1. It is August 9, 1974. Nixon has just resigned as president. You are a lawyer who has been asked to write a well-developed argument as to whether or not Nixon should be indicted and prosecuted as a civilian for crimes committed during the Watergate scandal. What is your opinion? Be sure to cite evidence from the two-page memorandum and appropriate clauses from the U.S. Constitution (over).
I strongly believe that President Nixon should be prosecuted as a civilian for the crimes he has committed during the Watergate scandal. Nixon is no different from any other civilian who has committed crimes such as Nixon. If we are to allow President Nixon to get away and not be prosecuted for his crimes, we are generally saying that he is different from any other man. In the constitution of the United States, Article 1, Section 3 clause 7 it states that he is "liable and subjected to the Indictment, Trial, Judgement, and punishment, according to law." It is also mentioned in the Constitution that the president, in Article 2, Section 1, Clause 8, "before he enters on the Execution of his office, must take the following oath or affirmation that he will do the best of his ability to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution." Nixon lied to the public nation, obstructed justice, abused his power as president, and therefore tested the Constitution, he did nothing of the sort of protecting or defending the Constitution. Nixon is a perfect example of a president trying to stretch the power of the executive branch, so if we are to let Nixon get away with such crimes, we are not setting a good example as for the future presidencies. If Nixon were to have followed the orders of the Supreme Court and handed over the tapes, he good have ended this. But Nixon chose not to, and because of his poor decisions it is our role to prosecute Nixon.
2. It is September 8, 1974. Nixon has just been pardoned by President Gerald Ford. You are a lawyer who has been asked to write a well-developed argument as to whether or not Nixon should have been pardoned for any crimes committed while he was president. What is your opinion? Be sure to cite evidence from the two-page memorandum, appropriate clauses from the U.S. Constitution (over), and Ford’s pardon and explanation.
It is September 8, 1974 and our new president Gerald Ford has just pardoned President Nixon for his crimes during his presidency. I do not believe this was the correct way to handle Nixon's actions during his presidency. In my opinion, Ford had only pardoned Nixon because he knew that the spectacle of a president on trial for crimes such as obstructing justice does not look good for our nation, therefore to avoid the shame and embarrassment of prosecuting Nixon, Ford decided to pardon his actions. I strongly believe that if we pardon Nixon we are giving future presidents the impression that they can get away with such crimes, and can be pardoned for doing so too. Ford claims that, "Nixon had already suffered enormously." and that he didn't think "the country wanted to see an ex-president behind bars." Some people might agree with President Ford, but when one commits a crime they must be punished, and if not then there is no justice in the outcome.
3. Do you think Richard Nixon’s acceptance of Ford’s pardon was an admission of guilt? Explain.
No I do not believe that Nixon's acceptance of Ford's pardon was an admission of guilt. If Nixon had felt so guilty, then he should have had a trial and be fairly convicted. Also, he still tried to deny any involvement even when there was still hard evidence.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
United States v. Nixon
The Cover-up:
1. Regardless of the outcome, should the President of the United States have a right to privacy in regards to the Oval Office tapes? Explain.
I believe that the President of the United States definitely should not have the right to privacy in regards to the Oval Office Tapes. This is because, regardless of the right of privacy, the tapes were an extreme significance to the Watergate Crisis and was an extremely valuable piece of evidence. If the president were to be committing illegal crimes, and such news like the evidence of the existence of the tapes were leaked, the President should not have the right to deny this evidence because it is his own privacy because it will help determine the justice that should be served in the case. And anyways, if the president is denying any access to a piece of evidence, it is probably because the evidence is not in their favor which just proves that the evidence should be leaked to find this justice.
2. Was President Nixon justified when he fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox? Explain.
I believe that President Nixon was not justified. At this point Nixon had been abusing his power in office. He basically was saying "I don't like the way this court case it going, so I'm just going to put an end to it by firing those associated with trying to force me into giving up the tapes." When he fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox he had only done this because Cox had been trying to get him to release the evidence of the tapes and was determined on doing so. Therefore Nixon fired him and had intervened with justice that could have been served by releasing the tapes.
3. Was Nixon creating a Constitutional crisis by refusing to hand-over the tapes? Explain.
Yes he was. By refusing to hand-over the tapes to the Court he had basically been saying screw you to the judicial branch and acting as if the executive branch had more power over the judicial when it reality all the branches had equal power of course. Nixon's action's led Congress to question whether the President had the authority or right to keep the tapes.
