IBHistoryInternalAssessment

NicholasAtkins
0009470082
WordCount:2,297
Date:March18,2016

TowhatextentdidthemediaimpacttheVietnamWarandshifttheattitudeofthe
Americanpeople?

TableofContents:
PlanofInvestigation.......2
SummaryofEvidence.......3
EvaluationofSources.........5
Analysis............7
Conclusion.........9
Bibliography.......10

TowhatextentdidthemediaimpacttheVietnamWarandshifttheattitudeofthe
Americanpeople?

A.PlanofInvestigation:
251
TowhatextentdidthemediaimpacttheVietnamwarandshifttheattitudeofthe
Americanpeople?TheVietnamWarwasgreatlyaffectedbythemediathatwasbeingsentback
theUSpeople.ThemediaintheVietnamwarwasusedinmultipleways,someofwhichtolet
theAmericanpeopleunderstandwhatitistrulylikebeingatwar,butalsothemediawasusedas
awaytorelayinformationaboutthewarbacktothehomefront.Thehorrificimagesandvideo
coveragebeingsentbacktotheUSwasenoughtomaketheAmericanpeoplequestionwhatwas
reallyhappeninginVietnamandchangetheirentireviewonwhatwarwasreallylike.Night
afternighttelevisedbroadcastswereshownonmajornewsnetworksforallAmerican'stosee,
whichoftenshowedprotestersandvideostraightfromthebattlefield.Mostofthesebroadcasts
oftenlackedincontentbuthadastrongemotionalimpactontheviewers.Theaimofthis
investigationistodeterminehowthemediaimpactedtheVietnamWar,andtoshowtheshiftin
attitudeoftheAmericanpeople.ThisinvestigationwillcoverhowtheAmericanpeoplethatsaw
themediacoverageimpactedtheoutcomeofthewar,theactualmediacoverageitself
understandingwhattheAmericanpeopleweretrulyseeing,andviewingdirecteffectsofthe
mediaontheVietnam'swar.Mostoftheresearchpresentedwillcomefromarticlesorrecorded
audiofromdifferentnewsbroadcastsduringtheVietnamWar.

B.SummaryofEvidence:
743
1. TheVietnamWar
TheVietnamWarbeganin1954,thiswarwasverylongandextremelycostlyforall
sides.TheVietnamWarwasthelongestwarfoughtbytheUnitedStates.1Promisesand
commitmentsmadetoSouthVietnamtokeepcommunismoutwasoneofthecontributing
factorstowhytheUSstayedinthewaraslongastheydid.Thedivisivewarwasveryunpopular
athomefortheUStroops,nearly60,000AmericantroopsdiedinthiswarandAmericawasstill
unabletoachieveitsgoal.2TheTetOffensiveandtheBattleatHamburgerHillweretwoofthe
biggestbattlesfoughtduringtheVietnamWar.Bothofwhichhadasignificantimpactonthe
Americansbackhomewatchingthewarunfoldontheirtelevisionscreens.Asantiwar
movementsandprotestspickedupwiththewithdrawalofmanyAmericantroopsfromVietnam
theemotionsandviewsoftheAmericanpeopleaboutthewarwerebeginningtoshift
dramaticallyfromwheretheywerewhenAmericafirstenteredtheVietnamWar.TheVietnam
warwastheveryfirstwarthatgavethefullfreedomtothepress.Thisallowedthemediato
coverthewarastheysawfit.ThewarontheAmericansideendedin1973,withthewithdrawal
ofU.S.forcesandtheunificationofVietnamundercommunistcontrol.3

2. TheShiftingAttitudesoftheAmericanPeople
TheVietnamWarwasthefirstevertelevisedwar.ThousandsofAmericanswatched
thenewseverynighttogetthelatestcoveragefromVietnam.Intheearlyyearsofthewarthe
moodwasveryupbeatandspirited,thebroadcastswouldusuallyshowtrooproundupsin
1

http://www.history.com/topics/vietnamwar
http://www.ushistory.org/us/55.asp
3
http://www.history.com/topics/vietnamwar
2

Vietnamemphasizingtheirbravery,heroismandtheirabilitytohandlesuchadvancedweaponry.
4

