American Society And The Ending Of The Vietnam War

The often-studied minority mentality entails that the most marginalized or outsider societal groups were likely to conform to the rest of society regarding opinions on foreign policy or military action as a means to gain greater social and political acceptance . The rise of the anti-war movement largely marked the end of the idea that patriotism was the â€Å"passport to equality† and acceptance. This is deeply explored by Jefferys-Jones in his 2001 book Peace now! American society and the ending of the Vietnam War. He looks at three groups- students, African Americans, and women- as groups that came into their own in the anti-war movement. The impact that these groups had within the movement were broad and varied, such as burning draft cards†¦show more content†¦The left-right divide broadened drastically as a result of the Vietnam War. This can be seeing nowhere more blatantly than in how the decades following the war unfolded politically, and how connected these a ttitudes are to the political climate of today. Lyndon B. Johnson, former vice president to John F. Kennedy, became president under tragic circumstances, but at a time that was relatively calm for this era. He entered into a thriving economy with low unemployment and steady growth. He drew in the left with strong support for civil rights and more open immigration, declared a war on poverty and promised a â€Å"Great Society† to the American people. What tarnished his second term as president and the years succeeding it was a credibility gap and continued escalation regarding Vietnam, despite large-scale societal backlash. â€Å"Hey! Hey! LBJ! How many kids did you kill today?† became a chant among anti-war protesters and his reputation, along with his legacy, became marred with controversy . Martin Luther King Junior put it best when he said â€Å"the promises of the Great Society have been shot down on the battlefield of Vietnam.† It comes as little surprise or coincidence that as a result, four of the five following presidents came from the Republican party, though this can not be boiled down simply to hatred of Johnson. Beyond the shift inShow MoreRelatedMajor Historical Turning Points in Americas Current Society1650 Words   |  7 PagesMajor Historical Turning Points in Americas Current Society Name Institution Date Major Historical Turning Points in Americas Current Society Two greatest historical turning points in the World War II through 1970s Many historical events happened in the II world war as rescored in the 1970s. One of the major happenings was the Kent State shootings that happened in May 4, 1970. Ohio National Guardsmen were on duty as they guarded students who were on a strike in Kent state college. 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