Closure:
4. Why do you think the American public was so outraged by Watergate?
The American Public was so outraged by the Watergate Crisis most likely because the plumbers, the five men acting in the watergate robbery, were paid 25,000 dollars of the CREEP's fundraiser money that had been donated by the American public. Basically, the Watergate incident was funded by the money of the american public for illegal purposes. Another reason for the outrage of the American Public would be the fact that president Nixon had deliberately lied to the American Public by stating that he had no business in the Watergate business and denied any knowledge of the crime. However when the tapers were released, the government was able to discover what Nixon knew and when he knew it; Nixon had known about the Watergate incident two days before his announcement to the public stating he knew nothing of it. Therefore the public now knew the president was lying to them, outraging them.
5. Do you think President Nixon should have resigned? Explain.
I do think it was smart of President Nixon to resign before he could have been impeached. There was no way that Nixon was going to come out of the case winning, there was too much evidence against him. Therefore by resigning he is saving himself the embarrassment and shame of being impeached. Therefore by resigning he has saved himself some pride, compared to feeling the shame of being impeached.
6. Do you think President Nixon should have been prosecuted? Explain.
I definitely do feel that President Nixon should have been prosecuted because of the illegal crimes he had been committing. Nixon had been committing these crimes for a long time during his presidency, the Watergate Crisis is only an example of one crime he committed that had finally gone wrong. Nixon knew about the Watergate break-in, however he continued to deny any involvement of himself or his administration. He had been lying to the Supreme Court and the American public, and therefore obstructing justice. Also throughout the crisis had had been obstructing crisis. For example he tried to force the CIA to get the FBI to stop the investigation, he fired Cox just because things in the case were not going his way and he did not want to give up the tapes that Cox had been so determined on obtaining, and he had refused to hand over the tapes and therefore had been abusing his power in office. Just because Nixon is president he should not be treated any differently in this case because he had been obstructing justice, and therefore should have been punished.
1. Regardless of the outcome, should the President of the United States have a right to privacy in regards to the Oval Office tapes? Explain.
I believe that the President of the United States definitely should not have the right to privacy in regards to the Oval Office Tapes. This is because, regardless of the right of privacy, the tapes were an extreme significance to the Watergate Crisis and was an extremely valuable piece of evidence. If the president were to be committing illegal crimes, and such news like the evidence of the existence of the tapes were leaked, the President should not have the right to deny this evidence because it is his own privacy because it will help determine the justice that should be served in the case. And anyways, if the president is denying any access to a piece of evidence, it is probably because the evidence is not in their favor which just proves that the evidence should be leaked to find this justice.
2. Was President Nixon justified when he fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox? Explain.
I believe that President Nixon was not justified. At this point Nixon had been abusing his power in office. He basically was saying "I don't like the way this court case it going, so I'm just going to put an end to it by firing those associated with trying to force me into giving up the tapes." When he fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox he had only done this because Cox had been trying to get him to release the evidence of the tapes and was determined on doing so. Therefore Nixon fired him and had intervened with justice that could have been served by releasing the tapes.
3. Was Nixon creating a Constitutional crisis by refusing to hand-over the tapes? Explain.
Yes he was. By refusing to hand-over the tapes to the Court he had basically been saying screw you to the judicial branch and acting as if the executive branch had more power over the judicial when it reality all the branches had equal power of course. Nixon's action's led Congress to question whether the President had the authority or right to keep the tapes.
Closure:
4. Why do you think the American public was so outraged by Watergate?
The American Public was so outraged by the Watergate Crisis most likely because the plumbers, the five men acting in the watergate robbery, were paid 25,000 dollars of the CREEP's fundraiser money that had been donated by the American public. Basically, the Watergate incident was funded by the money of the american public for illegal purposes. Another reason for the outrage of the American Public would be the fact that president Nixon had deliberately lied to the American Public by stating that he had no business in the Watergate business and denied any knowledge of the crime. However when the tapers were released, the government was able to discover what Nixon knew and when he knew it; Nixon had known about the Watergate incident two days before his announcement to the public stating he knew nothing of it. Therefore the public now knew the president was lying to them, outraging them.
5. Do you think President Nixon should have resigned? Explain.
I do think it was smart of President Nixon to resign before he could have been impeached. There was no way that Nixon was going to come out of the case winning, there was too much evidence against him. Therefore by resigning he is saving himself the embarrassment and shame of being impeached. Therefore by resigning he has saved himself some pride, compared to feeling the shame of being impeached.
