The United States entered the war to contain communism from spreading through Southern Vietnam and all of Indochina. At first the United States lended only economic support to Southern Vietnam; however, an event called the Gulf of Tonkin soon changed that. President Johnson stated that “two U.S ships in the Gulf of Tonkin...were fired upon without provocation by Northern Vietnamese” ships (“The Vietnam War”). The Gulf of Tonkin provided Johnson with the exact excuse needed to get full power from congress to stop Northern Vietnamese aggression. One of the first thing President Johnson did was increase the number of troops stationed in Vietnam and set up a draft system for forced military involvement. The draft system was mandatory for all adult males from ages eighteen to forty-five. Because the draft system affected mainly the youth, they took a particular dislike to the war. The youth also disliked the fact that Americans were being forced into military participation with a high possibility of death, against their
The United States entered the war to contain communism from spreading through Southern Vietnam and all of Indochina. At first the United States lended only economic support to Southern Vietnam; however, an event called the Gulf of Tonkin soon changed that. President Johnson stated that “two U.S ships in the Gulf of Tonkin...were fired upon without provocation by Northern Vietnamese” ships (“The Vietnam War”). The Gulf of Tonkin provided Johnson with the exact excuse needed to get full power from congress to stop Northern Vietnamese aggression. One of the first thing President Johnson did was increase the number of troops stationed in Vietnam and set up a draft system for forced military involvement. The draft system was mandatory for all adult males from ages eighteen to forty-five. Because the draft system affected mainly the youth, they took a particular dislike to the war. The youth also disliked the fact that Americans were being forced into military participation with a high possibility of death, against their