The vietnam war is the most terrible and senseless war america has ever fought. More than 58,000 americans and hundreds of thousands of vietnamese died in the war. War of vietnam article about war of vietnam by the free. The vietnam war tells the story of one of the most divisive episodes in modern american history through primary sources, ranging from government documents, news reports, speeches, popular songs to memoirs, writings by vietnam veterans including coauthor john fitzgerald, and poetry by vietnamese and americans on matching themes. Even today, many americans still ask whether the american effort in vietnam was a sin, a blunder, a necessary war, or whether it was a noble cause, or an idealistic, if failed, effort to protect the south vietnamese from totalitarian government. Nixon and vietnam nixon, elected president in 1968, devised a plan of vietnamization to gradually reduce u. New documents and extracts will be added regularly. An overview of the vietnam war overview in this lesson, students will be introduced to the vietnam war through a simulation regarding the anxiety of combat and will then receive an overview of the war via a teacher power point presentation or lecture provided, or a. Overall frustration within the country from lack of progress demonstrations, civil disorders in the cities, inflation support for the war drops to 40 percent. Because the winner would write the rules for the world, for a generation or longer.
Pdf vietnam the necessary war download read online free. The established narrative of the war, and the gloss on it provided by burnsnovicks inner theme, is that the vietnam war represented not only hanois victory over the united states, but, more consequentially, the victory of all of the layers of socialpoliticalculturalpersonal revolution of the sixties. Popularly known as the pentagon papers, the history of u. A wave of new books on the vietnam war, based on fresh archival evidence, is beginning to break. Revisionist views gabriel kolko keith taylor mark moyar grace koch vietnam war historiography henry summers the vietnam war was a noble cause ngo dinh diem did what he thought was best war lost due to poor decision making edward miller orthodox view america could not win they. A shelfmark prefaced by dsc indicates that the work is held at boston spa, but may be read at st. Decision making process on vietnam policy is a fortyseven volume, 7,000page, 2. Discover how events after world war ii and the united states attempt to stop communism from spreading led to. It was necessary for the united states to escalate the war in the mid1960s in order to defend the credibility of the united states as a superpower, but it was necessary for united states to forfeit the war after 1968, in order to preserve the american domestic political consensus in. Retro cold warrior lind author of the novel powertown, 1996, as well as works of nonfiction, resembling an intellectual rambo, verbally machineguns vietnamese, russian, and chinese communists, along with americans. The location of one of the many college student protests against the vietnam war. The national intelligence council nic commissioned lloyd gardner, the renowned american scholar on the vietnam war, to prepare an introductory essay providing. He criticizes others for employing what he calls retroactive determinism. The protest ended with a clash against the police and the death of several students.
Liberals robert kennedy, george mcgovern, eugene mccarthy, frank church 3. America thus went to war not from a single major decision but from a series of separate, seemingly small decisions over a period of fifteen years. A summary of brief questions examining the reasons behinddifficulties of the vietnam war. At its peak in 1968 the new zealand force only numbered 543.
The troubling irony is that teaching for peace must begin with a study of war. Ho chi minh was the leader of the north vietnamise, and used guerilla warfare to win the war. The commentary and introductions by authoreditor jeffrey kimball are illuminating, though kimball probably overstates the extent to which nixon used a madman strategy to intimidate north vietnam. Between june 1964 and december 1972 around 3500 new zealand service personnel served in south vietnam. The vietnam war files is a collection of documents that unpack the history of u. The vietnam war was one of americas longest, bloodiest, and most controversial wars. Ang cheng guan has produced firstrate works recounting that experience, and communist decisionmaking in particular, including the vietnam war from the other side. Communicating ideas picture captions read all about it. Today, though full of new sources and insights, it is a document of that. Twenty years ago, this thoroughly documented book would have rocked the publishing world. Vietnam war summaryoverview of the conflict history. Most works are housed at the british library building at st pancras, london. The documents 1 eisenhowers letter of support to ngo dinh diem, october 23, 1954 in the wake of the geneva accords, eisenhower promises south vietnamese president ngo dinh diem support in resisting communist subversion or aggression which subversion and aggression washington correctly expected to take place. Primary sources and activities supported by the library of congress teaching with primary sources program the vietnam war was a conflict that spanned almost two decades, and was ultimately a failure for the united states.
