America in Vietnam: A Documentary History

by Williams, William Appleman; McCormick, Thomas; Gardner, Lloyd C.; LaFeber, Walter

• ISBN13: 9780393305555
• ISBN10: 0393305554
• Edition: 00
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1989-05-17
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Summary

Through a wide variety of documents'”including newly opened presidential papers, congressional debates, military reports, treaties, and newspaper articles'”the authors trace the origins of the war back to pre'World War II attitudes and then proceed through the development of the "domino theory" and the policies of Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon to the fall of South Vietnam in 1975. Each of the editors has written an introductory essay to place the documents in heir historical context. These essays explore the controversial questions raised by Vietnam'”such as whether each president understood what he was getting into, whether (as some now charge) the media and public opinion undermined America's ability to win the war, whether official statements were intended to mislead the American people, and, most fundamentally, why America was in Vietnam.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Tangled Lines of Cause and Consequence
Part I: THE ROOTS OF INTERVENTION: 1776-1945
Introduction
William Applemen Williams
Peter Parker to the State Department	10	(1)
Speech by Thomas Hart Benton: Take the Road to India	11	(1)
Commentary from William Gilpin: U.S. Destiny in the Pacific	12	(1)
Vietnamese Account of French Conquest	12	(8)
The Open Door Policy	20	(2)
Luce's American Century	22	(6)
Roosevelt's Indochina Trusteeship: Dream and Reality	28	(5)
The Vietnamese Approach	33	(5)
Reestablishing the French	38	(1)
Roosevelt Admits Defeat	39	(22)
Part II: CRISIS, COMMITMENT, AND COUNTERREVOLUTION: 1945-1952
Introduction
Thomas McCormick
DeGaulle Raises the Indochina Issue, 1945	61	(1)
Report to Truman on the World Economic Crisis, July 1950	62	(4)
State Department Memo on ``Far Eastern `Marshall Plan'''	66	(1)
State Department Memo on Implications of Russian A-Bomb	67	(4)
National Security Council 68: Pivotal Report on the Future of the Cold War, April 1950	71	(7)
Butterworth's Argument Against a Far Eastern Marshall Plan	78	(4)
State and Defense Department Report to the National Security Council on Economic Aid	82	(2)
Japan's Views on Southeast Asia	84	(2)
Japan's Trade Potential	86	(2)
Thailand Criticizes Bao Dai Government as Western Puppet, February 1950	88	(2)
Two State Department Views: Sticking with Bao Dai or Switching to Ho Chi Minh, November 1949	90	(2)
Pentagon Papers on Ho Chi Minh: Could He Be an Asian Tito?	92	(5)
Acheson on Asia: An Amazing Dinner Conversation with the Secretary of State	97	(2)
An Asian Statesman Questions American Support for French Colonialism, March 1950	99	(5)
State Department's Initial Position on Southeast Asia, March 1949	104	(3)
State Department ``Problem Paper'' of 1950	107	(4)
The Joint Chiefs of Staff Articulate American Interests in Southeast Asia, April 1950	111	(2)
The State Department Reassesses the Indochina Situation, August 1950	113	(3)
The Far Eastern Desk Reaffirms the American Commitment, September 1950	116	(3)
CIA Memo Analyzing Chinese Intentions	119	(2)
The State Department Updates and Clarifies American Policy, March 1952	121	(25)
Part III: DOMINOES, DIEM, AND DEATH: 1952-1963
Introduction
Lloyd C. Gardner
What Kind of War?	146	(4)
A Warning to China	150	(1)
Congressional Restraints	151	(2)
Eisenhower's Appeal to a War Comrade	153	(3)
Counting the Dominoes	156	(1)
Seeking Commitments	157	(2)
Disappointment at Geneva	159	(2)
A Gloomy Report	161	(2)
The Election Issue	163	(2)
Walking Softly	165	(1)
Answering Critics	166	(2)
Geneva Declarations	168	(2)
The American Caveat	170	(2)
SEATO: Dulles Explains the Purposes	172	(2)
The SEATO Treaty	174	(4)
A Slight Upgrade	178	(2)
SEATO in Operation	180	(2)
Showdown in Paris	182	(3)
Vietnam's Example	185	(1)
Ike Changes His Will	186	(3)
Cuba and Vietnam	189	(2)
Lyndon Johnson's Report	191	(3)
The Edge of Commitment	194	(4)
Two Interviews	198	(3)
First Yes, Then No-Then Maybe	201	(4)
Diem's Elimination	205	(2)
Coda	207	(1)
The ``Other'' Side	208	(26)
Part IV: THE RISE AND FALL OF AMERICAN POWER: 1963-1975
Introduction
Walter LaFeber
Johnson's Dilemma in Early 1964	234	(2)
The Tonkin Gulf Debate and Resolution	236	(3)
The Fatal Contradictions of U.S. Policy	239	(3)
LBJ Explains His Decision: The Johns Hopkins University Speech, April 7, 1965	242	(2)
The North Vietnamese Position, April 1965	244	(2)
McNamara Privately Explains U.S. Policy in April 1965	246	(2)
Off the Diving Board: The Debates of July 1965	248	(5)
The Great Debate of 1966	253	(6)
Presidents Johnson and Ho Exchange Views in February 1967	259	(4)
Vietnam and the Imperial Presidency	263	(2)
President Johnson's ``San Antonio Formula'' of September 29, 1967	265	(2)
The Aftermath of the Tet Offensive	267	(3)
LBJ and the Wisemen: The March 26 Meeting	270	(3)
President Johnson's Televised Speech of March 31, 1968	273	(3)
The Chicago Riots of 1968	276	(4)
Nixon Appeals to the ``Silent Majority''	280	(3)
The Invasion of Cambodia: The Debate	283	(4)
The Invasion of Cambodia: The War at Home	287	(5)
U.S. Military Veterans Question the War, April 1971	292	(8)
The Costs of the Vietnam War	300	(3)
The 1972 Communist Offensive-and After	303	(5)
The Secret Nixon-Thieu Deal of January 5, 1973	308	(1)
A Debate over Helping South Vietnam, 1974	309	(3)
Kissinger, Congress, and the Fall of South Vietnam	312	(3)
A Summing Up	315	(3)
Notes	318	(7)
Selected Bibliography	325	(4)
Index	329