Vietnam: The War and its History

Research Paper Instructions:

The topic chooses by reading This course focuses on the American War in Vietnam – its origins, development and the ways it was fought. It examines how and why American geo-political and military strategies led to, and shaped, the course of the war. Historical accounts will be regularly supplemented with a reading of parts of the Pentagon Papers and an oral history of those involved in the Vietnam War as told from all sides. The course begins by examining Vietnamese cultural and national identity and the impact of French colonialism. We will then examine in greater detail the following topics: the war from 1946-1954 between the French their meaning and language, while carefully assessing the arguments used to justify American policy. and the Viet Minh; the early American OSS links with Ho Chi Minh and the reasons for the Truman administration’s deepening commitments to the French; the policies of the Eisenhower administration – from Dien Bien Phu and the Geneva Conference in 1954 to the decision to back Ngo Dien Diem; the deepening commitment of the Kennedy administration; the escalating war of the Johnson years; and the end of the war under Nixon and Ford. We shall conclude by discussing the legacies of the war and interpretations of them. The US government documents in the Pentagon Papers will be discussed to decipher Each class will combine discussions of the assigned readings and audio-visual materials. (1) Course requirements: (1) An interpretive paper on David Halberstam’s BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST in the context of the readings up to that point in the course (12-15 pages) and a final paper (12-15 pages) due the last week of class. (2). You will often (but not always) have a response paper due at the end of class discussion of 1 or 2 pages. I will sometimes assign a specific question for you to respond to. (3). Each of you will lead two 3-5 minute discussions sometime during the course of the semester on one of the documents assigned for each week. Sometimes several of you will sign up for the same document. That’s fine. (4) Though I will refer to the documents and highlight certain passages in class discussion, I will not expect you to rad most of them, unless you are signed up to do so. 4) Since this is a seminar/topics course, on line attendance is required. If for any reason you cannot attend, I can record the class and send to you. I am available at quite flexible times for conferences via FaceTime or a zoom link. There are no exams. ++ All materials unless noted will be sent to you as pdf files or are online in Bobst Library. Week 1 January 25 Introduction to the course and listening to the BBC documentary film on the OSS [the predecessor of the CIA] Week 2 February 1 The Pentagon Papers a.Letter of Transmittal of the [Pentagon Papers] Study (pdf) b.“NSC 68: United States Objectives and Programs for National Security,” April 14, 1950. (pdf) c.Intelligence Estimate, CIA,” Indochina: Current Situation and Probable Developments,” December 29, 1950 (pdf) d.Pentagon Papers – “The Character and Power of the Vietminh – A summary. e.“Dominoes” (pdf) Film: The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers. Week 3 February 8 Background to the War: French Colonialism and Vietnamese Resistance: Selected readings Video: on Ho Chi Minh’s life Read: William J. Duiker, Ho Chi Minh: A Life. (pages 1-167 and the epilogue). This book is now out of print. I’ll email you the materials. Book also available on Kindle from Amazon. Discussion of Ho’s Writings will also be sent. . The one piece we will all discuss is Ho’s early writing on Lynching in the US. Week 4 February 15 U.S. Involvement from the Korean War to the 1954 Geneva Conference Video: Fall of Dien Bien Phu a. Geneva Conference, Final Declaration (pdf) b. Meaning of Geneva: Analyzing the objectives of Geneva Conference Participants (Pentagon Papers, pdf) c. Joint Chiefs of Staff 1954 War Plans for Indochina (pdf) d. Logevall, Embers of War, pp. 380-613. e. Lansdale Team’s Report on Covert