VIETNAM “BOAT PEOPLE”: Should the U.S. Admit More Vietnamese Refugees after the Vietnam War?

Following the communists’ victory in the Vietnam War in 1975, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese refugees fled the country, most of them by boat. Many of these “boat people” had hoped to resettle in the United States, which had played a major role in the war, backing the side that lost to the communists. Some Americans opposed their entry, arguing that the “boat people” were “economic immigrants” escaping poverty, not “refugees” fleeing persecution, and that therefore they did not deserve resettlement in the United States. Others, however, argued the the United States was morally obligated to welcome the “boat people,” who had risked their lives to help the U.S. cause against communism and suffered greatly during the war.

Let your students get the facts and decide for themselves: Should the U.S. government have allowed more “boat people” from Vietnam to resettle in the United States? Be sure to check out Issues & Controversies in American History‘s clear and unbiased examination of the Vietnam “Boat People.”

Issues & Controversies in American History is an accessible educational database that delivers dynamic, concise, and balanced coverage providing the background, outcome, and contemporary points of view for every major debate and conflict in American history.