Billy Lynn’
realme718
HISTORYPPT.zipHISTORY PPT/FDR AS COMM CHIEF .pptx
WWII and FDR as Commander in Chief
HIST 1321 Presidents at War
Atomic Bomb Memo
Due Friday, March 6, 2020.
In no more than 1,000 words, and no less than 900, prepare a memorandum for President Harry S. Truman, dated August 1, 1945, advising him to deploy or withhold the atomic bomb in the war against Japan. Take into account your strategic assessment of the war at that juncture and the future international consequences of your advice.
I am available for office hours. Please email to arrange a day/time.
Submit via Canvas AND as an email to me (Word document).
Memorandum from Henry Stimson to Harry truman
Take a few minutes and review Secretary of War Henry Stimson’s memo to President Truman dated April 12, 1945 (p.154-155).
Stimson authored the memo in hopes of arranging a meeting with the president.
1) What is the topic of the memo?
2) How does Stimson present his case regarding the urgency of atomic power?
3) What is the tone/style/format of the memo?
4) Your memo will reach President Truman’s desk roughly three months after Stimson’s. What can you draw from this example to aid you in drafting your Atomic Bomb Memo? (Due next Friday).
Today’s Readings
John Dower. War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War.
Engel, et al. America in the World, 131-156.
War Without mercy: Race and power in the pacific
Why did race become such a prominent issue in World War II propaganda?
Why did race matter more in the Pacific than in the Atlantic Theater?
How did Japanese and American officials ”use” history in their propaganda campaigns?
What are the effects of this highly racialized warfare?
What can you draw from Dower’s War Without Mercy that might help you in drafting your Atomic Bomb Memo?
“Patterns of a race war’
Governments on all sides of World War II presented ”the conflict as a holy war for national survival and glory, a mission to defend and propagate the finest values of their state and culture.”
For Asian nations, “the global war became entangled with the legacies of Western imperialism and colonialism in a manner that proved explosive…”
Unpack this statement.
What are the legacies of Western imperialism and colonialism” to which Dower is referring?
How did the Japanese deploy race in the Pacific?
How did the Japanese exploit the history of strained race relations in the United States?
“Patterns of a race war”
What was the “Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere?”
How was it both an imperial project? And a response to imperialism?
As Dower demonstrates, “There was no Japanese counterpart to the ‘good German’ in the popular consciousness of the Western Allies.”
How is this a departure from previous U.S.-involved conflicts?
How were the Japanese depicted in U.S. propaganda?
What is a stereotype?
Living and dying in wartime
However different the Japanese and Americans may have presented themselves, they in fact shared many of the same cultural values regarding conduct in wartime.
Dower points out similarities in attitudes toward life and death between Japanese and American military cultures (p.11).
What are some of these similarities? How were these similarities downplayed in the propaganda campaigns of both nations?
“Know Your enemy”
In the 1940s, the U.S. military commissioned Hollywood director Frank Capra to produce films glorifying the Allied war effort.
These films were intended to combat the isolationist sentiment lingering in the U.S. prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Multi-part Why We Fight collection, shown in theaters across the United States during 1940s.
How did the advent of professional moviemaking transform propaganda?
Know Your enemy – japan (1945)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr7TsPIhjl4
Directed by Frank Capra, produced by U.S. War Department.
How is the average Japanese soldier depicted?
If you were an American moviegoer in 1945, what impression would you have of Japan and the Japanese people?
“Know Your enemy”
“Let the enemy prove to our soldiers the enormity of his cause— and the justness of ours. Let our boys hear the Nazis and the Japs shout their own claims of master-race crud, and our fighting men will know why they are in uniform” - Frank Capra.
The theme, at the heart of American propaganda, was that two worlds were locked in moral combat, the free world and the slave.
How did Capra bring the ”two worlds” to life on the screen?
Why would this be an effective way of framing WWII?
The script for Why We Fight- Japan took three years develop (1942-1945). What reasons does Dower cite for the delay? What can we read into this? (p. 18).
The Way of the subject and read this and the war is won
Like its U.S. counterpart, Japanese propaganda articulated the idealized values of the Japanese citizen and soldier.
Take a few minutes and review Dower p. 24-27.
How did The Way of the Subject critique Western culture/values?
What is the significance of South Asia to the Japanese government and military? How does Read this and the War is Won present the Japanese role in the region?
