Angela Encardone

Proposal Essay

College Composition II

April 9 2019

Instructor Draft

The Vietnam War, starting in 1964 and ending in 1975, was one of the most

controversial, and profound wars the United States had ever been apart of. However, most

students today are not properly taught about what happened. What is taught about the war

through the average educational system is usually misleading to students, which can cause them

to be very much unaware of their nations past and intentions. Censorship of the war is still

prevalent today in schools, and doing so gives students a false impression of the government,

leaves them unable to form their own opinion about history, and it hides important truths about

the US’ power and authority. Commented [1]: good job stating the problem in your
opening paragraph.
One of the longest, and most groundbreaking wars in history is the most hid away in the

educational system. The Vietnam War included various historical events such as assassinations,

the antiwar movement, hardening class differences, and an increasing civil rights movement. In

some ways, historians say, America nearly lost its mind and its soul. In other ways, historians

argue, the nation reinvented itself and became a more-tolerant, less-constrained place, more

willing to let people express their individuality and challenge authority (Walsh 2017). The

outcomes of the War are still seen to this day, and the veterans do not want anything but their

story to be heard. Educators hiding away the truths about the war are not supporting these

veterans, and are essentially giving their students false beliefs about the US government during
the War. Bill Bigelow, a curriculum editor for Rethinking Schools wrote “Textbooks resist

telling students that the US government consistently lied about the war, preferring more genteel Commented [2]: they lie about everything, so it
doesn't surprise me that the facts of this war were left
behind.
language” (2017). Students everywhere deserve to be taught a deeper, more complete history of

the US, and not doing so fails to confront the facts of our past wars, and will only increase their

ignorance.

Students everywhere should be able to realize that history is not just a bunch of facts they

need to know; it is about choices humans made that forever impacted our world. Tragically in the Commented [3]: good argument

Vietnam War, the US clearly made poor choices and it is only fair to let students truthfully learn

from them. In order to do this, educators must come to fully realize that censoring history is only

doing harm and no good. Educators not only being teachers, but anybody that takes part in the

educational system - including textbook writers. “They traced the steps by which the United

States had committed itself to the Vietnam War and showed that government officials had

concealed actions and often misled Americans about their motives. The textbook offers no

examples” (Bigelow 2017). Here in his article Camouflaging the Vietnam War: How Textbooks

Continue to Keep the Pentagon Papers a Secret, Bigelow explains how his students history

textbook describes how US government officials mislead the public, but that was all that was

said. There was no examples or supporting documents of any kind. This is one of the many flaws

of the educational system. History textbook writers need to offer more details about events

during the war. Details including examples, documents, quotes, etc. Leaving these things out will

only leave students with a misconception about what actually happened, and they will never fully

know the truth.

Furthermore, the next best solution would be for more people to support anti-censorship

groups nationwide. One group for example, the NCAC (National Coalition Against Censorship)
formed in 1973, whose mission is to promote freedom of thought, inquiry and expression and

oppose censorship of all forms. They also assist students, teachers, librarians, parents and others
who oppose censorship in schools and libraries (https://ncac.org/about-us, 2019). Groups like
this one could make a great difference in schools by helping students learn what the world is
Commented [4]: i love the idea of a group of people
coming together to formulate the truth, and not hide
behind the lies the government feeds us. kinda reminds
me of an episode of the office when they take a trip to
Gettysburg, where we find out about the battle of
Schrute farms.

really like, and make them take off the “rose colored glasses” that most educators want young

people to wear.

In the modern day educational system, history is a subject that is glossed over and often

up for interpretation - especially events like the Vietnam War. One of the ways to fix this is to

have textbook writers offer more detail about the events. Doing so will make them more

credible, enlighten the student, and even clear up any questions the student might have. Offering

to show official released documents about the event would be great help too, and it would show

the student new facts they might not have known before. Keeping history textbooks censored and

leaving out details about the war will never fully teach students everything they need to know.

History may be one of the most important subjects for educators to teach, but students will never

fully understand it if the censorship continues.

Works Cited
 Walsh, K. T. (2017, December 31). 1968: The Year That Changed America Forever.

Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-12-31/1968-the-year-

that-changed-america-forever

Bigelow, B. (2017, December 07). Camouflaging the Vietnam War: How Textbooks

Continue to Keep the Pentagon Papers a Secret. Retrieved from

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/camouflaging-the-vietnam_b_3456975

https://ncac.org/about-us