Debating Australias future attitudes to the Vietnam War Ashley Wood St Leonards College Todays session Exam Section D Review key information Response structure Suggestions for practice responses Unit 4, Area of Study 2 Debating Australias Future Attitudes to the Vietnam War 1965 and 1970 A range of attitudes at each point in time; The connections between the two significant points in time; The degree of change in attitudes between the two significant points and the reasons for any change Key skills Explain the historical issues covered in the key knowledge Apply historical concepts related to the period Analyse and evaluate written and historical evidence Synthesise material and evidence to draw conclusions Analyse the way that the experience of the period ( ) has been interpreted and understood over time by historians and other commentators Express knowledge and ideas in writing, presenting material using historical conventions such as quotations, acknowledgement of sources and a bibliography 1. A range of attitudes 1970 Pro/anti war Pro/anti conscription Pro/anti Moratorium Fight on or bring troops home 1965 Pro/anti war Pro/anti conscription US Alliance Communism ANZUS/SEATO Gallup Poll on the question Fight on in Vietnam or bring forces back now? Gallup polls on conscription Gallup Polls on sending conscripts to Vietnam 2. The connection between the two significant points What happened between 1965 and 1970 that may have affected attitudes to the war? Eg Conscripts deployed/killed (and regulars) Federal elections 1966 and 1969 Broadening protest movement - Moratoriums Tet 1968 Nixon and Vietnamisation 1970 3. The degree of change in attitudes between 1965 and 1970 and the reasons for any change Gallup polls are a good source for statistics Important to acknowledge that more than 40% wanted to fight on even in 1970 Gallup Poll on the question Fight on in Vietnam or bring forces back now? Exam Section D 20 Marks = of the exam 30 minutes for the response Question does not change Some like to do this section first in the exam your choice Three paragraph response Separate paragraphs, but no need to number the questions paragraph structure should be clear enough P1: Identify the attitudes in the representation P2: How representative is the attitude in the representation? P3: How does it compare with the other year? Two broad issues The war and whether Australia should be involved Conscription, and whether conscripts should be deployed to Vietnam Why were we there? 1: Domino Theory/Fear of communism China 1949 Korean War Red Menace 1950s ANZUS/SEATO US involvement so we were obliged Why were we there? 2: Alliances/US support Why were we there? 3: Brownie points Our objective should be to achieve such an habitual closeness of relations with the United States and sense of mutual alliance that in our time of need, the United States would have little option but to respond as we would want. The problem of Vietnam is one where we could without a disproportionate expenditure pick up a lot of credit with the United States. Allan Renouf, Australian Embassy in the US Conscription Nothing new , , The government has therefore decided that there is no alternative to the introduction of selective compulsory service PM Menzies, November 1964 PM Holt sent first conscripts to Vietnam in 1966 Opponents Pacifists Resisters SOS Save Our Sons YCAC Youth Campaign Against Conscription Arthur Calwell opposition leader Conscientious objectors Reasons Negative media coverage of the war Many people by 1970 had a direct connection to someone called up Some began to question the reasons for Australias involvement in the war Important point Important point only 1 in 3 conscripted soldiers were posted to Vietnam Development of Australian protest movement Draft Resistors Movement 1968 New Left groups more radical, general revolutionary ideas rather than specifically anti-war Later protests more likely to turn violent some people felt alienated by the methods Moratorium movement May 1970, Melbourne Organised by Dr Jim Cairns Radical groups modified their protests Polls suggest many people did not support the Moratorium movement The most impressive demonstration seen in Melbournea legitimate expression of opinion by a substantial expression of the population The Age, 9 May 1970 The struggle in South Vietnam cannot be resolved by military measures The Australian, 6 May 1970 To us, it seems that Dr Cairns is acting wrongly The Sun, 1 May 1970 So the Moratorium movement Demonstrated a new level of anti- government protest Brought together previously disparate groups into one organised rally Showed that attitudes had changed Did not change government policy as such Back to Section D Previous exams and assessors reports are a gold mine! In your response Dont forget the key knowledge dot points Range of attitudes Change of attitudes Connection between the two points Refer to source and link to other sources when applicable Think of the given source as one piece of the jigsaw Dont change the structure do what you practice! Sample response Sample source and answer I subscribe to the domino theory because I believe it is obvious that if the Vietnam War ends with some compromise that denies South Vietnam a real and protected independence, Laos and Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia