From 1964 to 1974, the Vietnam War shaped the American way of life in many respects. The question of whether or not and when, to pull out of Vietnam was on Americans' minds. The nightly news carried images of Americans returning from Vietnam in body bags. As this continued year after year, the war grew increasingly unpopular. Politically, Vietnam was the key reason then-President Lyndon Johnson declined to seek re-election, knowing he likely would not win. As for everyday citizens, parents were terrified that their sons would be drafted into this unpopular war. Many young men, rather than waiting to be drafted, fled to Canada or pursued "conscientious objector" status (usually in vain). Unlike World War II and (though to a lesser extent) Korea, Americans, for the most part, did not want to fight in Vietnam, nor did most Americans consider it a patriotic duty to do so, as they had in the two previous wars. .

             A whole "counterculture" sprang up around the American anti-war movement, replete with peace marches and demonstrations; sit-ins, and (at the 1968 Democratic National Convention) riots. People wore symbolically trendy jewelry, such as peace medallions and "love beads". "Make Love, Not War" was a popular slogan. The political mood, especially among young people, was skeptical and anti-government. "Liberal" was not a derogatory word; it was the thing to be. Non-liberals were "square" (not quite with it) and not to be trusted. .

             The question of what led the U.S. into this "no-win war" is complicated, and open to debate. The consensus is that when the Communists took over North Vietnam (with backing from (as it was then known) "Red China"), America thought it needed to protect its non-Communist interests, and to help defend non-Communist turf, wherever in the world it was. Such an attitude was probably precipitated by McCarthy era anti-Communist paranoia. However ill-advised the Vietnam war was in hindsight, politicians of the day, Democrats and Republicans alike (Truman; Eisenhower; Kennedy; Johnson; Nixon) believed in the "domino theory": if one non-Communist nation fell, others would follow.