Jamie Porter
Stephanie Brown
Historical
Context Rough Draft
November 1, 2016
The History of the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War started in 1954,
following a series of conflicts between North Vietnam and South Vietnam that
had taken place over a number of years. The war was located in various
locations in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Though the war was officially between
the communistic North Vietnam and anti-communist South Vietnam, the two sides
had a number of powerful allies that came to their aid. North Vietnam was
backed by the Soviet Union and China, as well as other communist nations. South
Vietnam was assisted by the United States, Australia, Thailand, and South
Korea, all of which were allied against communism.
America was one of the most powerful
influences in the Vietnam War, which became of great conflict back at home. In
1962, there were already over 9,000 US troops in Vietnam, whereas in the year
priors there was only around 500 troops. Three years later, in June 1965,
82,000 US troops were stationed in Vietnam. This incredible increase in numbers
represents the draft that had been occurring back in the United States, and was
a number that continued to grow every year the United States remained involved
with the war. The year that the United States was most involved was in 1969, in
which over 500,000 US military troops were placed in Vietnam. It the America’s
strong involvement in the war, especially in 1969, that caused for a great
amount of issues back home.
In the time period of 1968-1969, a
large amount of antiwar protests were appearing all over the country. The anti
war protests were started by a small group of peace-loving activists who were
opposed to the war and desired peace. This group was known as Students for a
Democratic Society, or SDS. Similar groups appeared in many other states,
spread across a number of US campuses, increasingly growing in popularity. This
protest became a national movement when the US became more violent against
North Vietnam, conducting mass bombings. Those who protested the war desired
peace, and did not like America’s involvement in the murder of innocent
Vietnamese civilians, believing the war to be “undemocratic.”
On October 1, 1967, there was the
largest anti-war protest in American history. Starting at the Lincoln memorial,
over 100,000 protestors marched to the Pentagon in Washington DC, where they
were stopped by armed personnel, but remained peaceful. Other large antiwar
protests occurred on college campuses, as a result of the antiwar movement being
very popular amongst younger individuals. The antiwar protests became more
urgent the more stories of what was happening over in Vietnam got reported
back. One event that made a large impact on not just the antiwar movement but
the nation as a whole was the My Lai massacre. In March 1968, a company of US
soldiers murdered over 500 Vietnamese citizens, including women, children, and
the elderly. Such an act fueled the antiwar movement, adding to the thousands
of lives that were lost in Vietnam.
One form of protest that grew in
popularity over the time span of the war was called “draft dodging.” From
1968-1969, approximately 40,000 young men were drafted every month, with a
death count of American soldiers increasing every day. From the beginning of US
involvement in the war till 1973, the year in which President Nixon removed
troops, a total of over 500,000 American men fled from the draft. Many of these
men fled to Canada in order to escape federal consequences, choosing to leave
their homes behind rather than be sent to Vietnam and fight a seemingly
hopeless war. Refusing the draft, or not enlisting was a federal offence, and
many other individuals were arrested and jailed as a result of this form of
protest.
One of the main outlets for the
antiwar protests movement during this time period was music, and that can be
identified through the music that was created at the time. There was a great
deal of anti-war protest songs that were created over the course of the war
period. Popular antiwar songs include Masters of War, “Feeling Like I’m Fixin’
to Die” and “Give Peace a Chance.” The
songs provided individuals with outlets of emotions, as well as fueling the
antiwar movement, they containing ideas such as how the government was taking
advantage of the US citizens. In Bob Dylan’s, “Masters of War,” it speaks of
how the government sits back and sends more and more people off to war while they
watch them die. Each song gives an interesting insight into the views of the
people during this time period. These songs reached as great deal of people at
the national level. Coming from such popular and well-known people, this form
of protest was very influential. Essentially, each artist that created a song
that protested the war provided the antiwar movement with a new anthem to live
by, and the public responded accordingly.
