US Involvement in Vietnam
The Vietnam War has a rather severe significance for the history of the United States of America. The study of the causes and factors that led to the involvement of the United States in this military conflict is of practical importance. Therefore, this event, which awakened the war of confusion on the part of society, influenced the increase in interest in the country’s foreign policy problems. The Vietnam War and America’s participation in it to this day is quite a serious topic for discussion and analysis of the everyday actions of the American Government. One of the main factors is the collision on the Gulf of Tonkin occurred in 1964 (Wearne, 2020). It consisted of the fact that the warships of North Vietnam twice attacked the warships of the United States. To this day, there is no exact confirmed data on the reliability of the initiative on the part of the Vietnamese troops. The ships that were destroyed were called US “Maddox” and US “Turner Joy” (Tovy, 2021). This event was formally the primary catalyst for the entry of the United States of America into a military conflict with Vietnam.
Another reason was the difference in the idea of the direction in which the country should function. There is an opinion that when one state adopts communist views, then the neighboring country should gradually adopt the same worldview. Consequently, in 1945, China adopted communism, and the United States was afraid that South Vietnam would follow its example (Shewmaker, 2019). The contributing factor was also the aspect that China controlled North Vietnam. Therefore, the United States was afraid that the unwelcome political ideology would spread to South Vietnam. Therefore, the Government decided to send material assistance and supplies and military advisers there. However, this step had a negative impact on the economy of South Vietnam and the industrial sphere of the country.
One of the consequences that occurred due to the Vietnam War was the changes in domestic programs in the country. Hence, one of these results was the abolition of compulsory service. The war also had a substantial impact on the political sphere of life, as an increasing part of the population began to have less confidence in the policy of the state and its leaders. The involvement of the United States of America in the war-affected domestic programs makes it difficult to finance them. There was also the election of Richard Nixon’s domestic programs, which were aimed at shifting internal responsibilities from the Federal Government to the states.
Assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy
The murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy had quite serious consequences for the political life of the United States. In particular, this played a turning point in the elections that took place in 1968. Martin Luther King Jr. was an activist who fought for the protection of the rights of the black community. He proclaimed the importance of protecting civil rights through numerous public outbursts and nonviolent protests to combat segregation. The murder of this opinion leader caused a lively negative reaction from black Americans. One of the last steps was the adoption of the bill on equal housing, which significantly expanded the civil rights of African American community.
The death of Robert Kennedy also played a significant role in the political views and movements of American society. The main result was the appearance of an increasing number of active non-peaceful protests and performances. Kennedy’s assassination also shattered society’s dreams of the end of the Vietnam War and made the fight for social justice a priority. However, assassination contributed to one of the biggest victories in US history by Democrat Lyndon Johnson.
Reaganomics
First of all, it is necessary to understand what Reaganomics is. This phenomenon lies in economic policy, which got its name from its founder, US President Ronald Reagan, in the 1980s. The basis of this approach is supply-side economics, or the economic policy of the free market. Reaganomics uses several vital aspects such as excessive tax burden, government spending, and large-scale social spending programs. Thus, this economic approach was based on the idea that tax benefits for the rich part of the population would contribute to more spending and investment. Moreover, these expenditures will stimulate and improve the country’s economy. In addition, more jobs will be created, and tax cuts will contribute to an increase in revenue for the federal government.
On the other hand, the Federal Reserve Board emphasized that tax cuts could provoke such negative economic factors as inflation and interest rate increases. Another negative consequence was the emergence of high-interest rates that contributed to the growth of the value of the dollar in the international currency market. This has also had a severe impact on the daily lives of Americans, as the prices of goods have increased significantly. Moreover, the supply of products abroad has decreased, but imports have increased several times. Reaganomics was formed to combat such economic and social phenomena as the fight against slow economic growth, high unemployment, and inflation. The main aspects of this initiative were the reduction of the country’s spending, tax cuts, and a slowdown in the growth of the money supply.
A policy of actions to reduce regulation was also introduced, which implied the abolition of control over oil and gas prices. Moreover, actions were taken to get rid of the regulation of cable, long-distance telephone communication. Restraining monetary policy was applied to reduce inflation by raising interest rates, during which an increase in the lending rate was expected. In order to reduce government spending, it was decided to focus on national defense.
Structural Factors Underlying Changes in America
Structural changes can play a unique role in shaping economic and cultural changes in the country. This phoneme refers to technological innovations, various economic and political events, and changes in the spheres of labor and resources. For example, in the United States of America, increased economic mobility and the resulting inequality in society have mainly shaped public policy and significantly affected the construction and presentation of the presidential campaign. However, it should be noted that disparities in society in economic terms significantly slow down economic mobility in the country. With regard to economics and politics, the main factors that make the main contribution are such aspects as the increased level of income inequality, and poverty. In modern society, dissatisfaction with instant solutions to solve these problems is increasing. Another structural factor of change is the jump in agriculture, which affects the country’s economy. This has affected the growth of factory production and changes in the workplace. These economic changes have caused the need for companies to adapt in order to gain the greatest profit. The spread of technology as an economic structural factor causes changes in the service sector.
In addition, it is worth paying particular attention to the fact that structural changes directly relate to direct changes in the structure and understanding of society. This is due to the transformation in social institutions, attitudes towards them, and specific rules established as socially acceptable. This contributes to the formation of the long-term and permanence of such changes, which can take deep root among individuals and the way of life of the country. Therefore, one of these transformations is a decrease in trust in institutions. This is reflected in the fact that fewer and fewer people are dissatisfied with various social, economic, and political institutions. In particular, there have been significant changes in relation to the institution of the family, as more and more individuals refuse to marry and consolidate their relationships. There is also growing discontent with the institution of religion and the Church, the Supreme Court, Congress, government agencies, and especially with the media. Moreover, due to the upheavals of the twentieth century, the public is more likely to speak about the institution of government as an aspect that requires the tremendous changes.
Therefore, this work dealt with the consideration of essential events in American history. Hence, such issues as the entry into the war with Vietnam and the contribution that this action had on the country were discussed. Additionally, the impact of the murders of such important personalities as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy on the political sphere of America and the mood of various communities was analyzed. In the end, the main concepts of Reaganomics and how structural factors influenced the economic and social life of society were considered.
References
Newport, F. (2021). The impact of shifts in American culture. Gallup. Web.
Shewmaker, K. E. (2019). Americans and Chinese communists, 1927–1945. Cornell University Press.
Tovy, T. (2021). The Gulf of Tonkin: The United States and the escalation in the Vietnam War. Routledge.
Wearne, B. C. (2020). After a collision at the intersection of sociology and Christianity. Journal of Sociology and Christianity, 10(1), 41-45.