Dower: “…a classical ideological manifesto such as The Way of the Subject is especially interesting because it so clearly reveals the class aspect of Japanese war rhetoric.”
What does Dower mean here?
Why does class matter?
War Without mercy and the Atomic Bomb Memo
Why did race become such a prominent issue in World War II propaganda?
Why did race matter more in the Pacific than in the Atlantic Theater?
How did Japanese and American officials ”use” history in their propaganda campaigns?
What are the effects of this highly racialized warfare?
What can you draw from Dower’s War Without Mercy that might help you in drafting your Atomic Bomb Memo?
HISTORY PPT/HARRY TRUMAN ATOMIC BOMB.pptx
Harry Truman and the atomic bomb
HIST 1321 Presidents at War
Atomic Bomb Memo
Due March 6th by 5:00pm.
In no more that 1,000 words, and no less than 900, prepare a memorandum for President Harry S. Truman, dated August 1, 1945, advising him to deploy or withhold the atomic bomb in the war against Japan. Take into account your strategic assessment of the war at that juncture and the future international consequences of your advice.
Submit via Canvas and as a Word document emailed to me.
Word document only. No PDFs.
Atomic Bomb Memo
Take 10 minutes to read your partner’s memo.
In no more that 1,000 words, and no less than 900, prepare a memorandum for President Harry S. Truman, dated August 1, 1945, advising him to deploy or withhold the atomic bomb in the war against Japan. Take into account your strategic assessment of the war at that juncture and the future international consequences of your advice.
Peer Review
1. What is your partner’s argument? Why do they think we should use/withhold the atomic bomb?
2. Referring back to the prompt: What is their “strategic assessment of the war” as of August 1, 1945?
3. What evidence do they provide in support of their argument? Do they effectively use their evidence to prove their argument?
4. Can you offer any counter-arguments which may challenge the conclusions your partner reaches in their memo?
5. Referring back to the prompt: What does your partner argue are “the future international consequences” of their decision to use/withhold the bomb?
6. Evaluate your partner’s memo for clarity and organization. What needs to be improved?
7. Check for spelling, grammar, etc.
HISTORY PPT/HIST 1321 INTRO.pptx
HIST 1321 Presidents at War
Spring 2020
Teaching Assistant: Kevin Briceland
Presidential Power – U.S. Global Power
William Appleman Williams punctured a number of myths about how Americans perceived their nation’s role in world affairs.
1) Americans thought about foreign policy.
2) The United States operated in self-interest.
3) Economic motivations superseded all else.
Williams’ argument leads us to consider the actions that policymakers take in times of crises and the consequences (intended, or otherwise) produced by these actions.
Five Takeaway Points
The modern presidency is pre-eminent. Earlier presidencies were restrained by comparison.
Presidential power has grown in proportion to U.S. global power.
Presidential power has grown disproportionate to Congress and the Judiciary.
Presidency has grown out of opportunities.
Power grows during war/crises.
Frederick Jackson Turner and the ”Closing” of the American Frontier.
Take five minutes and review Turner’s essay (p. 17).
Who was Frederick Jackson Turner?
What is this document responding to?
What are the implications of the “closing of the frontier” on U.S. society and institutions?
How does the notion of the “frontier” inform how we think about the U.S. West?
Where do we go now?
William McKinley POTUS 1897-1901
Who Was McKinley?
Civil War veteran, lawyer, Ohio politician…
Why does a President’s biography matter?
McKinley is the first modern chief executive.
Both in his administrative style and the techniques and technologies available to him during his tenure.
Ascends to the presidency as a growing disturbance develops on the island of Cuba.
First test of McKinley’s diplomatic strategy…
On the Ground in Cuba
Beginning in the mid 1890s, Cuban revolutionaries undertook sustained efforts to oust the Spanish Empire from the island nation.
General Valeriano Wyler leads Spanish forces in brutally cracking down on Cuban insurgents.
Due in part to U.S. private interest in the Cuban economy and the emergence of a sensationalistic U.S. “yellow press,” the Cuban crisis is big news for Americans.
So what is the U.S.’s role here?
“Shall Cuba Be Taken for Christ?”
Take a few minutes and read “Shall Cuba Be Taken for Christ?” (p. 41).
What bias might the author of this document hold?
What is the issue being addressed?
What is the recommendation?
How are racial characteristics read into this document?
Any connections to Turner’s frontier?