will be vulnerable this domino theory has formidable realities to Australians who see the boundaries of aggressive communism coming closer and closer Menzies 1965 Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates Identification of the attitudes reflected in the representation. Use evidence from the representation to support your comments: (4 marks) This source, an extract from the 1965 Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates as spoken by Liberal Prime Minister Robert Menzies, on his view of the spread of communism and the domino effect. It is evident that his attitude is one which was widely held at the time, through the support for his pledging troops to support the South Vietnamese and the subsequent introduction of compulsory national service for men aged twenty. Menzies reference to communism as aggressive is another indication that the attitude reflected in the source is one of anti-communism and therefore pro- war and pro-conscription. Menzies is explicit when he states I subscribe to the domino theory. Evaluation of the degree to which the representation reflects attitudes about the issue you have studied as that particular point of time: (8 marks) In 1965 most Australians supported conscription, and the war. Comments like the ones made by Menzies in the above source were largely accepted by the public, and emulated by most print media forms. For example The Age stated that there was no alternative to respond as we have, clearly a supporter of Menzies who has previously been known to say that The Age was his favourite paper. Religious groups however, were divided in their opinions, for example the Catholic B.A. Santamaria likened Australian responsibility in Vietnam to the responsibility of fighting Hitler, while the Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, Phillip Strong too supported the governments views. Isi Leiber, a Jewish man, supported Menzies actions as indeed did the majority of Australians in There were a number of people who disagreed for example Arthur Calwell, Labor Opposition Leader, opposed the governments actions firmly and completely, while the Australian newspaper stated that Menzies had once again shown his contempt for public opinion. Many Anglican Archbishops wrote to Menzies in complaint of his actions, and groups such as Save Our Sons (SOS) and Youth Campaign Against Conscription (YCAC) were formed, and vocal in their opposition to ideas of Australian troops being sent to Vietnam. However, while there were many smaller groups opposing the Prime Ministers actions, the source itself represents the majority of Australians opinions at the time. Analysis of changing attitudes towards this issue. Use evidence from the other point of time that you have studied to support your comments: (8 marks) Between Menzies speech and the May Moratorium in 1970 a number of attitudes for and against the war evolved and changed. While in 1965 the majority of Australians did agree with Menzies view on the potential spread of communism, therefore supporting Australias intervention in Vietnam, in reality the majority of the population was ignorant on the actual issues relating to the war. Liberal Party propaganda was utilised throughout the war years, hinting at Australias susceptibility to a potential communist takeover. Groups who opposed the war, such as the SOS and YCAC, were vociferous but disparate; however by 1970 this had changed. The alteration of public attitudes were brought about by an increasing awareness of the issues for example; the length of the war, the TV media footage, Super 8 movies brought back by veterans themselves and stories told by veterans. The anti-war movement was also active after the 1966 re- election of the Liberal party with the distribution of pamphlets and minor protests throughout Australian cities. The Liberals landslide victory in 1966 itself suggests a certain level of support for the war. However, by August 1969 Gallop Polls reflected that the previous 69% of Australian public support for the war had dropped to an all time low of 55%. This was possible due to the actions of various Labor politicians for example Jim Cairns, who spoke for and promoted the 1970 May Moratorium. Likewise in 1970 Labor Opposition Leader Gough Whitlam spoke that it is time to end trying to save face and start trying to save lives, a comment in support for the withdrawal of Australian troops. The growing collaboration between different protest groups also contributed to the change in attitude, since with coordination and vision they were able to build greater public support to the level where the May Moratorium was seen as a success. This coordination of people, that was missing in 1965, was vital with growing public awareness about the issues involved towards Australias involvement in Vietnam. A couple of useful texts Australia and the Vietnam War Peter Edwards, Aust. War Memorial Imagining Australia, Aust. History Units 3 & 4 Thomson Press Mirams, Davidson, Gordon Australias Vietnam War in History and Memory La Trobe Univ. Cook, Manning Misguided assumptions Everybody was anti-war Conscription was immensely unpopular Tet was the turning point All protestors had the same agenda The Moratorium movement resulted in Australias withdrawal from Vietnam