In history, you often divide things into foreign policy (things that happen outside of the United States) and domestic policy (things that happen at home). If you were asked whether a war was foreign or domestic policy, you would probably answer foreign policy. However, war almost always creates new situations at home as well. Arguably, no other war in American history had more impact than that of the Vietnam War.

Please click next to see some examples of this.

Instructions to Students: You have just viewed images and phrases from the Vietnam era. Think for a moment about your responses to what you have seen. Did you see anything that immediately caught your attention ?

Click on each image above to view it again and look for all the details you can find. Look for catchy sayings. Look at the age of the people in the photographs. Think about other wars you have studied in American History. What impression do these pictures and quotes give of the Vietnam War that would distinguish this conflict from others before it like World War II?

Answer these questions and record any other thoughts and observations your notes.

What differences did you find? Some of the most notable differences are that people seem opposed to the Vietnam War. Wars that happened prior to (before) Vietnam are often viewed as incredible times of patriotism (pride in our nation). Soldiers who fought in earlier wars were treated as heroes. Americans at home did all in their power to aid the war effort, often doing without things they wanted so that soldiers far from home could have necessary items.

Vietnam was clearly a very different war. It created a huge social impact at home. (Social is defined as pertaining to the life, welfare, and relations of human beings in a community. Impact is defined as the force exerted by a new idea, concept, technology, or ideology.) This lesson will examine the force exerted by people with different points of view on Vietnam living as a community.