Divided America
[1968, Bill of Right Institute]
Anti-war protestors, 1966, Wisconsin Historical Society
Demonstrators in support of Vietnam War, 1970, Tom Norpell.
While the Vietnam War raged on, the conflict prompted a debate over sacrificing lives for a foreign issue, best seen in the clash between pro-withdrawal (War Doves) and pro-escalation (War Hawks). Although these two opinions clashed throughout the entire war, pro-withdrawal sentiments became the majority as the war showed no progress.
American Public Opinion and the War in Vietnam, March 1979, The University of Utah
The Tet Offensive, a series of raids and attacks from the Viet Minh, marked a significant failure for the Southern Vietnamese and U.S, diminishing national morale. It was a vital turning point in America, shifting the majority of public opinion towards de-escalation. It also led to the government concealing later operations out of fear of opposition, as seen in the Pentagon Papers.
“The shock of Tet was just enormous [...] That front page of The Washington Post in the morning, with the pictures of the American Embassy — the symbol of everything, not destroyed, but pretty well damaged — and dead people all around — that had to be one of the great, great shocks and traumatic events in Washington.”
- Barry Zorthian, part of the US Military Command in Saigon, TheWorld
"Opposition to the Vietnam War in the United States," May 1970, PBS