6. Do you think President Nixon should have been prosecuted? Explain.
I definitely do feel that President Nixon should have been prosecuted because of the illegal crimes he had been committing. Nixon had been committing these crimes for a long time during his presidency, the Watergate Crisis is only an example of one crime he committed that had finally gone wrong. Nixon knew about the Watergate break-in, however he continued to deny any involvement of himself or his administration. He had been lying to the Supreme Court and the American public, and therefore obstructing justice. Also throughout the crisis had had been obstructing crisis. For example he tried to force the CIA to get the FBI to stop the investigation, he fired Cox just because things in the case were not going his way and he did not want to give up the tapes that Cox had been so determined on obtaining, and he had refused to hand over the tapes and therefore had been abusing his power in office. Just because Nixon is president he should not be treated any differently in this case because he had been obstructing justice, and therefore should have been punished.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Watergate: Nixon's Downfall
1. How were the "plumbers" connected to President Nixon?
The plumbers were connected to President Nixon because, they were the burglars hired by President Nixon to break into the DNC. The white house, with President Nixon's consent, tried everything to get rid of the evidence. They urged the FBI to stop the investigation into the burglary on the grounds of national security. In addition to that the CRP payed the "plumbers" 450,000 dollars to keep silent after they were indicted September of 1972.
2. Who was the judge? Why did he hand out maximum sentences?
The judge was John Sirca. He handed out maximum sentences because he had believed that the burglars had not acted by themselves, he indicated that they had lied under oath.
3. How were Mitchell and Dean connected to Nixon?
Mitchell and Dean were connected to Nixon because Nixon had dissmissed White House counsel John Dean and and announced the resignations of Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and attorney General Richard Kleindienst, who had recently replaced John Mitchell. Nixon was seen as trying to cover-up the burglary.
4. How were Haldeman and Erlichman connected to Nixon?
Haldeman and Erlichman were connected to Nixon because he had announced their resignation from the White House, which was seen as a cover-up made by President Nixon.
5. What did the following men tell the Senate about Nixon?
a. Dean: Dean stated that President Nixon had been deeply involved in the cover up. He had even said that he and Nixon, along with several advisers, discussed strategies for continuing the deceit.
b. Butterfield: Butterfield told the court that President Nixon had taped virtually all of the conversations in the White House. He claimed that the taping system was used by Nixon to "help Nixon write his memoirs." However for the Senate Committee that tape were key to revealing what Nixon knew, and when he knew.
6. Who was fired or forced to resign in the "massacre"?
President Nixon had ordered Attorney General Richardson to fire Cox (who had appointed to investigate the case.) refused to fire Cox and resigned. Next, the deputy attorney general also refused the order by Nixon and was fired. And finally, Cox was fired by General Robert Bork.
7. Why weren't investigators satisified with the transcripts?
Investigators were satisfied with the transcripts because they demanded the unedited tapes, since Nixon had sent out ones edited rather than the untampered tapes.
8. What did the tapes reveal?
The tapes revealed that President Nixon had known about the role of administrators in the burglary and that he approved the plan to distract or take the investigation away from the FBI. It also revealed the eighteen minute conversation between Haldeman and Nixon which ended up disclosing the investigation completely.
9. Why did Vice President Spiro Agnew resign?
Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned because it was revealed that he took bribery from engineering firms while he was the governor of Maryland, and he thought that he'd be impeached because he thought he had no chance in winning the trial.
10. What did the House Judiciary Committee charge President Nixon with?
The House Judiciary Committee charged President Nixon with high crimes and misdameanors. They came to the conclusion that the president should be impeached because of the scandal, which the crimes and misdameanors of the scandal made the committee discuss and decide wheither or not President Nixon should be impeached. Also, they convicted him with obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress for not obeying to release the tapes to Congress after they told him to.
11. How did the Watergate scandal create a constitutional crisis?
The Watergate scandal created a constitutional crisis because Congress had to revisit the constitution and fix how much power the President could have and fix the guidelines for the reasons why a president should be considered or should be impeached.
The plumbers were connected to President Nixon because, they were the burglars hired by President Nixon to break into the DNC. The white house, with President Nixon's consent, tried everything to get rid of the evidence. They urged the FBI to stop the investigation into the burglary on the grounds of national security. In addition to that the CRP payed the "plumbers" 450,000 dollars to keep silent after they were indicted September of 1972.
2. Who was the judge? Why did he hand out maximum sentences?
The judge was John Sirca. He handed out maximum sentences because he had believed that the burglars had not acted by themselves, he indicated that they had lied under oath.
3. How were Mitchell and Dean connected to Nixon?
Mitchell and Dean were connected to Nixon because Nixon had dissmissed White House counsel John Dean and and announced the resignations of Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and attorney General Richard Kleindienst, who had recently replaced John Mitchell. Nixon was seen as trying to cover-up the burglary.
4. How were Haldeman and Erlichman connected to Nixon?
Haldeman and Erlichman were connected to Nixon because he had announced their resignation from the White House, which was seen as a cover-up made by President Nixon.
5. What did the following men tell the Senate about Nixon?
a. Dean: Dean stated that President Nixon had been deeply involved in the cover up. He had even said that he and Nixon, along with several advisers, discussed strategies for continuing the deceit.
b. Butterfield: Butterfield told the court that President Nixon had taped virtually all of the conversations in the White House. He claimed that the taping system was used by Nixon to "help Nixon write his memoirs." However for the Senate Committee that tape were key to revealing what Nixon knew, and when he knew.
