Major problems in the history of the Vietnam War: documents and essays

Vietnam and America : an introduction

French Colonial rule and the development of Vietnamese nationalism

The roots of the American commitment

Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ngo Dihn Diem, and the deepening U.S. commitment

John F. Kennedy and Vietnam : incremental escalation

Lyndon B. Johnson's decisions for war

U.S. military strategy

Americans in combat

The enemy : North Vietnam and the National Liberation Front

The Tet offensive

Richard M. Nixon's strategy for withdrawal

The antiwar movement and public opinion

The Paris Peace Accords of 1973 and the fall of South Vietnam

International dimensions of the war

Legacies and memories of a war.

1. Vietnam and America: an introduction. The wages of war / Michael H. Hunt ; the necessary war / Michael Lind ; A grand delusion / Robert Mann

2. French Colonial rule and the development of Vietnamese nationalism. Jules Ferry justifies French colonial expansion, 1884 ; Phan Boi Chau resolves to continue fighting for Vietnam's freedom, 1914 ; Ho Chi Minh deplores "imperialist crimes," 1920 ; Ho calls for revolution, 1930 ; A Vietnamese writer recalls the 1944-45 famine, 1956 ; Vietnam declares independence, 1945 ; France's imperial dreams, Vietnam's trauma / William J. Duiker ; America' symbolic importance for Vietnamese nationalists ; Mark Philip Bradley

3. The roots of the American commitment. George C. Marshall expresses concern about Indochina dispute, 1947 ; Statement of U.S. policy toward Indochina, 1948 ; The United States praises the Elysee agreements, 1949 ; The State Department recommends military aid to the French, 1950 ; The National Security Council identifies important U.S. security interests in Indochina, 1950 ; Dean Acheson urges aid for Indochina, 1950 ; Ho Chi Minh denounces U.S. intervention, 1950 ; Cold War strategy and U.S. intervention / Robert J. McMahon ; The European influence on America's commitment to war in Vietnam / Mark Atwood Lawrence

4. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ngo Dihn Diem, and the deepening U.S. commitment. Dwight D. Eisenhower appeals for British help, 1954 ; Eisenhower explains the domino theory, 1954 ; Vo Nguyen Giap assesses Dienbienphu's importance (1954), 1965 ; The Geneva Conference signatories issue their final declaration, 1954 ; South Vietnam renounces negotiations with North Vietnam, 1955 ; Elbridge Durbrow assesses the Diem regime, 1957 ; Ngo Dinh Diem pledges to continue fighting communism, 1957 ; The tragedy of U.S. intervention / David L. Anderson ; The religious roots of U.S. support for Ngo Dinh Diem / Seth Jacobs ; Exploiting U.S. dominance / Gareth Porter

5. John F. Kennedy and Vietnam: incremental escalation. Maxwell Taylor recommends the dispatch of U.S. forces, 1961 ; Dean Rusk and Robert S. McNamara present an alternative plan, 1961 ; An early U.S. army advisor remembers his experiences (1962-1963), 1981 ; Mike Mansfield questions American policy, 1962 ; John F. Kennedy criticizes the South Vietnamese government, 1963 ; Kennedy reaffirms the domino theory, 1963 ; Henry Cabot Lodge discusses coup prospects, 1963 ; McGeorge Bundy expresses reservations, 1963 ; Diem makes a desperate appeal for U.S. help, 1963 ; Kennedy's prudent and cautious policy / David Kaiser ; The limits of U.S. influence / Philip E. Catton

6. Lyndon B. Johnson's decisions for war. Robert S. McNamara reassesses U.S. policy in South Vietnam, 1964 ; Lyndon Johnson and Richard Russell ruminate about the U.S. dilemma in Vietnam, 1964 ; The Tonkin Gulf Resolution, 1964 ; Lyndon B. Johnson explains why Americans fight in Vietnam, 1965 ; McNamara recommends escalation, 1965 ; George Ball dissents, 1965 ; Philip Caputo remembers his idealism (1965), 1977 ; Fear, ambition, and politics / Robert Dallek ; Choosing war / Fredrik Logevall

7. U.S. military strategy. Robert S. McNamara urges additional troop deployments, 1965 ; George F. Kennan criticizes the American military commitment, 1966 ; William C. Westmoreland reviews military operations in South Vietnam, 1966 ; The Central Intelligence Agency critiques the bombing campaign, 1967 ; McNamara sees an improved military outlook, 1967 ; Westmoreland defends the attrition strategy, 1977 ; Westmoreland reflects on the Vietnam War's meaning, 2003 ; An unwinnable war / Robert K. Brigham ; The failure of counterinsurgency warfare ; John A Nagl

8. Americans in combat. A cross-generational conversation about joining the army (1966), 2001 ; "Dear Mom," 1966 ; Infantryman Salvador Gonzalez's letter home, 1969 ; A soldier's perspective on combat in Vietnam, 1977 ; Herbert Carter testifies about the My Lai massacre, 1969 ; Varnado Simpson testifies about the My Lai massacre, 1969 ; Colin Powell remembers his two tours of duty in Vietnam, 1995 ; A working class war / Christian Appy ; A grunt's life / Gerard J. DeGroot

