The Vietnam Conflict Debate

 In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the French were trying to stem the flood of communism in their Far East colony of Vietnam. The Battle at Dien Bien Phu brought defeat to the French and they decided to abandon the colony. The result was that the United States slowly became involved. For most of the 50s, the U.S. simply provided a few “advisors”. But as we got closer and closer to the end of the decade, it was becoming obvious that the U.S. either back out and left Vietnam to it’s own fate…or we would jump in with both feet. When President Kennedy was elected, he decided that we should be the ones to stop communism in Vietnam and began to send more and more “advisors”. He also created the Green Berets. The numbers escalated into thousands of Americans heading overseas. After President Kennedy’s assassination, President Lyndon Johnson flooded Vietnam with the U.S. Army and U.S. Marines…with the Navy and Air Force in full support. By 1966, the war was getting ugly…the Draft was taking men into service and protests taking place nationwide. Scenario for the debate: The year is somewhere between 1967 and 1971. The United States is deeply involved the conflict in Vietnam. More and more troops are being requested by the President, Congress, and the Department of Defense. The Draft is in full force. You have received your draft card and are very concerned about what your fate may be based on your status. You are going to be divided into four groups for the purposes of the debate. Group A will assume the role of an individual fighting in the Pacific and who totally supported the use of the bomb (to get the war over with as quickly as possible). You want to “take it to the enemy…” and make them suffer in revenge for Pearl Harbor and all the other battles such as Okinawa and Iwo Jima. You believe it is time for Total Warfare! Group B will assume the same role as Group A except you feel the use of the bomb should be limited to targets “of value” such as Hiroshima (Japanese Army HQ) or Schweinfurt, Germany (ball bearing plants). You really would not like to target civilian populations, if at all possible. In other words, as Lincoln believed…”Let them up easy.” Each of you will be posting a statement based on your role mentioned above.  Try not to make assumptions. Instead, assume the historical role of someone who lived in the United States at this point in history. Be creative. BECOME that person.