During the Vietnam War, a conflict that took place during the Cold War. Vietnam was seen as a battle between established Capitalist societies and ever growing Communist ideology throughout the world. Both systems of ideology clashed after the second world war up until around 1989. But Vietnam was seen as the battle field of both ideological systems of Power and Government.
The largest of these examples were The USSR (Russia) and America.
Being a conflict that contained a growing Communist state of North Vietnam, with the support of world powers such as the USSR, China, Cuba and North Korea. All systems of Communist government where everything is property of the state, there is no private profit and income is decided by the state. A system of Government entirely devoted to the workers and people.
On the other side of the conflict was the US and its Anti-Communist capitalist allies fighting in South Vietnam. Fighting for everything that Communism wasn’t. Such as there is private profit, democracy and everyone is entitled to make their own wages, have privately owned possessions and land. With the USA as the most powerful Capitalist nation in the world. It saw itself as the protector of the free world, depicting Communism of the possessor of peoples freedoms.
During the conflict, and like any other conflict there was plenty of propaganda. Each side of the Vietnam war had their own depictions of themselves and one another.
America confident and claiming itself to be the nation in the lead against the halt of Communism, its leaders presented and presented the nation as the most powerful nation on earth, powerful, determined and ‘the protector of the free world.’
It presented itself as the provider, fighter and protector of freedom and democracy. It stood for everything that Communism denied in it’s restrictive principles.
America was convinced that Communism and the invading North Vietnamese were the destroyer of basic human freedom and of free peoples everywhere.
Propaganda of this was was everywhere in American society, depicting Ho Chi Minh as a killer and oppressor of the free Vietnamese people. Or simply as a Dictator. The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army as a barbaric, militaristic, blood thirsty but yet primitive military force and often referred to as a ‘Red Horde’ or a ‘Red Menace’. Messages of this were everywhere, even in children bubble gum wrappers. Illustrations presenting Ho Chi Minh hovering over a destroyed and poverty stricken Hanoi, appearing as death himself. A Popular image of how America depicted Communist societies and Ho Chi Minh himself. But as the war, support was lost by the America people. Which paved the way for newspaper’s to more easily report on the horrible actions of the VC and NVA but also American forces such as My Lai. without censorship.
Now we have a problem in making our power credible, and Vietnam is the place.
--John F. Kennedy, 1961
This is not a jungle war, but a struggle for freedom on every front of human activity.
--Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964
Tell the Vietnamese they've got to draw in their horns or we're going to bomb them back into the Stone Age.
--Gen. Curtis LeMay, May 1964
"Everything depends on the Americans. If they want to make war for 20 years then we shall make war for 20 years. If they want to make peace, we shall make peace and invite them to tea afterwards.” General Giap. North Vietnamese Army.
The North Vietnamese leadership and forces being Communist relied heavily of the unification of the people and for them to love their leaders. Ho Chi Minh and other Communist leaders of the North or like any other Communist nation portrayed themselves as a strong, unified, willing, determined, working, militaristic but also loved their people. With devotion and loyalty in return.
Often less technology advanced, but determined and ready to fight for their Communist cause. Notably mentioned in Ho Chi Minh’s quote “You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours, but even at those odds, you will lose and I will win.” The quote demonstrating the exact attitude and mental state of the North Vietnamese leaders, people and soldiers. He saw the Americans as only a temporary force. ‘Too worried about losing numbers and years.’ But the North Vietnamese on the other hand were willing to fight to the last man; fight a war possibly for another 20 years if their cause was to be victorious.
Both sides of the conflict could be said to extremely nationalistic. Their nationalism and devotion to their country and political ideology could be said to to be the driving force of the conflict.
“You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours, but even at those odds, you will lose and I will win.”
- North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, December 1966
“You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours, but even at those odds, you will lose and I will win.”
--Ho Chi Minh to the French, late 1940s
You will kill 10 of our men, and we will kill 1 of yours, and in the end it will be you who tire of it.
Ho Chi Minh
However, at home in the American public support to the Vietnam war effort was not in great popularity as there was in previous wars. There was mass public outcry especially from young Americans to ‘put an end to the murder’ and a calling to the departure of American troops in South Vietnam. With news images of the war being lost, the dead and the killing of innocence such as the massacre at My Lai, support for the war amongst the American public was limited and in decline.
Attitudes towards the war were made clear through protest, anti-conscription rallies and most of the all the music.
Famous but yet controversial artists of America of the time incorporated the peoples and their own views on the war. Such as Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Buffalo Springfield Creedence Clearwater and many more. Masses of films were made to protest and represent the war such as the Taxi Driver, Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, We Were Soldiers, Born on the Fourth of July, the Dear Hunter, Hamburger Hill (937) and many more. These films pictured a small glimpse of reality for the men on the ground and the grim nature of the war.