9. The enemy: North Vietnam and the National Liberation Front. Ho Chi Minh rallies his supporters after the Geneva agreements, 1954 ; Truong Nhu Tang recalls the origins of the National Liberation Front (1957-1959), 1985 ; The National Liberation Front issues its manifesto, 1960 ; A Vietcong recruit explains why he joined the revolution (1961), 1986 ; A South Vietnamese peasant girl becomes a Vietcong supporter (c. 1961), 1989 ; Vo Nguyen Giap celebrates people's war, 1961 ; Nguyen Chi Thanh outlines communist strategy, 1963 ; Ho vows to "fight until complete victory," 1966 ; North Vietnam's diplomatic strategy / William J. Duiker ; The role and significance of the National Liberation Front / Robert K. Brigham

10. The Tet offensive. The CIA offers an early assessment of the Tet offensive, 1968 ; A North Vietnamese officer reconstructs the attack on a U.S. Marine base (1968), 2003 ; Robert F. Kennedy calls Vietnam an unwinnable war, 1968 ; Walter Cronkite criticizes a policy "mired in stalemate," 1968 ; Senior U.S. officials weigh policy options, 1968 ; North Vietnam's Communist party evaluates the successes and failures of the offensive, 1968 ; A U.S. Air Force nurse remembers the Tet offensive (1968), 1987 ; Robert Komer recalls Tet's impact (1968), 1987 ; Clark M. Clifford remembers his post-Tet questions (1968), 1969 ; Johnson calls for negotiations, 1968 ; A crippling defeat for the United States / Robert Buzzanco ; Tet and the media / William Hammond

11. Richard M. Nixon's strategy for withdrawal. Henry A. Kissinger reflects on the Nixon administration's dilemma in Vietnam (1969), 1979 ; Richard M. Nixon and Nguyen Van Thieu discuss U.S.-South Vietnamese relations, 1969 ; Nixon warns about the consequences of a U.S. defeat in Vietnam, 1969 ; Nixon appeals for Soviet help in ending the Vietnam War, 1969 ; A guerrilla leader remembers 1969 as the "worst year" (1969), 1986 ; Nixon advocates Vietnamization, 1969 ; Le Duc Tho lectures Kissinger about North Vietnamese determination, 1970 ; Nixon justifies the Cambodian incursion, 1970 ; Henry A. Kissinger reveals the U.S. negotiating position, 1972 ; The provisional revolutionary government states its negotiating position, 1972 ; Nixon's flawed search for peace / Melvin Small ; A better war / Lewis Sorley

12. The antiwar movement and public opinion. Students for a Democratic Society opposes the war, 1965 ; Martin Luther King, Jr., declares his opposition to the war, 1967 ; Women's statement of conscience, 1967 ; Proclamation of the antidraft resistance, 1967 ; A popular protest song, 1967 ; James Fallows reflects on the draft's inequities (1969), 1975 ; A veteran remembers his bitter homecoming, 1981 ; A Vietnam veteran opposes the war, 1971 ; The peace movement on campus / Melvin Small ; Women and antiwar activism / Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones ; Movement myths / Adam Garfinkle

13. The Paris Peace Accords of 1973 and the fall of South Vietnam. Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger discuss South Vietnam's fate, 1972 ; Nixon reassures Nguyen Van Thieu, 1973 ; The Paris Peace Accords, 1973 ; Henry A. Kissinger appeals to Congress for emergency aid, 1975 ; James R. Schlesinger, Jr., recalls the collapse of South Vietnam (1975), 1987 ; A South Vietnamese pilot reflects on his country's defeat (1975), 1990 ; A South Vietnamese civilian remembers his last days in Saigon (1975), 1990 ; A North Vietnamese general celebrates the "great spring victory" (1975), 1977 ; Nixon blames Congress for the fall of South Vietnam (1975), 1978 ; The betrayal of South Vietnam / Larry Berman ; A doomed agreement / Pierre Asselin

14. International dimensions of the war. French president Charles de Gaulle's statement on Vietnam, 1963 ; Secretary of State Dean Rusk and French ambassador Herve Alphand discuss U.S.-French differences over Vietnam policy, 1964 ; The Johnson administration assesses the attitudes of allied and nonaligned nations, 1964 ; British Prime Minister Harold Wilson warns President Lyndon B. Johnson about the perils of escalation, 1965 ; Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson calls for a U.S. bombing halt, 1965 ; Mao Zedong exhorts his North Vietnamese allies, 1965 ; Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt expresses firm support for U.S. policy, 1966 ; Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declares that the Vietnam War must end, 1966 ; Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin explains Moscow's reaction to the North Vietnamese offensive (1972), 1995 ; The Vietnam War and the challenges to American power in Europe / Frank Costigliola ; China's crucial role / Qiang Zhai

15. Legacies and memories of a war. Gerald R. Ford identifies the lessons of Vietnam, 1975 ; Jimmy Carter sees a "profound moral crisis," 1977 ; Ronald Reagan calls Vietnam a noble and just cause, 1988 ; An American veteran helps to dedicate the Vietnam War memorial (1982), 1985 ; An African-American draftee reflects on the war's impact, 1984 ; A former Army nurse considers the war's impact, 1987 ; The impact of Vietnam on America's world role / Paul Kennedy ; Competing memories / Arnold R. Isaacs ; Viewing foreign and military policy through the prism of Vietnam / Robert D. Schulzinger.