CIA Saigon Mission. (pdf) f. National Intelligence Estimate, “Post-Geneva Outlook in Indochina, August 3, 1954 ( pdf). g. Thomas Ahern, CIA Historian, “The House of Nhu” on the Early Years with Diem (pdf) Week 5 February 22 The American War begins in the South a. Embers of War, pp. 617-701. b. Pentagon Papers “Origins of the Insurgency in South Vietnam, 1954-1960,” (pdf) c. US Ambassador Durbrow’s Analysis of Threats to Saigon Regime, (pdf) Week 6 February 29 Kennedy’s War in Vietnam a. The Kennedy Commitments & Chronology from Pentagon Papers (pdf) b. Justifications for U.S. involvement in Vietnam (pdf) c. U.S. Department of State, The Struggle for Freedom: Questions/Answers (pdf) d. “Nation Building” – Definition from Joint State/Defense/CIA 1966 study (pdf) e. Read David Halberstam, The Best and the Brightest, chapters 1 through 9. Book available from NYU book store, Amazon, and as a Kindle via Amazon. Week 7 March 7 The Coup against Diem and Assessing Kennedy’s Vietnam Policies A. Video on the coup Documents on coup and Assassination of Diem (pdf) B. CIA: House of Nhu on the Coup, part II (pdf) C. Halberstam, Best and the Brightest, chapter 10 through 16. Week 8. March 14 Overview of LBJ’s war a. Finish The Best and the Brightest for the Johnson Years, chapter 17 to the end. b. New York Times, “Vietnam Study, Casting Doubts, Remains Secret,” October 31 2005 ; Tonkin Gulf Resolution; Tonkin Gulf Issues- Kimbo and Signals Traffic (pdf) c. McGeorge Bundy Urges Sustained Reprisal, (pdf) d. McNaughton –US War Aims and Memo, (pdf). e. McNamara Memo on the war, November 3, 1965 ( pdf) f. Chris Appy, Patriots,121-123, 118-121 (“You Want Me to Start World War III?”), pdf g. Chairman Mao talks with Edgar Snow, (pdf) h. Allen Whiting, “China’s shadowy role in the war in Vietnam,” (pdf) . SPRING BREAK MARCH 19 TO 22 Week 9. March 28 a. Noam Chomsky “The Backroom Boys” in For Reasons of State [You’ll get a pdf file of the Chomsky] & FOG OF WAR Film (McNamara) b. Patriots (Anne Morrison interview), pdf HALBERSTAM PAPER DUE Week 10. April 11 Fighting the War from the US side Video of American troops in action a.Propaganda Leaflets – by the US and the NLF – pdf. b. Conversations with Enemy Soldiers in Late 1968/Early 1969: A Study of Motivation and Morale, Rand Corporation, excerpts, (pdf) c.“A Study of Viet Cong Use of Terror” by United States Mission in Saigon, March 1967, pdf. d.Read Jonathan Schell, The Military Half – available on Kindle or via amazon e. Interview with Jonathan Schell, pdf file. Week 11 April 18 Waging the War to TET and Beyond a. McNamara Memo, May 19,1967, (pdf) b. Nick Turse, Kill Anything that Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam- Chapters 2, (A System of Suffering, Chapter 7, “Where Have all the War Crimes gone,” and the Epilogue. PDF file c. CIA – Speculation on Hanoi’s Motives to Negotiate,” April 8, 1968 (pdf) Week 12. April 25 The War in America a. Film: MLK: A Call to Conscience [on the making of Martin Luther King’s ‘Beyond Vietnam” Speech.] b. “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,” Martin Luther King Jr. – pdf file c. J. William Fulbright’s The Arrogance of Power, pdf files. d. “Cutting Our losses in South Vietnam,” Establishment Dissent, George Ball (pdf) Week 13 The Nixon Years May 2 a. The withdrawal of American Forces from Vietnam, 1969-1972 (pdf) b. Henry Kissinger’s discussions with Zhou Enlai, (pdf) c. David Schmitz, Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War, pp. 41-148.[ book available on line via Bobst.] d. Vietnam Veterans against the War, Statement by John Kerry to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, April 23, 1971. (pdf & video) e. Interview with CIA agent Frank Sneep, Decent Interval, CBS 60 Minutes The Fall of Saigon and Graham Greene’s The Quiet American. This novel is available on Kindle via Amazon or Amazon books Video: The fall of Saigon a. Read Graham Greene’s The Quiet American b. Movie clip from The Quiet American c. “A Bomb Makes a Shambles of a Sunny Saigon Square,”(pdf) d. “New York Times, Reds’ Time Bombs Rip Saigon Center,” (pdf)

