The Vietnam Era
HUMN-303N: Introduction to Humanities
Professor Stacey Donald
DeVry University

During the decades prior to the eighties the two most important issues the U.S. was facing were the war in Vietnam and civil rights. This era changed the way the public was able view the events, there was television and photography which allowed the world to see for the first time what war was about and journalism was not always unbiased. This era was an era of advancement, where many protested the war, there were the civil rights movement activists striving to gain equality for all regardless of color, sex, age, or race.
As stated in Moss (2010), “World War II marked a rapid expansion of the power and
Music was written that questioned the war, photography showed the brutalities that were occurring, journalism was written for and against the war, and they young that were sent to fight protested. One of the most notable protest that took place was after 4 students from Kent State University were gunned down. College students outraged protested and held demonstrations that shut down college campuses across the nation. The nation was ready for the troops to be brought back home and people were expressing this in every way possible until the government felt the pressure. The media did nothing but televise all of the violence and protest taking place which only made the public more anxious to end the war. Many of the songs written about the war and the events taking place during this era express feelings that when first deployed soldiers thought they were doing an honorable and patriotic thing only to find themselves questioning the war.
The Vietnam era was definitely an era of changes and progress. People practiced their rights to free speech and expressed their opposing view through protest as well as artistically through photography and music. Cartoons from that time period even showed support for the troops, many of these cartoons are now banned because they are politically incorrect. A cartoon that often showed its support of the troops was Popeye, the message behind some of the cartoon episodes are derogatory but a simple internet