Vietnamese Village of My Lai Massacre on March 16, 1968

This essay will discuss the events that took place on March 16, 1968 in the Vietnamese village of My Lai. We will explore the days prior to the massacre and what role obedience played in the actions of the soldiers. We will explain the results and concepts learned in experiments conducted by Stanley Milgram in the Perils of Obedience.

We will investigate why these experiments are crucial to the understanding why these men executed hundreds of unarmed civilians.

The My Lai Massacre

Obedience is as basic an element in the structure of social life as one can point to. Some system of authority is a requirement of all communal living, and it is only the person dwelling in isolation who is not forced to respond, with defiance or submission, to the commands of others. For many people, obedience is a...
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