Title: How did the Vietnam War affect America? - The Vietnam War
Headings: How did the Vietnam War affect America?
How did the Vietnam War affect America?
Damage the Economy
Spur Policy Changes
The Right to Vote at Age 18
The End of the Draft
An All-Volunteer Force
Mistrust the Government
“Vietnam Syndrome”
No More “Quagmires”
The Continuing Effect
Sharing is Caring
Show us some Love

Content: The AVF turned out to be a positive development in the midst of widespread sentiment against the military after the Vietnam War. It was deemed feasible, affordable, and therefore, one of the best way to raise military manpower. The AVF was also more agile and more-engaged and responsive to government needs in a post-Cold War era of smaller wars. Mistrust the Government
Beyond policy changes, the U.S. also paid a high political cost for the Vietnam War. The long and traumatic conflict saw a mounting mistrust of government and its officials. A chain of unexpected events starting in mid 1960s – such as the way President Johnson obtained the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to send troops to Vietnam, revelations of secret bombings of Cambodia, the My Lai massacre and Kent State tragedy under Nixon administration – put America into a crisis of confidence and faith. On the eyes of American people, government leaders were no longer credible. The abrupt end of Nixon’s presidency with the Watergate scandal only confirmed this sentiment. The Vietnam conflict totally changed the attitudes of a generation. More and more American citizens became suspicious, skeptical and cynical about the government and public institutions in the wake of the Vietnam War.