USA and Vietnam

Academic Responsibility: Dr Tony McCulloch

Course Aims

This course follows on from the Level Two Politics course on the Modern Presidency. The first aim of the course is to examine the policies of successive Presidents, from Franklin Roosevelt to Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, towards the problem of Vietnam. A second aim is to explore the larger reasons, domestic and foreign, economic and cultural, for America's original involvement in Vietnam and for the escalation of the Vietnam War in the mid 1960s. Another aim is to examine the nature of the Anti-War Movement, its strengths and weaknesses as a pressure group, and the extent of its influence on Presidential decision-making about the War. Finally, the course aims to explore the legacy of the Vietnam War for American government and politics with particular reference to the War Powers Act, the so-called "Vietnam Syndrome" and American foreign policy since the 1970s.

Course Content

The first part of the course deals with Presidential policies towards Vietnam from the Second World War to the defeat of South Vietnam and the unification of Vietnam under Communist rule in 1975. Roosevelt's attitude to the French colonies in Indochina is discussed, with reference to his flirtation with the idea of "trusteeships". Truman's policy, against the background of the Cold War in Europe and Asia and the anti-communism at home, is examined and the American attitude towards French rule in Vietnam is analysed.

The Eisenhower Administration's Vietnam policy is then explored in relation to the Geneva agreements of 1954 and the establishment of a South Vietnamese state dependent upon American support. Kennedy's policy and the "withdrawal debate" is then discussed. Johnson's policy towards Vietnam is examined and the reasons for the escalation of the war from 1965 are analysed. The significance of the Tet offensive is explained and Nixon's policy towards Vietnam is explored in relation to "Vietnamisation" and the Paris Peace Accords of 1973. Finally, the downfall of South Vietnam during the Ford Presidency is discussed.

The second part of the course explores the effects of the War, both short-term and long-term, on the Presidency and American politics and government in general. A detailed analysis of the Anti-War Movement is undertaken to ascertain its character, strengths and weaknesses before and after 1968. Its role in the presidential election of 1968 is studied and the extent of its influence on Presidential policy-making is discussed. The course then focuses upon the War Powers Act of 1973, passed as a check on the "Imperial Presidency", and its subsequent history. Finally, the course explores the notion of the "Vietnam Syndrome" and examines its effects on the Presidency and American foreign policy since 1975.

Assessment

Students have a choice of either two assignments of 2500 words each or one assignment of 5000 words.  There is no examination.