The geneva accords stipulated that the divide was temporary and that vietnam was to be reunified under free elections to be held in 1956. Professor of the national police office academy, vietnam. What do you already know about new zealand and the vietnam war. Vietnam war, 19611975 engineering and construction base development in south vietnam, 19651970 1991, by carroll h. Clark had been a world war ii flyer before signing up to fly the sevenseater twin beech, c.
Herring poses two very important questions in his essay a. Never since their own civil war was the world most powerful country divided in such terrible anger. Lester a microfilm project of university publications of america an imprint of cis 4520 eastwest highway bethesda, md 208143389. The leading historian on the war in vietnam george c. The encylopedia of the vietnam war yablonka 891999 1. What happened and why new zealand and the vietnam war 6.
If you would like to contribute or suggest a document for inclusion here, please contact alpha history. How i will compress four lectures into one because ive. At this point, the united states cold war foreign policy began to play a major part in vietnam. Bai an tran, a former rvn judge and professor of criminology at the vietnamese national police academy. Vietnam war research collections the war in vietnam. Vietnams american war by pierre asselin cambridge core.
Douglas pike was a leading authority on the vietnam war who collected over 2 million pages of original documents now archived at the vietnam center. Background and overview although the history of vietnam has been dominated by war for 30 years of the 20th century, the conflict escalated during the sixties. History, statements, and clippings files project editor and guide compiled by robert e. Vietnam policy during the presidency of richard nixon. Rethinking the teaching of the vietnam war spring 2003 by bill bigelow the united nations has declared this the decade of peace. Multiple choice, fill in the blank, matching, essay test with key. Vietnam war, conflict in southeast asia, primarily fought in south vietnam between government forces aided by the united states and guerrilla forces aided by north vietnam. Unless we look carefully at the dynamics of war and come to. Almost everyone today thinks that americas war in vietnam was a mistake. Although linds mythcratering often seems correct to me, he fails to acknowledge that his insights work much better in hindsight. Michael hunt brings together the views of the conflicts disparate playersfrom communist leaders, vietnamese peasants, saigon loyalists, and north vietnamese soldiers to u. Vietnam war the essential reference guide book summary. A world dominated by nazi germany or by the soviet union. Nixon expanded the war by bombing communist supply lines in laos and cambodia along the ho chi minh trail.
Surprisingly, few works have focused on the subject of this study. This collection of vietnam war documents has been selected and compiled by alpha history authors. So says michael lind, the washington editor of harpers magazine, in vietnam, the necessary war. When we talk about the vietnam war which the vietnamese refer to as the american war, we talk about the military intervention by. It resulted in nearly 60,000 american deaths and in an estimated 2 million vietnamese deaths. Theres no doubt a strong united states is good for the world, and no doubt those americans who fell in vietnam did not do so in vain, for the world they left us is one in which freedom has tyranny on the run. Travel to southeast asia and become familiar with the climate and terrain of vietnam. A singleminded interpretation of the vietnam war based on the authors conviction that the conflicts overriding issue was a moscowdirected international communist conspiracy. Unlike the first and second world wars new zealands contribution in terms of personnel was not huge. The vietnam collection this collection of declassified estimative products is the first such release by the central intelligence agency of documents exclusively on the vietnam war. Amid this complexity, it is necessary to single out the common threads, the modes of thought that determined the fateful course chosen. It escalated from a vietnamese civil war into a limited international conflict in which the united states was deeply involved, and did not end, despite peace agreements in 1973, until north vietnams successful offensive in 1975 resulted in south vietnams collapse and the unification of vietnam by the north. Among these is linds book, which says the liberal cold warriors like lyndon johnson, mcgeorge bundy, and dean rusk were right about vietnam.
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