The Vietnam War was tearing America
apart from the inside. There was a great amount of people who were strongly
against the war effort, while on the other side there was still a majority of
people who supported the government, and by association the war. On November 3,
1969, President Nixon made a broadcast to the public calling for national unity
in terms of the war effort. He appealed to the “silent majority,” referring to
the individuals who supported the war effort yet remained silent in the midst
of so much antiwar protest. This broadcast was created to encourage the calming
of the antiwar movement as a whole, attempting to unify the country after the
war had divided it so significantly.
President Nixon called for the end
of the draft in 1972, before the withdrawal of US troops in 1973. The war
finally came to an end on April 30, 1975. In total, over 3 million people were
killed in Vietnam, with over half of these deaths including Vietnamese civilians.
Approximately
58,000 Americans were killed in Vietnam. The large amount of Americans that
were killed, coupled with the draft that caused 1/3 of the troops to be sent to
war, cause the Vietnam War to be an event that divided the country.
QUESTIONS:
1.
Should I give less information about the war itself and more about what was happening
back in the US?
2.
Is all the information that I’m giving – dates, events, etc., - clear enough?
3.
Is the structure of my paper organized enough?
Works Cited
Hillstrom, Kevin, and Laurie
Collier Hillstrom. The Vietnam Experience: A Concise Encyclopedia of
American Literature, Songs, and Films. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998.
Print.
Tully, John Day., Matthew
Masur, and Brad Austin. Understanding and Teaching the Vietnam War.
Madison, Wisc.: U of Wisconsin, 2013. Print.
Jamie Porter
Stephanie Brown
Rhetorical
Context Rough Draft
November 1, 2016
Protest Songs of the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was an important
event in the history of the United States, producing a large highly influential
protest movement that shaped American culture. With the ominous draft that
resulted in large amount of US troops being shipped over to die in Vietnam
hanging above American head’s, many people banded together in opposition,
demanding their pleads for peace to be heard. One of the most impactful forms
of protest that went against the war came in the form of songs and music.
Artists such as Bob Dylan and John Lennon produced music with emotionally
influential messages, begging for peace as well as highlighting the horrors
that were involved in the war. These songs provided fuel for the antiwar
protest movement, spreading the concepts and thoughts that were held by many in
the movement. The songs also worked as unification elements in the protest
movement to those who were involved, especially towards those who were directly
affected by the war and the draft. Antiwar protest songs were some of the most
powerful forms of protest rhetoric during this time period, spreading across
the nation and touching the lives and thoughts of many American citizens.
There were a large number of protest
songs created during the Vietnam War, which implies not only the popularity of
the subject matter but also how many people held similar opinions regarding the
war. Artists such as Bob Dylan, Country Joe & the Fish, John Lennon, and
Bob Seger are only a few individuals who created popular protest songs. This
form of protest rhetoric had the ability to be very accessible to a large
population of people. It was available to the entire nation and beyond, therefore
spreading the stories of the horrors of the war and people’s growing desire for
peace. People no longer were required to witness the physical protestors
holding signs or read the papers in order to be exposed to the antiwar protest.
These songs could be heard in their homes on the radio, on in their cars. The
easy accessibility of these songs as a form of protest allowed for many people
to be influenced by it, and spread to the protest movement as a whole much
easier.
The protest movement that was created
during this time period allowed for a connection to be made between the artists
and the identity of people that they call upon. A majority of the songs that
were created tell stories of the soldiers that were over in Vietnam, or from
the perspective of people who had loved ones die in the war. They provide an
interesting perspective of events that are almost unspeakable, sometimes
speaking in rather flippant tones about serious issues. This can be heard in
Country Joe & the Fish’s song, “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die.” In the
song, they say, “Whoopee! we're all gonna die” (Country Joe). The identity that
this calls upon is those who are directly affected by the war, whether it is
those who are being sent to war themselves, or those who have loved ones being
sent to Vietnam. These songs refers to both their memories and experiences,
bringing them into the light to show the world the horrors and heartache that
came with the war and with the draft.
