Statement by John Kerry of Vietnam Veterans Against the War
US History 2
Topic: Vietnam War
Statement by John Kerry of Vietnam Veterans Against the War:
http://www(dot)americanyawp(dot)com/reader/28-the-unraveling/statement-by-john-kerry-of-vietnam-veterans-against-the-war-1971/
This is a speech given by John Kerry (who would later become a U.S. Senator, run for president of the U.S, and serve as Secretary of State under President Obama).
1. What were the main points of argument in this document?
2. Do the issues in the document match the realities of what was happening in Vietnam? Explain
3. What do you learn about support for the war in mainstream America and the impact it had on the Vietnam war?
Be sure to provide examples from class resources (lecture on the Vietnam War, textbook chapter 28)
Textbook chapter 28 link:
http://www(dot)americanyawp(dot)com/text/28-the-unraveling/
Grading Rubric & Other Requirements:
analyze the document(s) in an essay. You should use information from your textbook, and assigned lectures to analyze the following texts. You may look up outside information if you are not familiar with a person or organization. Make sure you insert a footnote citation if you are quoting from another source. Instructions for inserting footnotes are available in the module titled "course materials". Each essay should be about 500-750 words in length. Please place both essays in one file to upload.
Your grade will be based on the following:
40% facts: This means that you are demonstrating that you understand the content within the documents. It also means that you are presenting accurate facts from history, i.e. the events surrounding the time in which the document was created. These facts should come from your textbook or from lectures.
40% analysis: This means that you have a thesis (argument). You can find out how to write a thesis within COURSE MATERIALS there is a page titled "writing a thesis". It also means that in addition to presenting facts, you are explaining what is historically significant about the person, place, event. To figure out historical significance, ask yourself, "Is this fact an example of similar processes going on at the time?" or "What were the immediate consequences of this fact?" or "Are there any parallels to today or long-term consequences?"
20% organization: This means that each paragraph has a purpose to present evidence in support of your original argument. It also means that your essay has a logical flow. Finally, there should not be an overwhelming amount of grammatical errors that distract from being able to read your essay.
Vietnam War – Statement by John Kerry of Vietnam Veterans Against the War
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Vietnam War – Statement by John Kerry of Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Background
For centuries, wars have existed and perhaps are the defining force that birthed democracy and self-rule for most countries, and the United States of America included. But to some extent, wars have been used as a tool to champion “powerful” countries’ interests, especially for people at the top of the government. Vietnam War lends itself to this subject as one of the wars that perfectly illustrates that some warfares are based on criminal hypocrisy rather than safeguarding global freedom and democracy. John Kerry’s speech details the ills spelled in the Vietnam War and the suffering it has resulted to the soldiers, the Vietnamese nationals, and the Americans at large.
Salient Points
First, Kerry addresses the issue of lack of tangible reason that could have otherwise necessitated the Vietnam War. This argument is based on the revelation that the problem in Vietnam was a civil war. Also, engagement in the Vietnam War was uncalled for because there were no justifiable reasons that the war could potentially threaten the United States of America’s peaceful co-existence “…there is nothing in South Vietnam that could happen that realistically threatens the United States of America”. This assertion then implies there were forces within the government interested in the war and basically for personal gains. Further, the speech touched on the need to guarantee Vietnamese their freedom. The feelings of veterans were echoed, and most importantly, Kerry wanted to note how the U.S. government had betrayed the army and its people at large. The army force was betrayed in the sense that most of its troops died in an unjustifiable and meaningless war “…we couldn’t retreat, and because it didn’t matter how many Americans bodies were lost to prove that point”. The Americans were betrayed in the sense that their taxes were being misused. The bottom line is that America engaged in a w...