At the Water's Edge American Politics and the Vietnam War

by Small, Melvin

• ISBN13: 9781566636476
• ISBN10: 1566636477
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-07-27
• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee

Summary

In At the Water's Edge, Melvin Small delivers the first study of the Vietnam War's domestic politics. Popular perceptions of the war at home produced a dramatic and longstanding realignment in political allegiances, an assault on the media that still colors political debate today, and an economic crisis that weakened the nation for a decade after the last U.S. troops left Vietnam. The war ultimately destroyed the presidency of Lyndon Johnson and indirectly forced the resignation of Richard Nixon. Those presidents who followed constructed their foreign policies mindful that they would not survive politically if they were to lead the nation into another protracted limited war in the Third World.

Author Biography

Melvin Small is Distinguished Professor of History at Wayne State University.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
1 Saving South Vietnam, 1945-1963	3	(20)
Limited war in a modern democratic society.
Origins of the U.S.
involvement.
Kennedy inherits the Eisenhower commitment.
Media criticism.
Kennedy's dilemma.
2 Winning an Election While Losing a War, 1963-1964	23	(20)
With an election in the offing, Johnson stays the course.
The Gulf of Tonkin resolution.
Goldwater's defeat.
Student unrest.
3 Escalation, 1965	43	(20)
The decision to bomb North Vietnam.
Supporters and dissenters in Congress.
Calling up more troops for ground combat.
Social and cultural resistance.
4 Democrats Fall Out, 1966	63	(19)
Congressional unrest.
The "living room" war.
Mid-term elections.
Attacking the media.
5 The Opposition Grows, 1967	82	(19)
Robert Kennedy challenges the president.
Martin Luther King wavers.
Doves among the Democrats.
A deteriorating economy.
6 Campaign '68	101	(24)
The Tet offensive.
McCarthy surprises.
Johnson summons the "Wise Men."
The president decides not to run.
The Democratic convention in chaos.
Nixon's plan.
October surprises.
7 The Politics of Polarization, 1969	125	(22)
The anti-war movement responds to Nixon's election.
The administration pursues secrecy.
Bombing campaigns and troop withdrawals.
Ending the draft.
The Moratorium.
Playing to the Silent Majority.
8 A War at Home, 1969-1971	147	(26)
Vietnamization.
The invasion of Cambodia.
The campuses explode.
Labor's loyalty.
Massacre at My Lai.
Veterans against the war.
9 Four More Years, 1971-1972	173
The Pentagon Papers.
Kissinger's negotiations.
Nixon goes to China.
The Democrats choose McGovern.
10 Legacies, 1973— 193
Wrapping up the "peace."
The fall of South Vietnam.
The lingering scar in American politics.
A Note on Sources	217	(8)
Index	225