Question 3

Mr H · Question 3

3. Study Sources D and E. How useful are these sources as evidence of the public reaction to the Vietnam war in the mid 1960s? (10)

Target: Analysis of sources / assessment of utility

Level 1: Simple statements using the sources as information, e.g. TV made people back the war, Vietnam was a very important issue, people’s attitudes changed after My Lai etc. (1-3)

Level 2: Developed statements evaluating reliability of the sources, e.g. the Media obviously wanted to present a favourable image of Vietnam to the public, therefore the picture may be unrealistic, the Gallup Poll suggest that Vietnam became a dominant issue in the USA as it eclipsed all over issues, including civil rights, race relations and the Cold War etc. (4-6)

Level 3: Developed evaluation of utility of the sources as evidence, e.g. the article in Newsweek was clearly designed to influence public opinion rather than reflect it, the delay in publishing the details of My Lai suggests that it was appreciated that this would have an adverse effect on the public, the nature of the Gallup Poll gives clear evidence of the sustained nature of importance of the war in the USA etc. (7-10)

Mr H

Useful links:

Revision
http://www.learnhistory.org.uk/vietnam/opposition.htm

My Lai:
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/VNmylai.htm

Remember - important! In a question like this - more important is what the sources don't tell you - what more would you like to know about them and the information in them in order to answer the question?