A total of 58,000 americans were killed in the war, with 2,500 still unaccounted for. The vietnam war the us suffered its most humiliating military defeat in 1975, when it was driven out of vietnam by the viet cong national liberation front and north vietnamese forces. Lind manages to combine an astute analysis with excellent political analysis. First, the civil war in vietnam did not involve the united states to intervene. A guide to materials at the british library by jean kemble the eccles centre for american studies. Contents preface ix acknowledgments xix chapter i the indochina theater the cold war in southeast asia, 194689 i.
The decision to send troops to vietnam had a major impact on american society and on united states foreign policy. At its peak in 1968 the new zealand force only numbered 543. Among these is linds book, which says the liberal cold warriors like lyndon johnson, mcgeorge bundy, and dean rusk were right about vietnam. The joint chiefs of staff and the war in vietnamhistory of the. Was the vietnam war necessary in the sense that war was the only way for independence for viet nam. Historical overviews indochina in support of a colonial power, 194554 1 the republic of vietnam, insurgency and nationbuilding, 195465 5 the war goes big, 196575 as the big war rages, cia works at the insurgencyhamlet level 17. Decision making process on vietnam policy is a fortyseven volume, 7,000page, 2. Armed services and the more than 58,000 who died during the vietnam war. Although linds mythcratering often seems correct to me, he fails to acknowledge that his insights work much better in hindsight. Pdf the enduring literary legacy of the vietnam war. Ho chi minh was a real communist, not a nationalist with communist leanings. This is a very interesting historical analysis of the vietnam war from what might be called a neocon perspective if you think not opposing all americas wars. A wave of new books on the vietnam war, based on fresh archival evidence, is beginning to break.
Get a free ebook by joining our mailing list today. I am sure this book will become the standard against which similar books will be compared. The vietnam war was for the united states the culmination of its frustrating postwar effort to merge its arms and politics to halt and reverse the emergence of states and social systems opposed to the international order washington sought to establish. These proposals encompass efforts to merge the reserve. The us needed to fight in vietnam to bolster its reputation, to show that it could fight anywhere in the world agsint communism. Believing the vietnam war to be a just and necessary cause, the pro war movement pushed for more direct american military intervention in southeast asia throughout the kennedy administration, lobbied for intensified bombing during the johnson years, and offered coherent, if divided, endorsements of nixons policies of phased withdrawal. One popular interpretation is that american leaders feared direct chinese entry into the war and that this concern precluded fullscale use of u. In case that you are curious, here is linds verdict. Reporting from the vietnam war was, largely, an open situation for journalists louw, 2005. There was a rich and powerful element in our society that wanted to fight communism. The vietnam war lesson plan robert m pobjecky objectives 1 the united states involvement in vietnam stretched over three decades. For example, pose basic questions to the class that follow a basic history of the vietnam war, including why the united states got involved and the final outcome of the conflict. Second, the united states had no business in vietnam, but to obtain natural resources.
His political philosophy was a not entirely intelligible blend of. The wall that heals allows local residents to honor those who served in the u. Communist leader of north vietnam whose goal was to create a unified vietnam. Iii cia and the wars in southeast asia the purpose v foreword vii preface xi part i. Today, though full of new sources and insights, it is a document of that. The vietnam war began on november 1, 1955, and ended on april 30, 1975. Since the war in vietnam, the military had been developing their tactics. Vietnam war, 19611975 examinations, questions, etc. Base development in south vietnam, 19651970 1991, by carroll h. Vietnam the necessary war a reinterpretation of americas most disastrous military conflict michael lind the free press. Public trust in the army was at a low point, with many blaming the military for the war as much as they blamed the civilian policymakers whose orders the military was carrying out. 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.
