subcontractor, he was later transferred to Hawaii. Three months into his job in the Oahu office, he began noticing disturbing evidence of government programs that allowed the NSA to spy on American citizens through their phone conversations and internet history. Knowing it would cost him his job and $200,000 salary and much more he began copying and collecting documents secretly while he was at work that contained vast information on the agency’s practices of spying on innocent people.
Before the Vietnam War, the media's job was to keep the American listeners and readers optimistic and panic free. A distinguishing factor or event that leads to advancement was the role of the media. Before 1960 and the approval of the war, news treatment of military accomplishments was restricted profoundly by the government and it was intended for the concentration of Government policy. The Vietnam War changed all this by bringing the war into the TV lounge of the American
The United States was torn in many factions at that time period, Civil Rights Movement being a major one. We learned that we can rise up and be heard as a people to our leaders, that even one person can make a difference. We became more aware of the secrets our government had been keeping, and their ability to do so, and by the end of the Vietnam War made attempts to make sure this would not happen again. References Barringer, Mark. (2009).