Times of Change - for Wednesday

Jack Smith by Ron Steinman

What challenges does Jack Smith face as a soldier in Vietnam? (a bulleted list is fine)
- he now has to face the fact that he is now fighting in a war and that death was something that could be happening to him sooner than he expected.
- his friends are dying everywhere and combat is extremely nerve racking
- fear and anger and shock

How does Smith’s attitude toward war change? At first, he wanted to enlist in the war. During the war he was angry and upset with the fact that there is so much fighting and killing going on that it almost seems unnatural. He didn't like that he wittnessed so many of his friends being killed.


I Feel Like I’m Fixing To Die Rag by Joe McDonald
This song by Country Joe and the Fish became one of the first protest songs of the Vietnam Era. Read the lyrics to the song, and then respond to the following:

What is the song asking the “big strong men to do”? They want the "big strong men" to help out their country again and "pick up a gun" and fight in the war.
… the “generals” to do? their supposed to fight for democracy and end communism. "Supposed to get those reds" and that the war can only be over when all the communists are dead.
… “Wall Street” to do? People fighting in the war need supplies so they should help the armies and money can be made if you help out.
… “mothers” to do? Send their sons and husbands and other loved ones off to war and wait until they come home dead.

Write down four specific lines from the song that display sarcasm, cynicism, or anti-war sentiment.

1. "Whoopee! we're all gonna die."
2. "Be the first one on your block To have your boy come home in a box."
3. "We're gonna have a whole lotta fun."
4. "And you know that peace can only be wo When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come."

Times of Change - Vietnam and the 60's

A Dubious Crusade by James A. Warren

Look up both words in the title of the short essay. What do they mean?

Dubious: (1)doubtful; marked by or occasioning doubt; (2)of doubtful quality or propriety/questionable; (3)of uncertain outcome; (4)wavering or hesitating in opinion; inclined to doubt.

Crusade: (1)any war carried on under papal sanction; (2)any vigorous, aggressive movement for the defense or advancement of an idea, cause; (3) to go on or engage in a crusade.
Relate the title to the reading. What is Warren saying? I think Warren is saying that The Vietnam War was a long and controversial conflict in history. The war is confusing considering that it's hard to say when it officially began.

How do you think this will relate to the rest of our study if Vietnam? I think this will relate to our studies of the war because will be trying to figure out what happened and why it happened in this complex war.





History by Thuong Vuong-Riddick

What is the overall theme of Vuong-Riddick's poem? Reading the poem was confusing. I think what Voung-Riddick is trying to say is that the there was a lot of "killing" and "allied with" in the war and that it's hard to try to understand who killed who and who allied with who after killing them.



The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution … by Goldberg

What is the main thesis of the essay? I think the main point is that people were always fighting and how it marked a turning point in the war where the United States got more involved.

What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution? It was something that began by three Vietnamese torpedo boats attacking the Maddox, which was a US destroyer on the Gulf of Tonkin on August 2, 1964. Two days later, that vessel and another U.S. destroyer (the Turner Joy) in the area both reported themselves under attack, although North Vietnam insisted that it hadn't attacked — and no attack is now believed to have occurred on the 4th of August.

What evidence does the author give to support his thesis? Goldberg said that only congress can delcare war, and in the case of Vietnam, congress never really did declare war. The closest they came was the Gulf of Tonkin, and now the attack may be a lie.

How does this link to the theme of the first reading, “A Dubious Crusade”? The act of war or aggressive movement is uncertain and doubtful so it the Gul of Tonkin relates back to the first reading because it's an example of a "doubious crusade".

Korea - The Forgotton War

10 Important Things Everyone Should Know About the Korean War:

1. There was conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces in Korea from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953.
2. At the end of World War II, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into Soviet (North Korean) and U.S. (South Korean) zones of occupation.
3. In 1948 rival governments were established: The Republic of Korea was proclaimed in the South and the People's Democratic Republic of Korea in the North.
4. On June 25, 1950, North Korean forces invaded South Korea. The United Nations quickly said the invasion was an act of aggression, demanded that North Korean troops should be out of the South, and called upon its members to aid South Korea.
5. On June 27, President Truman authorized the use of American land, sea, and air forces in Korea. A week later, the United Nations placed the forces of 15 other member nations under U.S. command, and Truman appointed Gen. Douglas MacArthur commander.
6. The first couple of weeks, North Korea was invading the South quickly and they faced little resistence.
7. By Sept. 10 they had driven the South Korean army and a small American force to the southeast tip of Korea. A counteroffensive began on Sept. 15, when UN forces made a landing on the west coast. North Korean forces fell back and MacArthur received orders to pursue them into North Korea.
8. On Oct. 19, the North Korean capital was captured.
9. China saw the movement of UN forces in North Korea as a threat to China's security. Chinese leaders warned them that if they advanced any further, it would force them to enter the war. On November 25, 1950, Chinese Communist troops attacked North Korea.
10. The more the war continued, the more it becomes unpopular. In July 1951, Truman accepted a Soviet suggestion of truce. The "talks" dragged on for two years. Truman decided not to run again during the election and Dwight D. Eisenhower is the chosen to be the president. He agreed to a compromise to end the war. A cease-fire ended the war in 1953. Communism had been contained in Korea. Many Americans felt frustrate by the indecisve war.

Has MLK's "dream" been realized?

I think that MLK's "dream" has been realized slowly because I think some people are sitll judged on their content of their skin and not by their character. In some statistics in the early 1980's, it shows that white families have more income than any other race. I think that as the years have progressed, people are started to be treated more equally as any other race. But also, for poverty rates, whites are generally at a lower perecent rate.

Martin Luther King Jr.

The author from the article Martin Luther King feels that nearly every city in the United States has a street or school named after him. The author feels that his ahievments are being misunderstood and how most of the cities and schools named after him are in black neighborhood's. People owe MLK the greatest debt "for liberating them from the burden of America's centuries-old hypocrisy about race. It is only because of King and the movement that he led that the U.S. can claim to be the leader of the "free world" without inviting smirks of disdain and disbelief," so the author feels. King was the right man at the time, because without him, the movemnt could not have been as meaningful and as powerful as it was. The quote that is most popular in King's I Have a Dream speach, has been used when King would never have endorsed it. King would feel that they have filtered out his radicalism and sense of urgency.

Civil Disobedience

Question: Would you have been able to use civil disobedience and non-violence.

Answer: I think I would have gotten involved with protesting and not using violence. But I think if I were to have gotten involved, I could only be involved for a little while. Violence is not the answer to solve disputes. It would be hard to face discrimination and racial slurs and other violent acts against segregationists. I would protest against people who discriminated against race and color. Using civil disobedience helps spread your opinion of what you think without using violence even though the consequences of your actions may be severe. Civil disobedience was a good way to help end segregation.

Unit 8 Preview

It's depressing me that we aren't getting to spend more time with the amazing Mr. Taft. I'm looking forward to learning about the causes of the Cold War, and going more into depth with the Civil Rights Movement, and learning about the Vietnam War. I think it's going to be interesting using the computers intstead of the notebooks...I hope I can manage my blog and the wiki space.