Once upon a time there was a 60 year old man who really liked milkshakes and cigarettes. He liked them so much that every time he smoked a cigarette he drank a milkshake, he smoked a pack a day. He had complaints of unresolved chest pain, jaw pain, left arm pain, shortness of breath at rest, fatigue (especially with exertion). One sunny afternoon, after these symptoms progressed, he came into the ER with a STEMI and had a CABG surgery. After his CABG he was transferred to the SICU where Kelis, his nurse assessed him. First Kelis attached the cardiac monitor, pressure lines, noted existing drips, attached the ventilator and end-tidal carbon dioxide and pulse ox monitor. Peripheral pulses and signs of perfusion were checked as well as the chest tube placement and output (<150ml/hr). Body temperature was recorded and rewarming occurred because the body temperature was less than 96.8F. The nurse began by oxygenating the patient to maintain adequate SpO2. She increased room temperature and used a warming blanket to prevent hypothermia. Pain was managed by splinting the incision and using a PCA pump. Cardiac output was maintained by giving fluids and blood products. An ECG monitor was used to monitor for dysrhythmia. As a result of these actions the patient was free to return home after copious amounts of education were given, “I can teach you, but you have to change.”

Harold ‘Bizz’ Johnson received a letter from July 31,1972 from one of his constituents in Susanville, California. The body of the letter is to voice out one man’s opinion over what should be done with regards to the Vietnam War. Robert Woods write in his letter about the upcoming foreign aid bill that will be voted on by Congress. Woods acknowledges that his support for the war efforts has ended wit the Nixon Administration. He states, “I supported LBJ’s (Lyndon B. Johnson) policies on the war, but I think it’s time both of us made a change.”
This call for change is to Bizz. Many who from the beginning supported this war for half a decade started to realize that it was no longer necessary to occupy a foreign sovereign state. Robert Woods shared this sentiment with those in his community and in the nation.

The upcoming vote on the foreign aid bill would approve a provision stating,

” the involvement of United States land, sea, and air forces, for the purpose of maintaining, supporting, or engaging in hostilities in or over Indochina shall terminate and such forces shall be withdrawn not later than October 1, 1972, subject to a cease-fire between the United States and North Vietnam and those allied with North Vietnam to the extent necessary to achieve safe withdrawal of such remaining forces, and subject to the release of all American prisoners of war held by the Government of North Vietnam and forces allied with such Government and an accounting for all Americans missing in action who have been held by or known to such Government or such forces.”

The primary function of Congress is to create and modify laws. In the legislative branch domestic and foreign issues are brought up and voted upon by elected representatives. Congress holds the power and authority to approve or reject these laws. It was amended and passed. It would take six months for Robert Woods and the rest of America to see the war come to an end.On January 23 1973, the U.S and the Republic of Vietnam signed a peace agreement and ended the war.

Works Cited

Belasco, A., J., C. L., Fischer, H., & Niksch, L. A. (2007). Congressional Restrictions on U.S. Military Operations in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Somalia, and Kosovo: Funding and Non-Funding Approaches . Washinton D.C: Congressional Research Service.

Project Vote Smart. (2015). votesmart.org. Retrieved September 13, 2015, from Vote Smart: https://votesmart.org/education/how-a-bill-becomes-law#.Vfmr97RRe-8

’73 Foreign aid authorization dies in conference. (1973). CQ almanac 1972 (28th ed.). Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/cqal72-1250890.

     In the April of 1970, President Nixon announced the United States involvement and expansion in Cambodia to end the Vietnam War. At this time, there had been many opposing sentiments about the war, particularly among students who wanted to avoid further foreign conflict and drafts. On May 4th, 1970, while students gathered to demonstrate at Kent State University against the President’s decision, National Guardsmen shot and killed four students while injuring many others during the protest. This awakening experience further antagonized and unified the nation against the Vietnam War as the betrayal of the government to protect its citizens fueled a crusade for justice. (http://www.jstor.org.summit.csuci.edu:2048/stable/23380315?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents).This document calls attention for a national student strike in which three “demands” are made to end repressing incidents like that of Kent State by the students of American University in the Committee for Community Involvement. According to the committee, the Paris Peace talks, the repression of the Black Panther party and using the National Guard on students have all exceeded the powers government should have over its people. The document serves as a template to reason with the reader why a mass rally is essential in maintaining free will and basic rights with protection against the government.

   The committee writes in their first statement that the Paris Peace talks had been weakened due to unceasing bombings in North Vietnam, also insisting to withdraw from the war. Right before the university incident, the Paris Peace talks were negotiations being held by the U.S. government as well as with the North and South Vietnamese leaders to end the war in Vietnam. These peace talks started with President Johnson in 1968 after the escalation of war seemed better fit through the arduous process of diplomacy.(http://www.jstor.org.summit.csuci.edu:2048/stable/41392953?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents).The peace talks occurred over the course of years, with new negotiations and conditions being altered or stagnant depending on the how the other parties would respond. When Johnson pronounced that there would be no more bombings in North Vietnam, there was hope that this would be the beginning of the end until Nixon came into office and approved the expansion into Cambodia. In the U.S., college students were overwhelmingly against the decision to invade Cambodia because of the draft they considered unnecessary. The students at American University considered Nixon’s approach a threat to their liberties and they wanted to show their disapproval through a strike.