6. Who was fired or forced to resign in the "massacre"?
President Nixon had ordered Attorney General Richardson to fire Cox (who had appointed to investigate the case.) refused to fire Cox and resigned. Next, the deputy attorney general also refused the order by Nixon and was fired. And finally, Cox was fired by General Robert Bork.
7. Why weren't investigators satisified with the transcripts?
Investigators were satisfied with the transcripts because they demanded the unedited tapes, since Nixon had sent out ones edited rather than the untampered tapes.
8. What did the tapes reveal?
The tapes revealed that President Nixon had known about the role of administrators in the burglary and that he approved the plan to distract or take the investigation away from the FBI. It also revealed the eighteen minute conversation between Haldeman and Nixon which ended up disclosing the investigation completely.
9. Why did Vice President Spiro Agnew resign?
Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned because it was revealed that he took bribery from engineering firms while he was the governor of Maryland, and he thought that he'd be impeached because he thought he had no chance in winning the trial.
10. What did the House Judiciary Committee charge President Nixon with?
The House Judiciary Committee charged President Nixon with high crimes and misdameanors. They came to the conclusion that the president should be impeached because of the scandal, which the crimes and misdameanors of the scandal made the committee discuss and decide wheither or not President Nixon should be impeached. Also, they convicted him with obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress for not obeying to release the tapes to Congress after they told him to.
11. How did the Watergate scandal create a constitutional crisis?
The Watergate scandal created a constitutional crisis because Congress had to revisit the constitution and fix how much power the President could have and fix the guidelines for the reasons why a president should be considered or should be impeached.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Women Fight for Equality
Directions: As you read about the rise of a new women’s movement, take notes to explain how each of the following helped to create or advance the movement.
1. Experiences in the workplace: By 1960 women the percentage of women working for wages increased by 40 percent. But still during the time certain jobs were considered "mens jobs" therefore women were shut out. The country largely ignored this discrimination until finally President Kennedy appointed the Presidential Commission on the status of women in 1961. Because of this women were seldom promoted to management positions, regardless of their education, experience, and ability. These newly publicized facts awakened women of their unequal status in their country.
2. Experiences in social activism: These experiences led women to organize small groups to discuss their concerns. These discussions led to "consciousness raising."
3. "Consciousness raising": During these sessions women shared their lives together and discovered that their experiences were not unique. They reflected a much larger pattern of sexism. Thus raising the awareness of the problem and causing more females to realize just how serious and common the issue is.
4. Feminism: The belief that women should have economic, political, and social equality with men. Feminism was the spark to the women's movement and was the theory behind it. Therefore it was of a huge importance to the women's movement, since it had created it.
5. Betty Friedan and The Feminine Mystique: Betty Friedan wrote the book "The Feminine Mystique." This book captured the very discontent that many women were feeling, and quickly became a best seller and helped galvanize many women across the country. Betty Friedan and her book had been one of the very reasons why women started to gain more interest in the problem and how to cause it, since by the late 1960's women had been working together for change.
6. Civil Rights Act of 1964: The civil rights act of 1964 had caused women to gain strength with the passage of the act, which prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and gender. It also created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to handle discrimination claims. This helped advance the movement because it had helped women gain the strength they needed to fulfill the movement.
7. National Organization for Women (NOW): The Organization was created to pursue women's goals. NOW members pushed for the creation of child-care-facilities that would enable mothers to pursue jobs and education. It also pressured the EEOC to enforce more vigorously the ban on gender discrimination in hiring. NOW's efforts had prompted the EEOC to declare sex-segregated job ads illegal and to issue guidelines to employers, stating that they could no longer refuse to hire women for traditionally male jobs. Therefore the National Organization for Women advanced the movement tremendously by enforcing the ban on gender discrimination.
8. Gloria Steinem and Ms. Magazine: Gloria Steinem was one of the most important prominent figures in the movement after she and a few other women founded Ms. Magazine, which treated contemporary issues from a feminist perspective. She also helped founded the National Women's Political Caucus, which encouraged women to seek political office. Her actions were advanced the movement by this.
9. Congress: Congress passed a ban on gender discrimination in "any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." This was a huge advance to the movement because after Congress's actions several all-male colleges opened their doors to women. Also, that same year Congress had expanded the powers of the EEOC and gave working parents a tax break for child care expenses which was a huge help.
10. Supreme Court: The Supreme Court ruled in Roe vs Wade, one of the more controversial positions that NOW and other feminist groups supported. (Women do have the right to abortion during the first three months of pregnancy) However the issue still divides Americans today, although it shows the Supreme Court making an effort to support women in their movement.
