The Vietnam War marks a crucial point in history as it is the first war not definitively won by one of the richest and most powerful nations. It is one of the most polarized wars to date, an infamous example of how the will of the United States government and the will of the people were in direct opposition to each other. Although shrouded in a thick fog of propaganda, I intend to demonstrate that, despite America's claims to defend the world from communism, this war actually weakens and harms civil rights on all fronts, domestically and abroad. The Vietnam War began in 1954. after North Vietnam's victory over the French colonial administration of Vietnam. North Vietnam's goal was to unify the entire country by establishing a communist central administration with the support of the Soviet Union, China, and other communist allies. In 1957, the Vietnamese communists, known as the Viet Cong, used guerrilla tactics against all those who opposed them in the region. The U.S. government sought to protect itself from a communist bloc in Southeast Asia and took the opportunity to prevent the unification of Vietnam's inevitable communist government by conducting strategic bombing methods in North Vietnam and surrounding areas suspected of hosting the Viet Cong. President John F. Kennedy was a proponent of Dwight Eisenhower's domino theory, which held that a communist victory in one country would cause a chain reaction of communist rule in neighboring states. Ronald H. Spector. "Vietnam War". Britannica December 23, 2013. The domino theory enabled almost total support from Washington and put us into an eight-year commitment to mass death and destruction of a small third world country. History....... middle of paper...... talked about his missions in Southeast Asia. He mentioned how they were forced to burn all the huts they could, as well as the personal possessions, food and even livestock of the Southeast Asians. He also talked about the women and children who cried while carrying out these missions. The Communist Common Front held a…….Conc: The 1960s were a tumultuous time, war creates divisions, discrimination of blacks continues today, compare the progression of civil rights in the US and abroad, touch on McNamara ( maybe), Kennedy's quote about paying any price for the success of freedom (how high is the price?), "All men are created equal" not so much, touching Martin Luther King, America blinded by propaganda, money earned, “thanks, but no thanks, USA,” from government manipulation, from ulterior motives, from Viet suffering, try not to sound like a crazy conspiracy theorist.