The largest of these examples were The USSR (Russia) and America.
Being a conflict that contained a growing Communist state of North Vietnam, with the support of world powers such as the USSR, China, Cuba and North Korea. All systems of Communist government where everything is property of the state, there is no private profit and income is decided by the state. A system of Government entirely devoted to the workers and people.
On the other side of the conflict was the US and its Anti-Communist capitalist allies fighting in South Vietnam. Fighting for everything that Communism wasn’t. Such as there is private profit, democracy and everyone is entitled to make their own wages, have privately owned possessions and land. With the USA as the most powerful Capitalist nation in the world. It saw itself as the protector of the free world, depicting Communism of the possessor of peoples freedoms.
During the conflict, and like any other conflict there was plenty of propaganda. Each side of the Vietnam war had their own depictions of themselves and one another.
America confident and claiming itself to be the nation in the lead against the halt of Communism, its leaders presented and presented the nation as the most powerful nation on earth, powerful, determined and ‘the protector of the free world.’
It presented itself as the provider, fighter and protector of freedom and democracy. It stood for everything that Communism denied in it’s restrictive principles.
America was convinced that Communism and the invading North Vietnamese were the destroyer of basic human freedom and of free peoples everywhere.
Propaganda of this was was everywhere in American society, depicting Ho Chi Minh as a killer and oppressor of the free Vietnamese people. Or simply as a Dictator. The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army as a barbaric, militaristic, blood thirsty but yet primitive military force and often referred to as a ‘Red Horde’ or a ‘Red Menace’. Messages of this were everywhere, even in children bubble gum wrappers. Illustrations presenting Ho Chi Minh hovering over a destroyed and poverty stricken Hanoi, appearing as death himself. A Popular image of how America depicted Communist societies and Ho Chi Minh himself. But as the war, support was lost by the America people. Which paved the way for newspaper’s to more easily report on the horrible actions of the VC and NVA but also American forces such as My Lai. without censorship.
Now we have a problem in making our power credible, and Vietnam is the place.
--John F. Kennedy, 1961
This is not a jungle war, but a struggle for freedom on every front of human activity.
--Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964
Tell the Vietnamese they've got to draw in their horns or we're going to bomb them back into the Stone Age.
--Gen. Curtis LeMay, May 1964
"Everything depends on the Americans. If they want to make war for 20 years then we shall make war for 20 years. If they want to make peace, we shall make peace and invite them to tea afterwards.” General Giap. North Vietnamese Army.
The North Vietnamese leadership and forces being Communist relied heavily of the unification of the people and for them to love their leaders. Ho Chi Minh and other Communist leaders of the North or like any other Communist nation portrayed themselves as a strong, unified, willing, determined, working, militaristic but also loved their people. With devotion and loyalty in return.
Often less technology advanced, but determined and ready to fight for their Communist cause. Notably mentioned in Ho Chi Minh’s quote “You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours, but even at those odds, you will lose and I will win.” The quote demonstrating the exact attitude and mental state of the North Vietnamese leaders, people and soldiers. He saw the Americans as only a temporary force. ‘Too worried about losing numbers and years.’ But the North Vietnamese on the other hand were willing to fight to the last man; fight a war possibly for another 20 years if their cause was to be victorious.
Both sides of the conflict could be said to extremely nationalistic. Their nationalism and devotion to their country and political ideology could be said to to be the driving force of the conflict.
“You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours, but even at those odds, you will lose and I will win.”
- North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, December 1966
“You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours, but even at those odds, you will lose and I will win.”
--Ho Chi Minh to the French, late 1940s
You will kill 10 of our men, and we will kill 1 of yours, and in the end it will be you who tire of it.
Ho Chi Minh
However, at home in the American public support to the Vietnam war effort was not in great popularity as there was in previous wars. There was mass public outcry especially from young Americans to ‘put an end to the murder’ and a calling to the departure of American troops in South Vietnam. With news images of the war being lost, the dead and the killing of innocence such as the massacre at My Lai, support for the war amongst the American public was limited and in decline.
Attitudes towards the war were made clear through protest, anti-conscription rallies and most of the all the music.
Famous but yet controversial artists of America of the time incorporated the peoples and their own views on the war. Such as Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Buffalo Springfield Creedence Clearwater and many more. Masses of films were made to protest and represent the war such as the Taxi Driver, Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, We Were Soldiers, Born on the Fourth of July, the Dear Hunter, Hamburger Hill (937) and many more. These films pictured a small glimpse of reality for the men on the ground and the grim nature of the war.