11. The Equal rights Amendment would have guaranteed equal rights under the law, regardless of gender. Who opposed this amendment? Why? Phyllis Schlafy, along with conservative religious groups, were against the amendment because they were scared that it would lead to "a parade of horribles." Such as the drafting of women, the end of laws protecting homemakers, the end of a husband's responsibility to provide for his family, and same-sex marriages. Schlafy had claimed that radical feminists "hate men, marriage, and children" and were oppressed "only in their distorted minds."
1. Experiences in the workplace: By 1960 women the percentage of women working for wages increased by 40 percent. But still during the time certain jobs were considered "mens jobs" therefore women were shut out. The country largely ignored this discrimination until finally President Kennedy appointed the Presidential Commission on the status of women in 1961. Because of this women were seldom promoted to management positions, regardless of their education, experience, and ability. These newly publicized facts awakened women of their unequal status in their country.
2. Experiences in social activism: These experiences led women to organize small groups to discuss their concerns. These discussions led to "consciousness raising."
3. "Consciousness raising": During these sessions women shared their lives together and discovered that their experiences were not unique. They reflected a much larger pattern of sexism. Thus raising the awareness of the problem and causing more females to realize just how serious and common the issue is.
4. Feminism: The belief that women should have economic, political, and social equality with men. Feminism was the spark to the women's movement and was the theory behind it. Therefore it was of a huge importance to the women's movement, since it had created it.
5. Betty Friedan and The Feminine Mystique: Betty Friedan wrote the book "The Feminine Mystique." This book captured the very discontent that many women were feeling, and quickly became a best seller and helped galvanize many women across the country. Betty Friedan and her book had been one of the very reasons why women started to gain more interest in the problem and how to cause it, since by the late 1960's women had been working together for change.
6. Civil Rights Act of 1964: The civil rights act of 1964 had caused women to gain strength with the passage of the act, which prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and gender. It also created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to handle discrimination claims. This helped advance the movement because it had helped women gain the strength they needed to fulfill the movement.
7. National Organization for Women (NOW): The Organization was created to pursue women's goals. NOW members pushed for the creation of child-care-facilities that would enable mothers to pursue jobs and education. It also pressured the EEOC to enforce more vigorously the ban on gender discrimination in hiring. NOW's efforts had prompted the EEOC to declare sex-segregated job ads illegal and to issue guidelines to employers, stating that they could no longer refuse to hire women for traditionally male jobs. Therefore the National Organization for Women advanced the movement tremendously by enforcing the ban on gender discrimination.
8. Gloria Steinem and Ms. Magazine: Gloria Steinem was one of the most important prominent figures in the movement after she and a few other women founded Ms. Magazine, which treated contemporary issues from a feminist perspective. She also helped founded the National Women's Political Caucus, which encouraged women to seek political office. Her actions were advanced the movement by this.
9. Congress: Congress passed a ban on gender discrimination in "any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." This was a huge advance to the movement because after Congress's actions several all-male colleges opened their doors to women. Also, that same year Congress had expanded the powers of the EEOC and gave working parents a tax break for child care expenses which was a huge help.
10. Supreme Court: The Supreme Court ruled in Roe vs Wade, one of the more controversial positions that NOW and other feminist groups supported. (Women do have the right to abortion during the first three months of pregnancy) However the issue still divides Americans today, although it shows the Supreme Court making an effort to support women in their movement.
11. The Equal rights Amendment would have guaranteed equal rights under the law, regardless of gender. Who opposed this amendment? Why? Phyllis Schlafy, along with conservative religious groups, were against the amendment because they were scared that it would lead to "a parade of horribles." Such as the drafting of women, the end of laws protecting homemakers, the end of a husband's responsibility to provide for his family, and same-sex marriages. Schlafy had claimed that radical feminists "hate men, marriage, and children" and were oppressed "only in their distorted minds."
Monday, May 10, 2010
Why did the USA lose the Vietnam War?
Why did the USA lose the Vietnam War?
The Americans did not lose purely for military reasons. There were other factors as well.
Write an explanation AND cite a source which shows the importance of the following six factors:
1. US military tactics in Vietnam: During the Vietnam War the US military used a lot of ineffective tactics. These were the search & destroy tactics, the orange and napalm bombs, and finally their extensive bombing on North Vietnam. The search & destroy tactics were very very ineffective. This is because the US military had been burning down villages, and in the midst of it killing many innocent civilians mistaken for Viet Cong fighters hiding in these villages. The US had wasted their time, they found very few Viet Cong fighters and probably killed more innocent civilians rather than what they were looking for, Viet Cong. Next the orange and napalm bombs also did very little. They had not only killed innocent people, but children as well which certainly did not make the US look good to the American public when pictures leaked of children running from the Napalm bombs. (Source 42) And finally, their bombing tactics did very little to the Communists. It only slowed them down, since the Communists were able to pick up right from where they started after the bombs with a major assault attack against the US military. They had also bombed the ancient Hue (source 41) that had caused outraged amongst the American public questioning the US military and their morals during the Vietnam War.
