Vietnam War

Examples of Vietnam War in the following topics:

• The Media

  • In the media's most famous case in involvement on foreign affairs was its involvement in the Vietnam War.
  • From 40 press corpsmen in 1964, the number in South Vietnam had grown to 282 by January 1966.
  • According to Daniel Hallin, the dramatic structure of the uncensored "living room war" as reported during 1965–1967 remained simple and traditional: "the forces of good were locked in battle once again with the forces of evil.
  • The military found itself drawn progressively into politics, to the point that it had become as involved in "selling" the war to the American public as the political appointees it served.
  • Graphics like this helped contribute to Americans' concern over foreign policy in Vietnam.

• Expressed Powers

  • While historically presidents initiated the process for going to war, critics have charged that there have been several conflicts in which presidents did not get official declarations, including Theodore Roosevelt's military move into Panama in 1903, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the invasions of Grenada in 1983 and Panama in 1990.
  • While the power to declare war is constitutionally vested in Congress, the president commands and directs the military and is responsible for planning military strategy.
  • While historically presidents initiated the process for going to war, critics have charged that there have been several conflicts in which presidents did not get official declarations, including Theodore Roosevelt's military move into Panama in 1903, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the invasions of Grenada in 1983 and Panama in 1990.
  • The "wars" waged in Iran (2001) and Afghanistan since (2003) are officially called "military engagements" authorized by Congress.
  • Officially, the U.S. was not at war with the governments of those nations, but fought non-government terrorist groups.

• Ideological Third Parties and Splinter Parties

  • The PFP was created in 1968 as a way to protest participation in the Vietnam War.
  • For example, the United States Marijuana Party seeks to end the war on drugs and legalize marijuana.

• Forming Political Values

  • Student activists in the 1960s protested against US involvement in the Vietnam War.

• The First Amendment

  • Anti-war protests during World War I gave rise to several important free speech cases related to sedition and inciting violence.
  • United States the Supreme Court held that an anti-war activist did not have a First Amendment right to speak out against the draft.
  • United States, concerning the ability of the government to regulate speech against the draft during World War I.
  • The First Amendment established the right to assemble as a core American liberty, as is depicted here in a Vietnam-era assembly.

• Congress

  • Five wars have been declared under the Constitution: the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II.
  • The Korean War was the first modern example of the U.S. going to war without a formal declaration.
  • However, beginning with the Vietnam, Congress has given other forms of authorizations to declare war .
  • Johnson being shown a map of an area in Vietnam.
  • The police action spiraled into a war-like situation quickly, although it was one war never waged by Congress.

• Foreign Policy

  • Congress is involved in foreign policy through its amending, oversight, and budgetary powers and through the constitutional power related to appointments, treaties, and war that it shares with the president.
  • While Congress has sometimes worked to limit the president's autonomy in foreign policy, the use of executive orders and the ability to enter military engagements without formal declarations of war have ensured the president's continued primacy in international affairs.
  • Two visions of foreign policy in the U.S. are isolationism and internationalism, which has been dominant since World War II.
  • The main foreign policies during the Cold War were containment, deterrence, détente, arms control, and the use of military force like in Vietnam.

• The Cold War and Containment

  • Truman's Containment policy was the first major policy during the Cold War and used numerous strategies to prevent the spread of communism abroad.
  • A component of the Cold War, this policy was a response to a series of moves by the Soviet Union to enlarge its communist sphere of influence in Eastern Europe, China, Korea, and Vietnam.
  • President Lyndon Johnson (1963–69) cited containment as a justification for his policies in Vietnam.
  • Central programs begun under containment, including NATO and nuclear deterrence, remained in effect even after the end of the war.
  • Discuss the doctrine of Containment and its role during the Cold War

• The President

  • They are the commanders in chief of the armed forces; they decide how and when to wage war.
  • War powers provide a key avenue for presidents to act in foreign policy.
  • Since World War II, presidents have never asked Congress for (or received) a declaration of war.
  • Congress's most concerted effort to restrict presidential war powers, the War Powers Act, passed despite President Nixon's veto in 1973.
  • Since Vietnam, the act has done little to prevent presidents from unilaterally launching invasions.

• Protecting Citizens from Other Governments

  • Likewise, large areas of South Vietnam were under both the Saigon regime and that of the Vietcong during much of the time the United States was involved in the war there.