User:Vornado0/sandbox

Public opinion on the Vietnam War
The American public's support of the Vietnam War decreased as the war continued on. As public support decreased, opposition grew.

The Gallup News Service began asking the American public whether it was a "mistake to send troops to Vietnam" in August of 1965. At the time less than a quarter of Americans polled, 24%, believed it was a mistake to send troops to Vietnam while 60% of Americans polled believed the opposite. Three years later, in September of 1968, 54% of Americans polled believed it was a mistake to send troops to Vietnam while 37% believed it was not a mistake.

A 1965 Gallup Poll asked the question, "Have you ever felt the urge to organize or join a public demonstration about something?" Positive responses were quite low; not many people wanted to protest anything, and those who did want to show a public demonstration often wanted to demonstrate in support of the Vietnam War. However, when the American public was asked in 1990, "Looking back, do you wish that you had made a stronger effort to protest or demonstrate against the Vietnam War, or not", 25 percent said they wished they had. A major factor in the American public's disapproval of the Vietnam War came from the casualties being inflicted on US forces. In a Harris poll from 1967 asking what aspect most troubled people most about the Vietnam war the plurality answer of 31% was "the loss of our young men." A separated 1967 Harris poll asked the American public,"How has the war affected your own family, job or financial life?" The majority of respondents, 55%, said that it had had no effect on their lives. Of the 45% who indicated the war had affected their lives, 32% listed inflation as the most important factor while 25% listed casualties inflicted.

As the war continued the public became much more opposed to the war as they could see was not ending. In a poll from December 1967, 71% of the public believed the war would not be settled in 1968. A year later the same question was asked and 55% of people did not think the war would be settled in 1969.

When the American public was asked about the Vietnam-era Anti-War movement in the 1990's, 39% of the public said the approved while 39% said they disapproved. The last 22% were unsure.