Task 2. The anti-war movement sources
The anti-Vietnam War movement was a significant social movement that began in 1965 and grew throughout the period of the conflict. Initially led by students, mothers, and anti-establishment groups, it expanded to include civil rights activists, feminists, clergy, academics, and various other groups. Protests ranged from peaceful demonstrations to more radical actions, with millions of people in the USA and Australia eventually considering involvement in Vietnam a mistake. The movement was fueled by moral arguments, concerns over the draft, and increased access to uncensored information about the war. It became the largest and most influential antiwar movement in U.S. history, ultimately contributing to the end of combat operations in Vietnam.
10 Sources Analysis Answer Guide
Don’t forget: Quote often and begin your response with name of the author, not the Source number. Put the source number in brackets at the end of the quote/paraphrasing.
For example:
This is supported by Jones who states that 'History students would be more popular at parties if they used this method.' (Source 3)
More successful responses:
contain relevant evidence (quotes and observations) from sources when required.
Less successful responses
provide responses without reference to any evidence from the source
state that sources are limited without explaining why using evidence
do not assess the nature of sources clearly
do not explain how the nature and origin of the sources are a strength or limitation
do not include the source in the response.
Source 1. Muhammad Ali refuses to fight in Vietnam (1967)
“Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn’t have to draft me, I’d join tomorrow. So I’ll go to jail. We’ve been in jail for four hundred years.”
Questions
What are two conclusions that can be drawn from the article about (2)
Source 2. Anti-war testimony to the US Senate. John Kerry (1971)
“I would like to talk on behalf of over 150 honourably discharged war veterans, many highly decorated, who have testified to US war crimes committed in south-east Asia. These were not isolated incidents but crimes committed everyday with the full awareness of command. They relived the absolute horror of what this country, in a sense, made them do. They told stories that at times they had tortured, assaulted, blown up and randomly shot at civilians, razed villages, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside. In addition to the particular ravaging resulting from the applied bombing power of this country.
Questions
Is source 2 a primary or a secondary source? Use evidence from the source to support your answer. (2)
Source 3. The Collapse of the Armed Forces. Colonel Robert Heinl (1971)
In June 1971, Colonel Robert Heinl published a controversial article, The Collapse of the Armed Forces, in which he claimed the US military was on the brink of disaster.
“The morale and discipline of the U.S. Armed Forces are, with few exceptions, lower and worse than at anytime in this century and possibly in the history of the USA. By every conceivable indicator, our army in Vietnam is in a state approaching collapse, with individual units avoiding or having refused combat, murdering their officers and non commissioned officers, drug-ridden, and dispirited, in many cases nearly mutinous.
Questions
What are two conclusions that can be drawn from the article about the US army. (2)
Source 4. An American draft dodger explains his actions. John Lacey 1973
Was I a coward? Did I let my country down? In one way I was a coward, for I left rather than go to jail for my refusal to join the army. But I wasn’t afraid to fight. I refused to serve in Vietnam because we had no right to be there. We only brought untold suffering and destruction to that country. We acted like the bully of the world and used all our vast military might against a small nation of peasants.
Some people might say that I was not in a position to judge what was happening in Vietnam. However, there were many war veterans who hated the war just as much as I did. They saw the injustices at first hand and they condemned the war too.
I’m very bitter about our government’s actions. They lied to justify their actions and while they spent millions on bombing North Vietnam, the problems in the ghettoes of our big cities grew worse and worse. The Vietnam War has left a deep scar on my country.”
Questions
How does the information in Source 4 support the information in Source 1. Support your response with evidence form both sources. (4)
Source 5. Nixon’s Peace. Anti war poster 1973
Refer to the poster
Questions
How useful is a poster for an historian studying the Vietnam War? (4)
Source 6. Interview with a draft dodger. Brian Ross. Extract from an ABC Radio interview in 1970. AWM
Mr Ross was the first Australian man to be sent to prison for refusing to be conscripted to fight in Vietnam.
'Well you can be wrong but the government is deciding that we aren't able to decide; that we can't as twenty-year-olds, look at the situation, the world situation, the Vietnam situation, the general situation of this society or whatever it might be and they're saying that we're not good enough or we don't know enough. It's a matter of personal responsibility really.'
Questions
Evaluate the following proposition. All anti war protesters were primarily concerned with protesting US aggression against Vietnam (5)
Source 5. Nixon’s Peace. Anti war poster 1973