   The second reason why the students are rallying in this document is to end political repression domestically. According to the Committee, the Nixon administration has breached the Constitution to object any challengers of their policies. In their example, the Black Panther party has been constrained by the administration because they are considered “radicals” although they help protect the people from the government. The Black Panther Party was an institution that brought the African American community together in times when the government did not and that unity really threatened the system. In the 1960’s when civil liberties and racial tensions were high, the banding of African Americans was seen as militants trying to take over by the non-minority mass. For the minorities, the black panthers stood as an organization that aimed for the equality of the oppressed. The FBI however did not see the social movement that way and in 1968 the Panthers were declared to be the “single greatest threat to the internal security of the United States”. (http://www.jstor.org.summit.csuci.edu:2048/stable/41392953?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents). The students at American University are on the side of the organization and call for an end to the oppressive interfering government.

   The final reason why they were holding a national student strike was to protest the involvement of the educated becoming the leaders of the CIA as well as other agencies and taking lives abroad and at home. The document ultimately shows the student’s disapproval of Nixon’s foreign and domestic policies by pointing out the injustices that have occurred under his term.

A woman named Leitha Van De Grift wrote to Harold T. (Bizz) Johnson on April 15, 1970. She was opposed to the Vietnam War that was taking place at this time, but she did not condone how protesters and demonstrators were expressing their distress with the government. Her letter sounded concerned but still very respectful as she addressed multiple controversies pertaining to the Vietnam War. Some of the affairs mentioned in her letter included the Moratorium, the demonstrations and protests of the war, and the My Lai Massacre. Johnson’s response to Mrs. Van De Grift explained that he wanted peace with Vietnam as well, but he also wanted a peace that would last and this had the potential of taking longer to come to an agreement upon. He also asserted his worries about the violent behavior of the Vietnam War protesters.

In her letter, Mrs. Van De Grift, mentioned some national events that took place during the war that today’s reader might not understand.

1. The first ambiguity revealed in her letter referred to a national student strike referred to as the Moratorium. Moratorium, as described by dictionary.com, is a suspension of activity, which in this case referred to the suspension of classes. During the Moratorium, students organized marches and demonstrations, did not attend class, and held “we won’t go” petitions, in an attempt to portray their contempt for the war, it’s draft, and the poor economic status the nation was left in due to the war. Twelve days preceding Mrs. Van De Grift writing in to Johnson, on April 3, 1970, Nixon disclosed to the nation that the military would once again begin the bombings in Vietnam, only adding fuel to the student striker’s fire (Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith, pars. 1).
2. The second ambiguity presented in Mrs. Van De Grift’s letter made reference to the protests going on. Protests began after the military began the bombings in Vietnam in 1965. These liberal protesters were made up of mostly students and artists all in opposition of the war. Increasing casualties, cost, men called to service, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s opposition elevated tensions. More than 100,000 protesters congregated at the Lincoln Memorial on October 21, 1967. 30,000 of these protesters advanced to the Pentagon to be affronted by soldiers, leading to the arrest of hundreds of protesters (History.com Staff, pars. 1).
3. The last ambiguity brought up in the letter was the My Lai Massacre. At this point in the war, the energy and attitudes of the soldiers were at an all-time low due to the Tet Offensive (History.com Staff, pars. 2). The Tet Offensive was a sequence of attacks on numerous South Vietnamese cities by North Vietnam (U-S-History.com Staff, pars. 1). On March 16, 1968, Charlie Company was set lose by a Lieutenant William L. Calley to destroy the village of My Lai. All of its residents were considered opposition, and troops were given orders to kill all its inhabitants. This was done so in a brutal, unjust, and cruel manner that would now be considered excessive and unnecessary. Throughout the entire search-and-destroy process, there was no return fire aimed towards United States troops (History.com Staff, pars. 2-3). It was not until eighteen months later that this event and its details were revealed to United States citizens. Once brought to light, this event was later investigated and numerous soldiers were held responsible (Hersh).

1. Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith. “Student Strike of 1970 Files, 1968-1971 : Biographical and Historical Note.” Student Strike of 1970 Files, 1968-1971 : Biographical and Historical Note. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2015. http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/smitharchives/manosca31_bioghist.html
2. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.
3. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/moratorium
4. History.com Staff. “Vietnam War Protests.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.
5. http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-protests
6. “Anti Vietnam War Protest -.” YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2015. https://youtu.be/Bk09F1fTs1E
7. History.com Staff. “My Lai Massacre.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.
8. http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/my-lai-massacre
9. Hersh.”My Lai Massacre.” YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2015. https://youtu.be/VWchy6ykNnQ
10. U-S-History.com Staff.”Tet Offensive.” Tet Offensive. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.
11. http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1862.html