DuringthistimeanykindsofantiwarmovementsorproteststhatweretelevisedtheAmerican

peopleconsideredCommunistinspiredandwereoftenignored.InlateJanuary,1968,duringthe
lunarnewyear(orTet)holiday,NorthVietnameseandcommunistVietCongforceslaunched
acoordinatedattackagainstanumberoftargetsinSouthVietnam.5AftertheTetOffensivethe
newsbroadcastsbegantochangeinmood,fromthemoreupbeatandhappytonethat
transitionedintoamoregrimandrealisticpictureoftheexperienceofwar.Americantroops
werebeginningtowithdrawfromthewarandjournalistsbegantoquestionthegovernment's
claimsofprogress.Journalistsbegantonoticehowthewarwasturninginthefavorofmore
eternalrecurrencesthanastringofvictories.Thebroadcastsbegantotalkmoreaboutthehuman
costofwarbutstrayedawayfromanygraphicimages.Asthewithdrawscontinuedthespiritsof
theAmericanpeopledeclined,themoodoffieldreportingchangedandthiswasmirroredinthe
U.S.Divisionsofthewarbegantoaccumulatemoretimeonnewsbroadcastsandtheantiwar
movementswerenowseenasalegitimatepoliticalmovement.

3. TheMedia'sInvolvement
DuringtheVietnamWartherewerenosignsofcensorshipinwhatthemediashowedto
thepublic.Intoday'ssocietytherearecertainrulesandregulationsthathavetobemet,but
duringtheVietnamWarthereportersandjournalistshadfreerangetorecordandtalkto
whoevertheypleasedwithnorestrictions.TelevisionnewsanchorssuchasWalterCronkite
whosefamouscommentaryontheVietnamWarhadveryinfluentialrolesontheAmerican

4
5

http://www.museum.tv/eotv/vietnamonte.htm
https://history.state.gov/milestones/19611968/tet

people.Thereweremanyspecificinstanceswherethemediahadanimmediateimpactonthe
AmericanpeoplesuchasduringtheTetOffensiveof1968,andtheBattleofHamburgerHillin
1969.DuringtheTetOffensivethereweremanyphotographsandvideosshot,onebeingtaken
byamannamedEddieAdamswhichshowedaVietnamesemanbeingexecutedbyaSouthern
VietnameseGeneral.ThebattleatHamburgerHillwasfoughtonApBiaMountainandwas
nicknamedHamburgerHillbythemediabecausethebattleturnedintoameatgrinder6The
battlewasnotintendedforthepurposeofterritoryjusttokeeptheNorthVietnameseoff
balance.ThemountainendedupbeingabandonedandtakenoverbyNorthVietnamesesoldiers
amonthlater.Theendingofthisbattleresultedinthelossofoversixhundredlives.Thenentire
incidentasshowntotheAmericanpeoplethroughthemediawasseenasacompletewasteof
life.ManybattlesthattookplacelaterintheVietnamwarwasseeninthesametypeof
perspective,asAmericantroopscouldnolongergetanadvantageovertheVietcong.

C.EvaluationofSources:
598
GaryHess,2009.
Vietnam:ExplainingAmerica'sLostWar.
BlackwellPub.2009
TheoriginofthesourceisGaryHess,thebookwaspublishedbyBlackwellPublishingin
2009.Thepurposeofthissourceistogiveverydetailedinformationofkeybattlesand
engagementsthathappenedthroughoutthewar.Thebookcoverstheentiretyofthewarand
addresseskeyreasonstowhyAmericawasfightingalosingwar.Thebookinvestigatedtherole
ofthemediainthewar,givingkeydetailsandsourcesforphotographsandbattlesthatthemedia
playedamajorpartin.Thevalueofthiscourseisthatitevaluatesthemainargumentsof

http://www.history.com/thisdayinhistory/militaryspokesmandefendshamburgerhill

scholarsandjournalistsfortheirreasoningastowhytheyconsidertheU.S.wasunableto
achievetheirgoalintheVietnamwar.Thesourcegivesgreatexamplesofpicturesthatwere
showntotheAmericanpeoplethatwereverygraphicinnature,andgivessomefeedbackasto
whatsomeAmericansthoughtofthepicturesthatwerebeingbroadcastedfromthewar.The
sourcereferencesWalterCronkite'scommentariesonthewar,ABCnewsandmanyothermajor
newsstationsthathadakeyimpactonwhatAmericanpeoplewereseeingandhearingeveryday
ontheirtelevisionscreens.Somelimitationsofthesourcesarethatitgiveslotsoffactsaboutthe
war,butlacksinpersonalfeelingsandemotionsofthepeoplelivingduringthetimeofthewar,
andlackstheinformationaboutothereventsthatweretakingplaceduringthewarthatmayhave
impactedthewarinsomeway.

