History 4698

Vietnam

April 4, 2002

I. 1965

1. Americanizing the War (diplomacy and military realities—role of Rusk, spurning Seaborn missions; growing military presence—Taylor for Lodge; Westmoreland for Harkins; instability South Vietnam and dissenters’ last stand—Ball, Clifford, and internal dissent, Church, McGovern, Lippmann and domestic dissent; escalation by stealth—bombing campaign and Pleiku, ground troops and Westmoreland, sensitivity domestic criticism)

2. The Dominican Intervention (the aftermath of the Bosch coup: Wessin y Wessin and military government; LBJ appointments—Bennett and need to pacify Russell, Raborn and the McCone precedent; Raborn weaknesses; the decision to intervene; intelligence and political pressure—need for finding communists; OAS mediation; Balaguer)

3. The Legacy (Fulbright, Johnson, and the Dominican intervention; origins of credibility gap; RFK mission to Latin America; Frei and "Alliance That Lost Its Way"; 1967 Punta del Este resolution—triumph of Gruening)

II. Vietnam and the Collapse of Cold War Liberalism

1. The Anti-War Movement (Senate spectrum of opinion; role of Morse and Gruening; beginning of dissent—Church, McGovern; alternatives—withdrawal?, UN, neutralization, bombing pause; LBJ parliamentary tactics: military appropriations and the dilemmas of dissent; Fulbright hearings and their effect; importance of RFK)

2. Vietnam quagmire (the international situation: stalling of LBJ agenda—Europe, Middle East, USSR; Southeast Asian situation—decline of NLF, Ho as international diplomat, spreading of war to Laos and Cambodia, Many Flags program; domestic situation—student movement and LBJ response, role of Hoover, MLK and the war; the war and intelligence—Phoenix, CIA/MACV battles)

3. 1968 (Tet, Westmoreland, and LBJ campaign; emergence of McCarthy and obstacles; New Hampshire and its effects; LBJ withdrawal; differences between RFK and McCarthy; Humphrey and distancing from LBJ—Salt Lake City speech; LBJ attitude; Vietnam and outcome; Nixon, Chennault, and dirty tricks; legacy)

Paper topic 3 has been posted—sorry for the mixup!

Wm. Conrad Gibbons, The US Government and the Vietnam War

Piero Gleijeses, The Dominican Intervention

Mark Moyar, Phoenix and Birds of Prey

Robert Schulzinger, A Time for War

Randall Bennett Woods, Fulbright