Making Sense of the Vietnam War

            From 1965 until 1973, the United States of America was at war with the communist nation of North Vietnam. One of the darkest and most controversial time periods in American History, the involvement of the United States in Vietnam caused drastic cultural changes within the American nation.1 Americans commonly regard the war in Vietnam as a gruesome and brutal war that was a complete failure for the United States armed forces. The media's impact on American culture caused a rapid decrease in the approval of the war and resulted in a political and military defeat for the United States. One of the most significant aspects of this war that made it differ from other wars throughout American history was the lack of support from the American people. The American people reacted to the war in outrage and were the underlying cause for the failure in Vietnam. Beginning with protesting mainly on college campuses, the anti-war, or peace, movements escalated into violent acts in which innocent lives of young Americans were lost. .
             The nation became very resentful of the US government and patriotism was rapidly diminishing within the United States. What is often not emphasized when talking about the peace movements of the 60's and 70's is the negative effect they had on the soldiers fighting overseas. With the nation split into two, war supporters and peace supporters, the progress in Vietnam became foggy and morale was weakening. A great deal of the anti-war movements were a result of the media's inaccurate portrayal of the war. The media and the government were sending mixed messages to the American people, creating confusion and loss of confidence in the Vietnam conflict. It was not long before the media had the American people resenting the war and anyone involved in it. The Tet offensive was arguably the most controversial incident that took place during the Vietnam War. .
             The surprise attack on the United States Embassy in the city of Saigon on January 30th, 1968 was a major turning point in the war that was negatively affected by the media.