ArchivalTelevisionAudio,Inc.TheVietnamWar:U.S.InvolvementandEscalation
TheoriginofthesourceisCollectorsChoiceArchivalTelevisionAudio,Inc.The
purposeofthissourceisthatitgiveskeycommentaryfromactualnewsbroadcastsduringthe
VietnamWar.WalterCronkiteaveryrenownedbroadcastjournalistknownbestfromtheCBS
eveningnews,hisfamouscommentariesonTheVietnamWarareallarchivedonthesource.The
sourcealsogivesheadlinesandeventsthathappenedinVietnamonafrequentdaytodaybasis.
Thevalueofthissourceisthatitgivesabroadinterpretationofwhatitwasliketoliveand
experiencetheVietnamWarfromhome,givinginformationsuchasbodycount,victoriesand
lossesinbattle,andtheamountofprotestersmarchingthestreetsasthewarwenton.Some
limitationsofthesourcearethatsomemajornewsstationscontainedfieldjournalistsworking
frominsideVietnam,butalotmorethanoftentheinformationcomingbackwasnotwhatthe
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peoplewantedtohear.ThesourceprovidestheactualimagesfromtheVietnamWaralthough,
understandingthepublic'sreactiontotheseimagesareimpossiblewithonlytheuseofthis
source.

OWS:TheUniversityofTexasatAustin:ReimaginingtheVietnamWar
TheoriginofthissourceistheUTCollegeofEducation.Thepurposeofthissourceis
thatitprovidesmanyofthegraphicimagesandsomepropagandathatwasshowntothe
AmericanpeopleduringtheVietnamWar.Thepurposeofthesourceistoshowthecommon
personinAmericaanideaofthedevastationthatwarcanreallycauseonacountryandits
people.Thevalueofthesourceisitshowedhowpropagandawasverysupportiveofthewar
effort,whichinturncausedtheAmericanpeopletohoponboardwiththepropagandaand
believethemisconceptionsthatwerebeingportrayedaboutcommunism.Thelimitationsofthis
sourceisthatitprovidesnoclearindicationofwhatthepeopleseeingthesepicturesfeltwhen
theysawthemforthefirsttime.Thesourcealsolacksinmuchcontentotherthanthepictures
themselvesleavingroomforalotofinterpretation.

D.Analysis:
542
ThefirstmainpointtoconsideristhattheVietnamWarwasthefirsttoeverbetelevised
andbroadcastedtotheAmericanpeople.DuringtheTetOffensive,commonlyreferredtoasthe
turningpointofthewar,thephotographstakenduringthistimehadadirectimpactonthe
Americanpeople.Afterthephotoswerereleasedtothepublic,supportforthewardropped
dramatically.EventhoughtheTetOffensivewasseenasawinfortheAmericanandSouthern
Vietnamesemilitariesitwasfarfromthat.TheTetOffensivegavetheAmericansandSouthern
7

