How Did The My Lai Massacre Impact The Vietnam War

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The Vietnam War originated from when the North of Vietnam wanted to unify the country under a communist regime after defeating the French colonial administration of Vietnam in 1954 (“Vietnam”). This decision made by the North of Vietnam was influenced by the Soviet Union as well as China. Since the Soviet Union and China were quite dominant during the Cold War, this signifies that the Domino Effect had been successful to a certain extent. Even if the Domino Effect might have been somewhat a success there were still the nationalists who did not agree to be controlled by the communists. The United States were against the Viet Cong, who were the communists, had an impact on the war (Berman). One of their impacts on the war was the My Lai Massacre. The My Lai Massacre surprisingly increased the amount of public support for the Vietnam War, since it had began to decrease, specifically among the ones who were not educated (Carter). The majority of the American citizens believed that Lieutenant Calley was a man serving for his country during one of the most controversial wars involved with the United States due to his persuasive techniques, since he convinced his audience that he was an innocent man, but there are still the minorities who beg to differ. The small percentage of Americans who …show more content…

It all began in early hours of the 16th of March 1968 and lasted three hours (Chiu). Between February and March of 1968, the U.S Military Assistance Command was aggressively trying to regain the strategic initiative in the South of Vietnam after the Tet Offensive (History). This statement leads to the purpose of the massacre. The reason behind the horrendous massacre is the Americans went on a search-and-destroy mission, since they had heard that the Viet Cong had taken control Son My, which is where the My Lai village can be found

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