2. The unpopularity of the South Vietnamese regime: The unpopularity of the South Vietnamese regime was another factor as to why the US lost the Vietnam War. The United States had supported Ngo Dinh Diem, who's regime was extremely corrupt. He was an extreme anti-communist who showed little respect for the Buddhist religion. Buddhist priests would protest by lightning themselves on fire in public (source 33) But America "knew of no one better." and kept supporting Diem. They needed somebody strong to help them defeat the communists. He wouldn't even hold any elections for positions of power, he would appoint members of his own family. The unpopularity of the South Vietnamese Regime was the reason for the formation of the Viet Cong. Because of the actions of these anti-communist governments, support among the ordinary peasants for the Communist- led National Front for the liberation of South Vietnam was set up, the movement is referred to as Viet Cong.
3. The experience of the Viet Cong and the inexperience of the American soldiers: The Viet Cong fighters clearly showed much more experience than the American soldiers during the Vietnam War, leading to the defeat of the US. The Viet Cong fighters had the upper hand since they were fighting in their home, they knew their land well while the America soldiers had not a clue on where they were going. The Viet Cong soldiers used their advantage well and decided to use Guerilla tactics, which was extremely effective. As seen in source Source 37, American soldiers would search and search through the jungles, but the Viet Cong was hiding in the jungle unable to be seen by the US giving them the upper hand. Viet Cong fighters had been extremely hard to find for the US soldiers because of this, leading to why the US had such a hard time defeating them.
4. Domestic opposition to the war in the U.S: During the Vietnam War the American public did not support the American soldiers being there. Many many people were opposed to the war, and therefore many anti- war protests were formed. Nasty pictures began to leak out of screaming children running fro US Napalm bombs (source 42) Along with information about the My Lai Massacre (source 50), that shocked the world. Because of this discomfort throughout the American public about their soldiers taking apart of these horrible acts, it had caused a raucous throughout the American Public demanding that the war was put to an end. The numerous amount of protests were effective in making the President think about why they were in Vietnam. This loss of support made America think about leaving Vietnam, in which they did enabling them to lose the war.
5. Chinese and Soviet support for the Viet Cong: Both the Chinese and Soviet Union had supplied Viet Cong with weapons, which was very helpful to the Viet Cong. China had been very against the US winning the Vietnam War. As shown in source 38, they didn't want America to be in Vietnam. Along with this, the Soviet Union had been supporting Viet Cong because they wanted to spread communism so they felt that they had to support Vietnam as much as possible in order to spread the communism. Clearly Viet Cong had its supporters, while the US did not. The US had the help of the South Vietnamese regime, but they were no help. They depended on the American soldiers, and therefore kind of sat bat and watched the US do all of the work. The US had been alone in the war pretty much, while Viet Cong had been supporters which is a main reason the US lost the Vietnam War.
6. 'But did they really lose?' Summarize the argument put forward in Source 57, and your view on it.:V
Source 57 makes the argument that America did not lose the Vietnam War. It makes the point that the American Military had not been defeated in Vietnam, The US had not lost the war in Vietnam- the South Vietnamese did, and the fall of Saigon. Source 57 states that American military had not been defeated because they had preformed a major military defeat for the VC and NVA. Next, the fall of Saigon had happened two years after the US military had left, therefore how could they lose a war that they had already stopped fighting? In my opinion, I believe that the Vietnam war was a loss for us. This is because we had involved ourselves in a war we were not prepared for, and that we failed at successfully defeating communism, our primary goal for being apart of the Vietnam. Since we did not achieve our goals, we did not win the war we lost. Source 57 does make a good argument as to how this isn't personally a defeat for our country. But in my perspective we wasted our time being there to get rid of communism, and we could not defeat it meaning we failed.
Add other if you think there are factors you should consider.
The Americans did not lose purely for military reasons. There were other factors as well.