Research Paper Sample Content Preview:

Vietnam War: The War and Its History Name: Institutional affiliation: Course: Date: Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc166926036 \h 1Vietnamese Cultural and National Identity PAGEREF _Toc166926037 \h 1French Colonialism and the First Indochina War (1946-1954) PAGEREF _Toc166926038 \h 2Early American Involvement and the Cold War Context PAGEREF _Toc166926039 \h 4The Johnson Administration and Escalation of the War PAGEREF _Toc166926040 \h 5The Nixon Administration and Vietnamization PAGEREF _Toc166926041 \h 6The Fall of Saigon and Aftermath PAGEREF _Toc166926042 \h 6Conclusion and the Legacies of the Vietnam War PAGEREF _Toc166926043 \h 7References PAGEREF _Toc166926044 \h 7 Introduction The Vietnam War was a prolonged conflict that began on November 1, 1955 and ended after the Saigon fall in 30th of April, 1975. The war was fought by North Vietnam with their communist allies against the government of South Vietnam which had the backing of the USA together with other anti-communist supporters (Anderson, 2006). By the mid-19th century, Vietnam became a part of French Indochina and during this period Vietnamese citizens went through massive social, economic and political transformations that brought about massive negatives on their day to day living. From as early as 1800’s to 1954, the French colonization policies tapped into Vietnam's natural wealth and manpower, as a result, triggered the rise of grievances among locals and ultimately led to the creation of nationalist movements. Accordingly, one of the leaders that arose from this period and later became a symbol of defiance against the West was Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969). The emergence of the Viet Minh, a communist-led nationalist movement that was created by Ho Chi Minh itself, was the turning point in the fight against the French, which led to the First Indochina War (1946-1954). These events resulted in the Geneva Accords of in which partitioned the country on the 17th parallel and eventually lead to the onset of the Vietnam War. Additionally, the Vietnam War was a piece of the Cold War puzzle. In a post-WWII era, both the US and the USSR rose as superpowers with conflicting philosophies of capitalism and communism (Office of The Historan.gov (2024). At the center of this, the US saw it as strategic to adopt a policy of containment to prevent the spread of communist ideology, and this policy subsequently had a major impact on its foreign policy choice, especially in Asia. In its foreign ambitions, the US based its decisions on the then newly formulated term “domino theory” by William Bullitt (1947) which argued that if one country from a particular region turns red, it may provoke others to follow suit. Until the end of the war, this theory had great importance in shaping the role of the U.S. in the Vietnam War. It is because of this theory that America initially supported the French in their quest to regain control over their former colony. It is also for the same reason that even after the French weakened, the U. S. became more and more involved in providing the government of South Vietnam with direct support. Ideally, Eisenhower administration's support for Ngo Din Diem’s regime in South Vietnam was with the objective to establish a stable and non-communist government that might prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. This research offers a comprehensive overview of the Vietnam war by evaluating its origin, turning points, and aftermath, using historical chronicles, documents in government archives, and veterans' memories. Vietnamese Cultural and National Identity For many years, the rampant societal, economic, and cultural discrimination by the colonial administration nurtured anti-French sentiment and evolved to a nationwide need for independence. When colonial France came in, they ensured that the local governance was disrupted and the supremacy of traditional leaders was diminished, in the process, opening the path to power of the nationalist movements. The many years of French Imperial authority over Vietnam nurtured a growing sense of nationalism and the formation of resistance groups. While, the early resistance struggle was scattered and weak, later on, they united into more powerful and widespread movements (Snead, 1991). The most noticeable of these was the one headed by Ho Chi Minh, a charismatic leader well known to have mixed the Marxist-Leninist ideology with the Vietnamese nationalism. The foundation of the Viet Minh by Ho Chi Minh in 1941 happened to symbolize the beginning of the fight for freedom in Vietnam. The Viet Minh (Vietnamese for the League for the Independence of Vietnam) was able to inspire and gather most of the country’s population groups, including peasants, factory and industry workers, and intellectuals, to participate in the anti-French fight. Ho Chi Minh had, certainly, the most important role in Vietnam’s history in that he was the one who expressed a unified and independent Vietnam’s vision which became very popular in large masses. It was his skill of integrating the traditional Vietnamese values with modern concepts, which led to the creation of the vivid and convincing nationalist ideology. The Viet Minh’s guerilla warfare strategies and the support of the local population made them a worthy opponent of the French, which eventually led to the First Indochina War. 22860003811270Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1: Map of French Indochina (1955) https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/15zvl2g/map_of_french_indochina_1955/?rdt=43003Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1: Map of French Indochina (1955) https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/15zvl2g/map_of_french_indochina_1955/?rdt=43003right35115500French Colonialism and the First Indochina War (1946-1954) French colonialism in Vietnam, saw them take over through military force, and over time annexed Vietnamese lands and then organized them into French Indochina, together with Laos and Cambodia. The colonial administration put into effect its policy of economic exploitation where focus was on extraction of raw materials among others like rubber, rice, and coffee for export. Yokeley (2006) writes that the colonial era in this region resulted in significant economic imbalances, in which a few French colonizers and a small Vietnamese elite enjoyed tremendous wealth, while a majority of Vietnamese workers toiled under impoverished conditions. To a great degree, the social and economic changes developed by the French colonialism provoked a high level of resentment and discontent in the whole Vietnamese nation. As a result, Ho Chi Minh founded the Viet Minh (Vietnamese National) in 1941 which was aimed at the unification of all Vietnamese to battle against French colonial rule. Through the unity there arose the first Indochinese conflict (1946-1954) which was a culmination of the growing pressures. The battle started in the aftermath of World War Two (WWII) with the Viet Minh seizing the opportunity that the Japanese occupation provided and gaining much support for their independence from the French. The French, nonetheless, were determined to recover their colonization of Vietnam by attacking the Viet Minh with a military campaign. During the war the Viet Minh used guerrilla warfare, that was suited for them and of their advantage, because they were well knowledge of the local terrain and had major support among the rural population (Yokeley, 2006). Therefore, they were able to conduct effective resistance against the better-equipped French forces. A decisive victory in the First Indochina War was the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. The French had fortified their base camp in Dien Bien Phu from where they perceived themselves as strategically advantaged. Nevertheless, with General Nguyen Giap as their commander, the Viet-Minh waged an on-and-off fight that lasted 60 days. In the 60 days, the Viet Minh employed varied gue...

Updated on August 16, 2024

Get the Whole Paper!

Not exactly what you need?

Do you need a custom essay? Order right now:

Order

👀 Other Visitors are Viewing These APA Essay Samples:

Themed Paper

4 pages/≈1100 words | 10 Sources | APA | History | Research Paper |
Ancient Greek Tririmes

4 pages/≈1100 words | No Sources | APA | History | Research Paper |
Cross-Cultural Learning About the Maasai People of East Africa

8 pages/≈2200 words | No Sources | APA | History | Research Paper |