Public Opinion
Public support for the war decreased as the war raged on throughout the sixties and beginning part of the 1970s.
William L. Lunch and Peter W. Sperlich collected public opinion data measuring support for the war from 1965–1971. Support for the war was measured by a negative response to the question: "In view of developments since we entered the fighting in Vietnam, do you think the U.S. made a mistake sending troops to fight in Vietnam?" They found the following results.
| Month | Percentage who agreed with war |
|---|---|
| August 1965 | 52% |
| March 1966 | 59% |
| May 1966 | 49% |
| September 1966 | 48% |
| November 1966 | 51% |
| February 1967 | 52% |
| May 1967 | 50% |
| July 1967 | 48% |
| October 1967 | 44% |
| December 1967 | 48% |
| February 1968 | 42% |
| March 1968 | 41% |
| April 1968 | 40% |
| August 1968 | 35% |
| October 1968 | 37% |
| February 1969 | 39% |
| October 1969 | 32% |
| January 1970 | 33% |
| April 1970 | 34% |
| May 1970 | 36% |
| January 1971 | 31% |
| May 1971 | 28% |
After May 1971 Gallup stopped asking this question.
Read more about this topic: Opposition To The Vietnam War
Famous quotes related to public opinion:
“Public opinion contains all kinds of falsity and truth, but it takes a great man to find the truth in it. The great man of the age is the one who can put into words the will of his age, tell his age what its will is, and accomplish it. What he does is the heart and the essence of his age, he actualizes his age. The man who lacks sense enough to despise public opinion expressed in gossip will never do anything great.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)