During this time, there were different
areas of the antiwar movement that were trying to achieve different goals,
based on the groups of people that they directed towards. Because of the wide
spread reach of the protest songs, their main purpose was to educate people on
the horrors of the war. Each song spoke of the wrongness and shocks of the war,
providing their audience with perspectives of boys that were absolutely
terrified of the war. They painted stories of the men that died in Vietnam,
such as Bob Seger’s song “2+2=?” which mentions a friend from high school
who’s, “buried in the mud/ over foreign jungle land” (Seger). The horrors and
fear that were described in each song conveyed how horrendous it was. Large
populations of people were exposed to the various songs and their messages, and
were able to have an insight into the war that they might have not had before.
The songs have the power to change listener’s perspectives. It is for this
reason that these protest songs are meant to educate people about the war and
everything that it involves, and allow them to decide for themselves whether or
not they want to join the antiwar movement. They encourage US citizens to take
a stand. The protest songs also provide a unifying effect for the antiwar
movement. Each song provided an anthem for those protesting the war, something
to stay strong with, and to remind them why they were against the war in the
first place. The stories that were told through the songs have the persuasive
purpose of influencing those who listen to back the antiwar movement, adding
their voices to those who call for an end of America’s involvement in the
Vietnam War.
The rhetorical purpose behind these
protest songs is to persuade, and this is done through pathos and logos. Every
song is very emotional, since they speak of multiple deaths that inevitably
come from war and of loved ones lost. Many of the artists sound angry,
confessing their frustrations for the war and everything that it brings. This
emotion can be felt though each song, and listeners can hear that. This pure
emotion from the artists adds to the audience’s own emotions after hearing the
songs. The sadness that is felt by hearing and understanding these songs has
the effect of changing listener’s perspectives of the war. It gives people a
different side of the war to look at while being emotionally influence, and
that helps them to be persuaded to join the antiwar effort. They also influence
people with the logic that they present, or rather, the lack thereof. Many of
the songs present information of the war to listeners, but in ways that
highlight the ridiculousness of the logic. For example, in Country Joe and the
Fish’s song, “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die,” it says, “So put down your books
and pick up a gun/ We're gonna have a whole lotta fun” (Country Joe). This
phrase seems ridiculous, but it has the effect of making the war itself seem
ridiculous. Songs such as this encourage listeners to realize not only how
horrendous the war is, but how it is completely needless. Thousands of American
soldiers were dying for a war they did not need to be involved in. The
rhetorical techniques that were used by these protest songs allowed for the
audience to understand the messages and emotions behind the songs. This
assisted the overall persuasiveness of the protest music, and encouraged many
individuals to join with the antiwar movement, as well as unifying those who
were already involved with common feelings and ideas.
Music is a very powerful form of protest,
having the ability to reach large populations of people and being popular enough
that people will listen, and continue listening. During the Vietnam War, the
protest songs that were created became very popular, and added a great strength
to the antiwar protest as a whole. The stories and experiences that are
expressed in each song cause an emotional response, encouraging listeners to
join the antiwar movement and get the American troops out of Vietnam. These
songs appeal to the identity of those affected directly by the war, such as
those being deployed or have loved ones that are being drafted. The protest
songs have the important role of informing the American public of the horrors
of war, and those who are affected by it.
QUESTIONS:
1.
Do I go into the pathos and logos enough, or should I elaborate how the songs
use those techniques more?
2.
Do I need more direct citations from both the songs and the sources?
3.
Am I being too vague?
Works Cited
Bradley, Doug, and Craig Hansen Werner. We
Gotta Get out of This Place: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War. Print.
Clymer, Kenton J. The Vietnam War: Its
History, Literature and Music. El Paso, TX: Texas Western, 1998. Print.
Dylan,
Bob. Masters of War. Bob Dylan. Columbia Records, 1963.
Lennon,
John. Give Peace a Chance. John Lennon. John Lennon and Yoko Ono, 1969.
Seger,
Bob. 2+2=? The Bob Seger System. Capitol Records, 1968.
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