The Vietnam War in American Childhood

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Title:	The Vietnam War in American Childhood
Description:	For American children raised exclusively in wartime—that is, a Cold War containing monolithic communism turned hot in the jungles of Southeast Asia—and the first to grow up with televised combat, Vietnam was predominately a mediated experience. Walter Cronkite was the voice of the conflict, and grim, nightly statistics the most recognizable feature. But as involvement grew, Vietnam affected numerous changes in child life, comparable to the childhood impact of previous conflicts—chiefly the Civil War and World War II—whose intensity and duration also dominated American culture. In this protracted struggle that took on the look of permanence from a child's perspective, adult lives were increasingly militarized, leaving few preadolescents totally insulated. Over the years 1965 to 1973, the vast majority of American children integrated at least some elements of the war into their own routines. Parents, in turn, shaped their children's perspectives on Vietnam, while the more politicized mothers and fathers exposed them to the bitter polarization the war engendered. The fighting only became truly real insomuch as service in Vietnam called away older community members or was driven home literally when families shared hardships surrounding separation from cousins, brothers, and fathers.In seeing the Vietnam War through the eyes of preadolescent Americans, Joel P. Rhodes suggests broader developmental implications from being socialized to the political and ethical ambiguity of Vietnam. Youth during World War II retained with clarity into adulthood many of the proscriptive patriotic messages about U.S. rightness, why we fight, heroism, or sacrifice. In contrast, Vietnam tended to breed childhood ambivalence, but not necessarily of the hawk and dove kind. This unique perspective on Vietnam continues to complicate adult notions of militarism and warfare, while generally lowering expectations of American leadership and the presidency.
Authors:	Joel P. Rhodes
Resource Type:	eBook.
Subjects:	Children--United States--Social conditions--20th century, Electronic books, Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Influence, Children and war--United States--History--20th century, Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Social aspects--United States, Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Children
Categories:	HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / Vietnam War, HISTORY / United States / 20th Century, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Children"s Studies
Database:	eBook Collection (EBSCOhost)

FullText	Links: – Type: ebook-epub Text: Availability: 0
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Items	– Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: The Vietnam War in American Childhood – Name: Abstract Label: Description Group: Ab Data: For American children raised exclusively in wartime—that is, a Cold War containing monolithic communism turned hot in the jungles of Southeast Asia—and the first to grow up with televised combat, Vietnam was predominately a mediated experience. Walter Cronkite was the voice of the conflict, and grim, nightly statistics the most recognizable feature. But as involvement grew, Vietnam affected numerous changes in child life, comparable to the childhood impact of previous conflicts—chiefly the Civil War and World War II—whose intensity and duration also dominated American culture. In this protracted struggle that took on the look of permanence from a child's perspective, adult lives were increasingly militarized, leaving few preadolescents totally insulated. Over the years 1965 to 1973, the vast majority of American children integrated at least some elements of the war into their own routines. Parents, in turn, shaped their children's perspectives on Vietnam, while the more politicized mothers and fathers exposed them to the bitter polarization the war engendered. The fighting only became truly real insomuch as service in Vietnam called away older community members or was driven home literally when families shared hardships surrounding separation from cousins, brothers, and fathers.In seeing the Vietnam War through the eyes of preadolescent Americans, Joel P. Rhodes suggests broader developmental implications from being socialized to the political and ethical ambiguity of Vietnam. Youth during World War II retained with clarity into adulthood many of the proscriptive patriotic messages about U.S. rightness, why we fight, heroism, or sacrifice. In contrast, Vietnam tended to breed childhood ambivalence, but not necessarily of the hawk and dove kind. This unique perspective on Vietnam continues to complicate adult notions of militarism and warfare, while generally lowering expectations of American leadership and the presidency. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Joel+P%2E+Rhodes%22">Joel P. Rhodes</searchLink> – Name: TypePub Label: Resource Type Group: TypPub Data: eBook. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Children--United+States--Social+conditions--20th+century%22">Children--United States--Social conditions--20th century</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Electronic+books%22">Electronic books</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vietnam+War%2C+1961-1975--Influence%22">Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Influence</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Children+and+war--United+States--History--20th+century%22">Children and war--United States--History--20th century</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vietnam+War%2C+1961-1975--Social+aspects--United+States%22">Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Social aspects--United States</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vietnam+War%2C+1961-1975--Children%22">Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Children</searchLink> – Name: SubjectBISAC Label: Categories Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22HISTORY+%2F+Wars+%26+Conflicts+%2F+Vietnam+War%22">HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / Vietnam War</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22HISTORY+%2F+United+States+%2F+20th+Century%22">HISTORY / United States / 20th Century</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22SOCIAL+SCIENCE+%2F+Children"s+Studies%22">SOCIAL SCIENCE / Children"s Studies</searchLink>
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RecordInfo	BibRecord: BibEntity: Classifications: – Code: 959.70431 Scheme: ddc Type: prePub Languages: – Code: eng Text: English Subjects: – SubjectFull: Children--United States--Social conditions--20th century Type: general – SubjectFull: Electronic books Type: general – SubjectFull: Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Influence Type: general – SubjectFull: Children and war--United States--History--20th century Type: general – SubjectFull: Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Social aspects--United States Type: general – SubjectFull: Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Children Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: The Vietnam War in American Childhood Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Joel P. Rhodes – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Joel P. Rhodes IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Type: published Y: 2019 – D: 15 M: 11 Type: profile Y: 2019 Identifiers: – Type: isbn-print Value: 9780820356112 – Type: isbn-print Value: 9780820356297 – Type: isbn-electronic Value: 9780820356129 Titles: – TitleFull: The Vietnam War in American Childhood Type: main
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