The Vietnam War changed the nation forever. It came right after the positive 50s, and led to the 60s. The 60s were full of negativity and protests, but in the 50s middle class American families had very little to worry about. Before the Vietnam war, attitudes about war were generally positive. This was right after WWII which brought nothing but prosperity. The Vietnam war on the other hand was the opposite. People came into the war with positive attitudes, but that quickly changed. The war seemed to go on forever with no real progress. Money, bodies, and resources were wasted on a war when nobody knew why it was fought. It was technically a conflict because war was never declared. It's very similar to watergate. Before that happened, people trusted that the president knew what he was doing, and it led to later government investigations.
Most people would have expected the United States to pick up an easy victory, but that wasn't the case. The United States had a more powerful army, but the Vietnamese knew the territory and used that to their advantage. The war was just one big misunderstanding. The Americans thought they were fighting to stop the spread of communism while the Vietnamese thought of the Americans as imperialists, and fought for their freedom. This is why they fought so hard. The war didn't really accomplish anything.
I like how you talked about the attitudes of America before and after the war. It gave me a sense of how everyone felt and how much pressure was on JLB. I also like your comparison to watergate. nice job
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