Write an explanation AND cite a source which shows the importance of the following six factors:
1. US military tactics in Vietnam: During the Vietnam War the US military used a lot of ineffective tactics. These were the search & destroy tactics, the orange and napalm bombs, and finally their extensive bombing on North Vietnam. The search & destroy tactics were very very ineffective. This is because the US military had been burning down villages, and in the midst of it killing many innocent civilians mistaken for Viet Cong fighters hiding in these villages. The US had wasted their time, they found very few Viet Cong fighters and probably killed more innocent civilians rather than what they were looking for, Viet Cong. Next the orange and napalm bombs also did very little. They had not only killed innocent people, but children as well which certainly did not make the US look good to the American public when pictures leaked of children running from the Napalm bombs. (Source 42) And finally, their bombing tactics did very little to the Communists. It only slowed them down, since the Communists were able to pick up right from where they started after the bombs with a major assault attack against the US military. They had also bombed the ancient Hue (source 41) that had caused outraged amongst the American public questioning the US military and their morals during the Vietnam War.
2. The unpopularity of the South Vietnamese regime: The unpopularity of the South Vietnamese regime was another factor as to why the US lost the Vietnam War. The United States had supported Ngo Dinh Diem, who's regime was extremely corrupt. He was an extreme anti-communist who showed little respect for the Buddhist religion. Buddhist priests would protest by lightning themselves on fire in public (source 33) But America "knew of no one better." and kept supporting Diem. They needed somebody strong to help them defeat the communists. He wouldn't even hold any elections for positions of power, he would appoint members of his own family. The unpopularity of the South Vietnamese Regime was the reason for the formation of the Viet Cong. Because of the actions of these anti-communist governments, support among the ordinary peasants for the Communist- led National Front for the liberation of South Vietnam was set up, the movement is referred to as Viet Cong.
3. The experience of the Viet Cong and the inexperience of the American soldiers: The Viet Cong fighters clearly showed much more experience than the American soldiers during the Vietnam War, leading to the defeat of the US. The Viet Cong fighters had the upper hand since they were fighting in their home, they knew their land well while the America soldiers had not a clue on where they were going. The Viet Cong soldiers used their advantage well and decided to use Guerilla tactics, which was extremely effective. As seen in source Source 37, American soldiers would search and search through the jungles, but the Viet Cong was hiding in the jungle unable to be seen by the US giving them the upper hand. Viet Cong fighters had been extremely hard to find for the US soldiers because of this, leading to why the US had such a hard time defeating them.
4. Domestic opposition to the war in the U.S: During the Vietnam War the American public did not support the American soldiers being there. Many many people were opposed to the war, and therefore many anti- war protests were formed. Nasty pictures began to leak out of screaming children running fro US Napalm bombs (source 42) Along with information about the My Lai Massacre (source 50), that shocked the world. Because of this discomfort throughout the American public about their soldiers taking apart of these horrible acts, it had caused a raucous throughout the American Public demanding that the war was put to an end. The numerous amount of protests were effective in making the President think about why they were in Vietnam. This loss of support made America think about leaving Vietnam, in which they did enabling them to lose the war.
5. Chinese and Soviet support for the Viet Cong: Both the Chinese and Soviet Union had supplied Viet Cong with weapons, which was very helpful to the Viet Cong. China had been very against the US winning the Vietnam War. As shown in source 38, they didn't want America to be in Vietnam. Along with this, the Soviet Union had been supporting Viet Cong because they wanted to spread communism so they felt that they had to support Vietnam as much as possible in order to spread the communism. Clearly Viet Cong had its supporters, while the US did not. The US had the help of the South Vietnamese regime, but they were no help. They depended on the American soldiers, and therefore kind of sat bat and watched the US do all of the work. The US had been alone in the war pretty much, while Viet Cong had been supporters which is a main reason the US lost the Vietnam War.
6. 'But did they really lose?' Summarize the argument put forward in Source 57, and your view on it.:V
Source 57 makes the argument that America did not lose the Vietnam War. It makes the point that the American Military had not been defeated in Vietnam, The US had not lost the war in Vietnam- the South Vietnamese did, and the fall of Saigon. Source 57 states that American military had not been defeated because they had preformed a major military defeat for the VC and NVA. Next, the fall of Saigon had happened two years after the US military had left, therefore how could they lose a war that they had already stopped fighting? In my opinion, I believe that the Vietnam war was a loss for us. This is because we had involved ourselves in a war we were not prepared for, and that we failed at successfully defeating communism, our primary goal for being apart of the Vietnam. Since we did not achieve our goals, we did not win the war we lost. Source 57 does make a good argument as to how this isn't personally a defeat for our country. But in my perspective we wasted our time being there to get rid of communism, and we could not defeat it meaning we failed.
Add other if you think there are factors you should consider.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Vietnam War Opposition
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.
-Many many innocent civilians were killed (by chemical weapons, search and destroy tactics)
-destroying villages where innocent civilians were
-The My Lai Massacre
-The Ancient Hue was destroyed
-Napalm bombs killing children (pictures shown of children running from the bombs)
-US army seemed weak
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.)
To convince people that this war is disastrous, and we need to get the Congressmen to get our troops out before we kill anymore innocent civilians and take their homes away by destroying their villages.