Why the united states went to war in vietnam foreign policy. Xiaoming zhang \1 thy did the united states lose the vietnam war. What americans call the vietnam war was the second of three wars in indochina. President lyndon johnson sought to bolster flagging public support for the vietnam war by highlighting the calamities that might befall the united states if the. Popularly known as the pentagon papers, the history of u. This study analyzes the major proposals put forward since world war ii to reorganize the reserve components of the army army reserve and army national guard, air force air. Almost everyone today thinks that americas war in vietnam was a mistake. Events world events 880 chapter 26 the vietnam war chapter the vietnam war section 1 going to war in vietnam section 2 vietnam divides the nation section 3 the war winds down 19541975 1955 1960 1965 1955 u. Commonlit introduction to the vietnam war free reading. North vietnam, officially the democratic republic of vietnam drv vietnamese.
It was fought between north vietnam supported by the soviet union, china and other communist allies, and the government of south vietnam supported by the united states, the philippines and other anticommunist allies. Many of the soldiers who returned from vietnam faced a hostile or at. The government of south vietnam would allow a commission consisting of north and south vietnamese to prepare for a democratic election. Vietnam war, 19611975 engineering and construction. Overview of the vietnam war digital history id 2925. Whether a substantial mobilization of the army reserve and army national guard in 1965mcnamara had suggested 125,000 menwould have made any difference in vietnam is certainly open to debate. Lind manages to combine an astute analysis with excellent political analysis of the. Between june 1964 and december 1972 around 3500 new zealand service personnel served in south vietnam. Twenty years ago, this thoroughly documented book would have rocked the publishing world. The vietnam war was a costly conlict between the communist regime of north vi etnam and its southern allies, the viet cong, and south vietnam, allied with the united states from 1961 until 1973. A singleminded interpretation of the vietnam war based on the authors conviction that the conflicts overriding issue was a moscowdirected international communist conspiracy. Sure, the american war in vietnam captured the attention of the west, but centuries before that vietnam was scrapping with the chinese, the khmers, the chams and the mongols. History vietnam has a history as rich and evocative as anywhere on the planet. The war in vietnam was a watershed for the relationship between the media and the military and thus, government.
Talk about the different effects the vietnam war had on america, and. Major problems in the history of the vietnam war incorporates new research expands its coverage of the experiences of average soldiers. Information warfare and deception informing science. After vietnams declaration of independence on 2 september 1945, the country had to su er through two long, brutal wars, rst against the french and then against the americans, before nally in.
Major problems in the history of the vietnam war documents and essays second edition edited by robert j. I saw halifax last week and told him quite frankly that it was perfectly true that i had, for over a year, expressed the opinion that indoch. History of vietnam lonely planet travel information. Vietnam reconsidered diplomatic history oxford academic. The united states and the vietnam war introduction bibliographies, indexes, and other reference aids background and the decision to intervene the congressional role the. 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. Since world war ii, conflicts in asia have played a major role in the cold war.
A reinterpretation of americas most disastrous military conflict. June 1954 ngo dinh diem brought to south vietnam from the united states to be prime minister july 1954 geneva accords provisionally divide vietnam at the 17th parallel into northern vietnam under ho chi minh and southern vietnam under ngo dinh diem with elections to reunify the country scheduled for july 1956. 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. So said president george bush in a euphoric victory statement at the end of the gulf war, suggesting the extent to which vietnam continued to prey on the american psyche. Unlike the first and second world wars new zealands contribution in terms of personnel was not huge. Pdf the american involvement in vietnam between 1958 and. Pdf vietnam the necessary war download read online free.
The newly elected government would take over and run vietnam. Yet, the us was only willing to spend so much in lives andor capital. A reinterpretation of americas most disastrous military. The necessary war by michael lind what went wrong in vietnam. Designed to encourage critical thinking about history, the major problems in american history series introduces students to both primary sources and analytical essays on important topics in u. The unnecessary war the reason why the vietnam war was a waste of time was because the of four things. There were two major wars against the communists in vietnam. North vietnamese troops coul d stay in south vietnam 4.
American prisoners of war pows would be returned while u. Historical attempts to reorganize the reserve components a report prepared by the federal research division. The national intelligence council nic commissioned lloyd gardner, the renowned american scholar on the vietnam war, to prepare an introductory essay providing. Rethinking the teaching of the vietnam war spring 2003 by bill bigelow the united nations has declared this the decade of peace.