Vietnamesemilitariessomestompingground,thevictoryasitseemedwasnotviewedthis
wayinAmerica.TroopsbeingrequestedtogotoVietnamduringthistimeweredenied,thiswas
thefirsttimethatthepublic'sopiniononthematterofwarwasplayingasignificantpartinwhat
decisionswerebeingmadetodirectlyeffectthewar.
ThegraphicvideosandpicturesweregivingtheAmericanpeopleadifferentperspective
oftheVietnamWar,changingtheonethegovernmenthadinitiallygiventothepeople.This
madetheAmericanpeoplequestionwhotoputtheirtrustinto,morewasgoingintothemedia
thanthefederalreportsmadeaboutthewaritself.ThebattleatHamburgerHillisanother
instanceoftheAmericanpeoplebeingdirectlyaffectedbythemedia.Thisbattlewasfoughton
ApBiaMountainwasveryunfavorabletotheAmericanpeople,seemingalmostpointless,and
leadingtoasenselesswasteoflifeintheireyes.Battlessuchasthisweretheleadingcauseto
vietnamization,whichwasgivingthewaroverthetheSouthernVietnamesetroops.Themain
reasonforthisshiftwasprobablybecausethepicturesandvideoswerecomingdirectlyfromthe
source,whilethegovernmentwashidinginformationaboutthewar,andgaveitapositiveimage
forthepeople.Themainpointtoconsideristhatthejournalistsandreporterswerethosethat
wentagainstwhatthegovernmentwassayingaboutthewar,tarnishingthepositiveimagethat
thegovernmenttriedtogetacrosstotheAmericanpeople.IftheAmericangovernmenttriedto
bemoreopenwithwhatwashappeninginVietnamthepeoplemayhavekeptthetrusttheyonce
hadinthegovernment.
TheimpactofthemediahadatremendousinfluenceontheVietnamWar.Themediahad
suchaprofoundeffectontheAmericanpeopleatthetimeitmadethewarextremelyunpopular
backathomeintheUS.WhichismostlikelythereasonthattheUnitedStatesdecidedtopull

outofthiswarinthefirstplace.IfthewarwasnotasunpopularasitwasinAmericaitmay
haveneverpulledoutofVietnam,oratleastmayhavehappenedatalaterdate.Withoutthe
media'sinvolvementintheVietnamwartheUnitedStatesmayhavefoundthemselvesfightinga
losingwarforanevenlongerperiodoftime.Althoughwithoutthemedia'sinvolvementinthe
wartheAmericanpeoplemayhaveneverfiguredoutthenatureofwarandhowbrutalitcanbe
attimes.Withoutthisknowledgethewarathomemayhavenevergottenasunpopularasitdid.

E.Conclusion:
163
Fromtheevidencepresenteditisobviousthatthemediahadmanyimpactsonthe
outcomeofthewar,somebeingdirectandsomethatjustlingeredinthebackgroundasother
eventswerehappening.Asthemediakeptshowingtraumatizingandemotionalpicturesand
videofootagetotheAmericanpeopletheiropinionsstartedtodifferfromwhattheyoncewere.
Thenewsandmediacoveragewentagainstwhatthegovernmentwastryingtoprojecttothe
Americanpeople.ThepositiveimagethatthegovernmentwastryingtoforceupontheAmerican
peoplewasdestroyedbythemedia,thisshowedthepeoplethesideofwarthatnoneofthem
trulyknewabout,theAmericanpeoplebegantotrustthemediamoreandthegovernmentless.
WiththeAmericanpeople'sopinionschangingdrasticallyandthewareffortbeingsounpopular
athometheU.S.governmenthadnochoicebuttofinallylistentoitspeopleandpulloutofthe
VietnamWar.

F.Bibliography:
ArchivalTelevisionAudioVietnamWar(19611968).(n.d.).RetrievedMay21,2015,from
http://www.atvaudio.com/ata_vietnamwar.php
FinalWord:CronkitesVietnamCommentary.(n.d.).RetrivedMay21,2015,from
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106775685
Media.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch17,2016,from
http://www.trincoll.edu/classes/hist300/media.htm
MediaVoerageoftheVietnamWar.(n.d.).RetrievedMay21,2015,from
http://ows.edb.utexas.edu/site/reimaginingvietnamwar/mediacoveragevietnamwar
TheMuseumofBroadcastCommunicationsEncyclopediaofTelevisionVietnamon
Television.(n.d.).RetrievedMay21,2015,from
http://www.museum.tv/eotv/vietnamonte.htm
U.S.InvolvementintheVietnamWar:TheTetOffensive,196819611968MilestonesOfficeofthe
Historian.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch16,2016,from
https://history.state.gov/milestones/19611968/tet

TheVietnamWar.(n.d.).RetrievedMay21,2015,from
http://www.ushistory.org/us/55.asp

VietnamWar.(n.d.).RetrievedMay21,2015,from
http://www.historynet.com/vietnamwar

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