Communications 121
The Effects of the Vietnam War Protest on Society
By Levi Combs
Edison Community College 

The Vietnam War had a profound effect on American society.   It changed the way we viewed our government, the media, and our Constitutional rights.   Because of this shift in perspective, the country was torn apart and yet still came together in new and different ways. The Vietnam War's controversialist spurred a great many sources of protest against our government's use of power, how far we could stretch the rights of free expression, and primarily against the violence of the war itself.   These changes in the behavior of society have left a lasting mark on our perception and the demand to be informed since that influential period of social turmoil.    

The war provided a controversial issue that formed an uprising for a social structure just ready to be provoked.   When the American public became aware of the situation at hand, through the recently unchained media, it was only a matter of time before there was some form of action or reaction.   The media played a key role in the empowerment of people.   With the addition of television journalism, a whole new depth was added to how people perceived what they were being told, because there was an added truth to seeing it.   People rising and uniting in protest, and journalists bucking the government-imposed censorship began stretching the limits to how far we would take our rights to free speech and press. 

“The anti-war movement began mostly on college campuses, as members of the leftist organization Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) began organizing “teach-ins” to express their opposition to the way in which it was being conducted. Though the vast majority of the American population still supported the administration policy in Vietnam, a small but outspoken liberal minority was making its voice heard by the end of 1965. This minority included many students as well as prominent artists and intellectuals and members of the hippie movement, a growing number of young people who rejected authority and embraced the drug culture.” (Vietnam War Protests) 

The war changed our fabric of society in a way that can never be undone. 

‘The political activities of the youth movement had enduring effects. Colleges became less authoritarian, ending dress codes and curfews and recruiting more minority students. Students also contributed mightily to the movement against the war in Vietnam. Both the counterculture and student activism, finally, fueled a backlash that blossomed in the 1970s and 1980s. The civil rights movement, the women's movement, the youth movement, and the environmental movement changed people's lives. They also created a climate of rebellion, confrontation, and upheaval.” (United States History) 

After the chaotic protest of this war it will be hard for the government to have the backing of the American people. Such backing that we had in World War One and World War Two. Without the backing of our nation it will be very hard to win any conflict or war that we go into. 

On the other hand the average American citizen got a spine. It was the first time we stood up against the American government in what we believed in. 

“As the young burned their draft cards and withdrew their allegiance to the United States the question remained, were they doing it for 'the world's oppressed' or themselves? Only those without ...wit, background, or money; failed to escape service in Vietnam. Unlike previous wars, those serving in Vietnam came disproportionately from lower classes.” (Klar) 

Since then Americans have been standing up to the government for what they believe is right. It has changed the way we will communicate forever. 

For example in October of 2011 we experienced the Occupy Wall Street Movement that went from New York City to across the United States. They were protesting against corporate greed and economic inequality. 

“One of the favorite messages of the protesters is that almost 40% of US wealth is held in the hands of 1% of the population, who are taxed more lightly than the majority of Americans. Steinkamp was holding a sign saying "I am the 99%". And there is widespread anger that ordinary people have born the brunt of the financial crisis with dire job losses and house repossessions.” (Walters) 

We can see that President Obama won a second term in office because he wanted to increase the tax on the wealthiest Americans. The Occupy Movement worked. 

While some editing may have been done for grammar or clarity, the choice of topic and discussion in this and other Communication 121 student Term Projects is solely the result of the research completed by the student. 

Read the County News Online introduction for these papers here.