Opposing Views of the Vietnam War: You’ve Been Drafted! How Do You Feel?

The students read primary source documents to gain insight into the fact that civilians held a variety of opinions regarding the Vietnam War, some agreeing more with the official United States government position and some siding with anti-war groups.

Standards
Social Studies
Grade 10

History, Benchmark F
The United States in the 20th Century
13. Trace social unrest, protest and change in the United States including:

a. Anti-war protest during the Vietnam War.
b. The counterculture movement.

Language Arts
Grade 10

Reading Applications: Informational, Technical and Persuasive Text

5. Analyze an author’s implicit argument, perspective or viewpoint in text.
6. Identify appeals to authority, reason and emotion.

Procedures

1. Review previous knowledge of the Vietnam War. Be sure to touch on students’ understanding of:
   • Who fought against whom?
   • Why did the United States become involved?
   • What was the initial public sentiment in the United States regarding U.S. involvement in Vietnam?
   • What was President Johnson’s attitude toward U.S. involvement in Vietnam?
   • What was President Nixon’s attitude toward U.S. involvement in Vietnam?
   • How did the war change under President Nixon’s administration?

2. Have students discuss what they know, or think they know, about the ways the American public reacted to the Vietnam War in the late 1960s and early 1970s. What are their impressions of that era? Do they have images of any kinds of people? Hippies? What have they seen of the activities that went on in the U.S. at that time? Anti-war protests? Kent State?

3. Lead the discussion to the idea that not everyone was opposed to the war. Although anti-war sentiment was strong, some young people agreed with the policies of the government. Do they know of any present-day leaders who felt this way?

4. Pass out documents or direct students to the following Web sites:

   Nixon’s Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam:
   http://www.watergate.info/nixon/silent-majority-speech-1969.shtml

   Vietnam War Veteran John Kerry’s Testimony Before the Senate:
   http://www.richmond.edu/~ebolt/history398/JohnKerryTestimony

5. Direct students to take notes as they read these documents for further classroom discussion or activities that focus on the opposing beliefs and policies of the speakers. (This may be assigned as homework.)

6. Discuss major arguments from both documents. List these on the chalkboard.

7. Divide students into pairs. Set up the following scenario:
   • Each pair of students is to pretend they are good friends.
   • They are 18-year-old U.S. citizens in 1971.
   • One student is in favor of the war; the other is opposed to it.
   • Both students have received draft notices and have been called to active duty.

8. The pairs of students write a dialogue (conversation) about their reactions to being called to duty. Dialogues should include what each person thinks about the war and how each justifies that opinion.

9. Specific examples from the documents should be included.

10. Dialogues may be shared aloud with the class.

Materials

• Copies of documents (optional) or Internet resources

Evaluation

Class-developed rubric that includes:

• Active class participation

• Cooperation and efficient work with partner

• Clear and thoughtful written dialogue expressing:

  a. Opinion held during the war

  b. Justification for that opinion, including several supportive examples