Essay on The Effect of the Vietnam War on the Australian Society

“Australia’s involvement in the Second World War created a sense of cohesion rather than division”

Australia wanted to stop communism and stop the communism ripple effect occurring, with the forward defence policy Australia could ensure its safety. Forward defence is meeting any threats to Australia as far away from the mainland as possible. Menzies was having troubles getting the public to agree on his anti communism views so he created the fear of 'reds under the bed' which got him enough support from the public to support his campaign. Australia first started it’s campaign in 1962 when it sent 30 advisers called ‘the team’ into Vietnam, Australia later sent land and air fighters. Australian troops in Vietnam reached the largest in 1964 with 8,000 troops

Australia’s response to the threat of communism after WW2 was extraordinary. Australia and its politicians immediately recognised what could happen of a result of the domino theory. With the Soviet Union influencing so many countries and causing China, Vietnam, and North Korea to turn Communist it was only matter of time until it reached Australia, and all in all this was when Australia took action.

There were many protest groups throughout Australia protesting about different issues in the Vietnam War, but mostly about conscripting young man over the age of 20 to serve 2 full years in military service, this was the first time Australia conscripted men to overseas. If men that had been conscripted had refused to go to war they would have to serve two years jail

On the 9th of February 1942, three divisions of Japanese soldiers landed in Singapore, which was at the time a major British military base and presence in the Pacific. Six days later, over 90 000 British, Australian and Indian troops were forced to surrender. It had been believed that Singapore guaranteed the security of Australia during the war, consequently, the fall of Singapore opened Australia to invasion. The fall of Singapore was significant in causing relations between Australia and the United States to increase as in lieu of Britain’s inability to provide economic and military assistance when it was required most, the United States’ capability to provide what Britain could not was instrumental in strengthening bonds.

Politically the great depression hit Australia hard, as many Australians lost confidence in their government representatives. A number of radical or extremist organizations gather strength and popularity as a result of the large scale public dissatisfaction. In Australia the developing of the new capital Canberra was put to a stop leaving a population of 7,000 in limbo, workers were laid off and the federal capital commission was abolished. The Sydney harbor bridge was a great way of bringing employment back into Australia during the depression. At the time of the war and after the great depression it was Australian best interest to have an alliance with Great Britain. Australia needed to form an alliance with Great Britain during World War II, because if the war ended up near or in Australia, we would need the help from Great Britain and their allies. Having Great Britain as its ally at that time was the right thing to do as it protected its colonies from the imperil japan and other foreign invaders. During the period of 1942 Australia was extremely worried as the fall of Singapore in February 1942 and had the threat of a possibility of a Japanese

Gonyea, D. (2014). LBJ Legacy: Vietnam War Often Overshadows Civil Rights Feat. Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/2014/04/09/300836769/civil-rights-act-anniversary-may-polish-lbj-s-image

The Vietnam War beginning on November 1st 1955 and ending April 30th 1975 was a highly controversial war that originally took place as a civil war between Northern and Southern Vietnam. Northern Vietnam was backed by Russia and China while Southern Vietnam was backed by the USA. This war made a hugely divisive impact on Australian society a few months after they entered in July 1962 as allies to the USA and Southern Vietnam. Some factors of the Vietnam War contributed to cohesion among the Australian public such as the fear of communism and the subsequent “domino effect. However many factors of this war such as the media coverage, conscription being brought back under the Menzies government, anti-war protests and post-war immigration, were all important aspects of this war and made it much more divisive than cohesive, especially in the later stages.

The Vietnam War was the first major war American’s had suffered defeat. The Vietnam war was a war of confusion, competition and biasness. The outcome of the war was far greater than an upset American nation, but a severe breakdown of the Vietnamese culture, economy, environment and government. It also had a tremendous impact on American society even up to present day. It was unclear from the beginning of the war if the American’s should even be involved. It was a war between Northern and Southern Vietnam but the U.S saw it as an indirect way to challenge the USSR’s sphere of influence in Southern Asia and to prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism. The Vietnam War completely changed the way the United States

Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War was a result of a combined fear of communism and the fall of freedom from danger in Australian democracy and society. The growing web of communism saw the fall of many countries closing in on Australia and New Zealand, and it was believed Robert Menzies’ government that they would find communism at Australia’s shores.

In 1945, after World War II had finished, Australia finally felt at peace – that was until Communism began to have an effect on the entire world. Australia had a lot to fear, with the threat likely to infiltrate the country both domestically (an established Communist Party) and internationally (a geographical location close to countries that had already fallen victim to communism, such as China and Korea). Australia responded to both of these threats in a way that caused a lot of political controversy and has created bonds with other parts of the world that are still activated today.

Vietnam was so significant to the United States partly as it would be the first war they would lose. It also had a tremendous financial impact on the country and the casualties were also more in the public eye than ever before due to the media. They learnt that: "a long war for limited objectives, with its steady stream of body bags, will not be supported by the American people" (Martino, 1996, p37). Some suggest that the US should have avoided any involvement in the war.

The Vietnam War's Effects on American Society Abstract 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 contraversiality 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.

Australia is a British settled colony; nevertheless, Australian forces have fought together with the United States military in every significant conflict since World War I.

This paper will be explaining the similarities, and differences, between the Vietnam War and the War in Afghanistan. There are many topics that bring these two wars together. However, I am only going to be talking about public support, policy objectives, military strategy, weapons, fighting spirit, links to home, and death totals. These topics have a lot of information about them, but there is too much to write about every little detail, so I will cover the broad overview of them. Each paragraph will be about one of the topics. There will also be a discussion about insurgencies and counter insurgency operations. These are two big topics in Vietnam and Afghanistan since almost all of the enemy in both wars were, and are, comprised of insurgents and different types of militia groups.