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.
-destroyed villages
-solider watching burning down village
-photographs of the My Lai Massacre
-Vietnamese children running from the US Napalm bombs
-people in the South Vietnamese sorting through the city of Hue looking through the wreckage of their homes
4. List some possible slogans for your poster.
-Is this what we sent our soldiers there for?
-Do we want the innocent Vietnamese blood shed on our country?
1. Note all of the reasons why you feel the war in Vietnam is wrong.
-Many many innocent civilians were killed (by chemical weapons, search and destroy tactics)
-destroying villages where innocent civilians were
-The My Lai Massacre
-The Ancient Hue was destroyed
-Napalm bombs killing children (pictures shown of children running from the bombs)
-US army seemed weak
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.)
To convince people that this war is disastrous, and we need to get the Congressmen to get our troops out before we kill anymore innocent civilians and take their homes away by destroying their villages.
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.
-destroyed villages
-solider watching burning down village
-photographs of the My Lai Massacre
-Vietnamese children running from the US Napalm bombs
-people in the South Vietnamese sorting through the city of Hue looking through the wreckage of their homes
4. List some possible slogans for your poster.
-Is this what we sent our soldiers there for?
-Do we want the innocent Vietnamese blood shed on our country?
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Vietnam War Turning Points
1. Why was the Tet Offensive a turning point? Explain your answer.
The Tet Offensive was a major turning point during the Vietnam War because it raised hard questions about the war in the USA. For example, there were nearly 500,000 troops in Vietnam and the USA was spending $20 billion a year on the war. This raised questions as to why the Communists had been able to launch a major offensive that took the US forces completely by surprise. Another for example, the US and South Vietnamese forces quickly retook the towns captured in the offensive but in the process they used enormous amounts of artillery and air power. Many civilians were killed, and the ancient Hue was destroyed. Was this right?
2. Are Sources 51 and 52 making the same point about the My Lai Massacre?
Sources 51 and 52 are not making the same point about the My Lai Massacre. This is because sources 51 is opposing the reasons behing the My Lai Massacre, claiming it was a Nai type of thing and they had not gone there to be Nazi's. The source also makes the point that they had gone there to be courageous on the behalf of their country and they had not known what they were doing. Source 52 however states tha tit was not a massacre of innocent civilians, they were only killing pawns who supported communism, something they needed to stop.
3. Why do you think it took 12 months for anyone to do anything about the massacre?
I think that it took 12 months for anyone to do anything about the My Lai Massacre because the revelations of the massacre would of course cause a great discrediting to the US army. Also there had already been photographs of horrid images of screaming children running from the Napalm Bombs the US had set off against Viet Cong, so the US had already been losing the support from the American people. If this were to get out, it would have enraged many antiwar protesters and cause a huge outrage among the people.
4. Why was the massacre so shocking to the American public?
The Massacre was so shocking to the American people because nobody thought the US army was capable of doing such horrid, and horrendous things such as killing 400 innocent civilians. Of which mostly were women, children, and old men. It was a deed that no person at the time would think America would commit.
The Tet Offensive was a major turning point during the Vietnam War because it raised hard questions about the war in the USA. For example, there were nearly 500,000 troops in Vietnam and the USA was spending $20 billion a year on the war. This raised questions as to why the Communists had been able to launch a major offensive that took the US forces completely by surprise. Another for example, the US and South Vietnamese forces quickly retook the towns captured in the offensive but in the process they used enormous amounts of artillery and air power. Many civilians were killed, and the ancient Hue was destroyed. Was this right?
2. Are Sources 51 and 52 making the same point about the My Lai Massacre?
Sources 51 and 52 are not making the same point about the My Lai Massacre. This is because sources 51 is opposing the reasons behing the My Lai Massacre, claiming it was a Nai type of thing and they had not gone there to be Nazi's. The source also makes the point that they had gone there to be courageous on the behalf of their country and they had not known what they were doing. Source 52 however states tha tit was not a massacre of innocent civilians, they were only killing pawns who supported communism, something they needed to stop.
3. Why do you think it took 12 months for anyone to do anything about the massacre?
I think that it took 12 months for anyone to do anything about the My Lai Massacre because the revelations of the massacre would of course cause a great discrediting to the US army. Also there had already been photographs of horrid images of screaming children running from the Napalm Bombs the US had set off against Viet Cong, so the US had already been losing the support from the American people. If this were to get out, it would have enraged many antiwar protesters and cause a huge outrage among the people.
4. Why was the massacre so shocking to the American public?
The Massacre was so shocking to the American people because nobody thought the US army was capable of doing such horrid, and horrendous things such as killing 400 innocent civilians. Of which mostly were women, children, and old men. It was a deed that no person at the time would think America would commit.
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