Anti-Vietnam Movement in the U.S.: An Astounding Success Whenever there is an intense war taking place in any country, there will always be people who support the war and people who disapprove of the war. Most of the time the amount of people in support of the war is far greater the then number of people against the war. That is why the anti-war movement against Vietnam in the United States from 1965 to 1971 was the most significant movement of its kind in U.S. history. The movement had an extremely strong backing and influenced many decisions regarding the war.
There were many causes of the anti-war movement against Vietnam. Some reasons why there was such a strong anti-war movement were that the war was fought in a country that was basically unknown by the general public, there was no direct threat against the United States, the goal in the Vietnam War was extremely unclear, and war was never declared by Congress ("Characteristics" 1).
Rizières inondées à la frontière entre le Viet...
Protest at the White House by the American Peace M...
English: Photograph of a Female Demonstrator Offer...All of these causes had there own effect on the anti-war movement. For example, because "the war was fought in a country whose history, culture, religions, and values were little known or understood by the general population of the United States" (Characteristics 1), a strong sense of nationalism, which is vital for success during any war, was not there. Since there was no direct threat against the United States, many people felt that "the war seemed more and more a senseless episode conducted by a government out of touch with their concerns" (Warren 131). Because of the fact that many people did not approve of the "senseless war" many soldiers felt a lack of support from the American public.
The success of any anti-war movement lives and dies on the strength of the...