History Technology 20th Century Essay

The role of technology played a huge part in developing our way of life today as we exist. The technology field developed quickly in the span of the 20th century. We had communication technology, transportation technology and the technology that contributed to the advancement of modern science. These all contributed to a better way of living and enhancing our quality of life throughout the 20th century and it continues today. Communications technology played an important part in our evolving culture in the 20th century. Radio, radar, and early sound recording were key technologies that paved the way for the development of the telephone, fax machine and the storage of data. The way we communicate with others is a great tool for our society to evolve and communicate with one another. This helped with the way we developed our relationships with our countries as well by providing a quick way to speak to someone or find someone that is a half way around the world. This technology also helped our economy by providing an important avenue for the way we can do business. We can hold conference calls with multiple parties that were not thought of before. The personal computer was developed in the 1980’s as well as cell phones. The public use Internet was introduced in the 1990’s. With these technologies it gave businesses a chance to enhance productivity and increase our economy and provide us a better quality of life. Transportation technology had a significant impact on our quality of life and the way we become mobile. The combination of the ability to travel by air and automobile allowed people to have unprecedented personal mobility that they did not have before. One of the most notable technologies in the area of transportation came with the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. This gave a peaceful outlet for political and military tensions of the Cold War. This lead to the first human spaceflight with the Soviet Union’s mission in 1961 and man’s first landing on the moon in 1969. The first space station was launched by the Soviet space program. The United States developed the first reusable spacecraft system with the Space Shuttle program. It was first launched in 1981. The technology that lead to the evolution of the space program for human space travel also allowed for orbiting space probes that have been developed to work with our communication technologies to not only protect us but provide further exploration in the future. The advancement of medicine has allowed us to live longer more productive lives. Antibiotics was developed that drastically reduced mortality from bacterial diseases. Vaccines were developed to protect us from epidemics that caused death. X-rays became a powerful tool to diagnose diseases and broken bones. Imaging was developed to help doctors find better ways to treat individuals. All of the medical advancements from the 20th century have provided our morality to increase not only in adults but young people who did not have the chance at life as they do today. Vietnam War Outcome/Results The war that I choose to discuss is the Vietnam War. This war was a prolonged struggle between nationalist’s forces that were attempting to unify the country of Vietnam under a communist government. The United States was trying to prevent the spread of communism. Many people viewed this war as a no win war. The United States leaders had lost the American public’s support for the war. What many people did not realize is that there had been fighting in Vietnam long before the Vietnam War began. The Vietnamese people had suffered under French colonial rule for over six decades. Japan had invaded many parts of Vietnam which brought the Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh back to his country after traveling around the world. He established the Viet Minh. Their goal was to get rid of the French and Japanese people that occupied their land. The French were not willing to give up their colony and fought back. Ho Chi Minh had tried for years to get the United States to support him against the French. He even supplied the United States with military intelligence about the Japanese during World War II. The United States decided to help the French for fear that the country would become a communist country. Viet Cong was established by communist sympathizers in South Vietnam to use guerilla warfare against the South Vietnamese. The United States sent advisors to South Vietnam but the North Vietnamese fired directly upon two U. S. Ships in international waters. This resulted in a resolution that the Congress issued that gave the President authority to escalate the United States involvement in Vietnam. The President’s goal was not for the United States to win but to bolster South Vietnam’s defenses until South Vietnam could take over. Because the United States entered into this war without a goal, President Johnson set the stage for the public and troop disappointment when the United States was in a stalemate with the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong. The U. S. troops fought the war in the jungle where the Viet Cong were very well supplied and set booby traps for the U. S. troops. This became a difficult war to fight for the Americans. The U.S. troops became frustrated at the conditions they were forced to be in that many became angry and some used drugs to cope. The surprise attack that the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong organized against the South Vietnamese cities and towns was the turning point. This proved to the Americans that the enemy was stronger and organized better than they thought. As news spread to the U. S., the American public was unhappy so the President decided that he would not escalate the war any longer. Newly appointed President Nixon wanted nothing more than to end the war. He began the process of withdrawing troops in 1969 and expanded the war to other countries. This move created protests throughout America. The President worked toward a peaceful solution and peace talks began. The cease fire did not happen until 1973 and the last U. S. troops left Vietnam in March 1973. Even though the United States had withdrawn it’s troops, the fighting continued in Vietnam. Finally, South Vietnam officially surrendered to North Vietnam on April 30, 1975. The United States was trying to prevent the spread of communism when ultimately; Vietnam was reunited as a communist country in 1976. This was a war the United States should have never been involved in but the government thought otherwise. [Insert Paper Title Here] [Insert introductory text here] Paper should be printed on 8.5 X 11 inch white paper. Entire paper should be double-spaced. The paper should be clean. The printer should produce letters that are dark enough and clear enough to be easily read. Margins should be 1 inch at the top, bottom, left, and right of every page. Do not justify the right margin, instead leave it ragged by using left justify. Use Times Roman using font size of 12. Type no more than 27 lines of text on each page (not counting the header at the top of the page). References