Opposition to U.S. Expansion?
“A Critique from the Heartland”
Take a few moments and read “A Critique from the Heartland” (p. 44).
What rhetorical devices is Bryan using in his critique of U.S. overseas expansion?
What does Bryan fear regarding U.S. expansion?
What would it have been like to have been an opponent to U.S. expansion in 1899?
HISTORY PPT/MCKINLEY TO FDR.pptx
Presidents At War Review
Three Aspects of Every Presidency
1) Biographical/historical context.
2) Goals, strategy, and implementation.
3) Effect and effectiveness.
William McKinley
President during Spanish American War (1897-1901).
Fought in Cuba and the Philippines.
Revolutions on the ground in both countries.
U.S. anxieties over the “closing” of the frontier.
Annexation of Hawaii.
Rapid industrialization, access to new markets overseas.
Theodore Roosevelt
Served from 1901-1909.
Foreign policy centered on Latin America.
U.S. acquires the Panama Canal.
Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.
U.S. was not hungry for territory.
U.S. responsible for the welfare of the Western Hemisphere.
Keep order and the U.S. will not intervene.
Enlarges U.S. navy, Panama Canal facilitates access to overseas markets.
William Howard Taft
Roosevelt’s hand-picked successor.
Foreign policy interests center on Latin America.
Institutes policy of ”Dollar Diplomacy.”
Believes U.S. investment in nations indebted to European powers will help strengthen connections and foster peace in the Western Hemisphere.
Draws ire of Roosevelt, who ultimately weakens Taft’s chances for re-election by running as an independent.
Woodrow Wilson
Sweeps to victory in 1912.
Chiefly interested in domestic affairs.
“New Freedom”
Worker’s comp, child labor laws, 8-hour workday…
WWI intervenes.
Wilson at War
Four phases of Wilson
1) Strict Neutrality (1914)
2) Hope for Advantage and American Leadership (1915)
3) “He Kept Us Out of War” (1916)
4) Safe for Democracy (1917)
Wilson beloved across Europe, subjected to intense political scrutiny on the homefront.
Defeat of League of Nations.
Warren G. Harding/Calvin Coolidge
“Return to Normalcy”
1921-1929
“Progressive Pacifism”
Cheaper
Better use of funds
Promotes peace
Washington Naval Conference
Kellogg-Briand Pact
Nye Commission
What is going on in Europe?
Herbert Hoover
President during onset of Great Depression…
Franklin Roosevelt
What should be here?
1) Biographical/historical context.
2) Goals, strategy, and implementation.
3) Effect and effectiveness.
Take five minutes and brainstorm.
Power of the Presidency
How did the presidency change in first half the 20th century? 1900-1945.
How did U.S. global power evolve?
In your opinion, which president was the MOST influential?
HISTORY PPT/REAGAN BUSH COLD WAR END.pptx
Reagan, bush, and the end of the cold war
HIST 1321 – Presidents at war
Next Written assignment…
Book review of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.
Due Monday, May 4th at 5:00pm CST.
“In no more than 1500 words, and no less than 1250, review Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk for its depiction of mass media and war.”
How do we understand the prompt?
How do you anticipate approaching this assignment?
What historical examples might you draw on to illustrate connections between mass media and depictions of warfare?
How will you use the book content to draw out these connections?
Do you need an argument?
How will you organize your essay?
2
Reagan, Bush, and the end of the cold war
Reagan’s first term in office was marked by a series of close calls with the Soviet Union.
Able Archer
“Evil Empire”
Soviet colonel radar station
Strategic Missile Defense Initiative
What was the sum effect of these experiences on Reagan as a policymaker and negotiator with the Soviet Union?
What’s going on with Soviet leadership pre-Gorbachev?
Who is Mikhail Gorbachev? What effect does his rise to power have on U.S.-Soviet relations?
Reagan, Bush, and the end of the cold war
After 1984, Reagan changes tact with the Soviets, becoming more open to cooperation and de-escalation.
Gorbachev and Reagan are well-suited to one another.
What are some of the issues they hope to address?
How do they plan to address these issues?
What problems arise?
By then end of Reagan’s presidency in 1988, what is the general state of the Cold War?
Where has there been progress?
Any skeptics?
4
Key Takeaways From Reagan
1) Solidified Conservatism within national political debate.
2) Record of domestic achievement pales next to a) changed national political debate and b) the reassertion of American national pride.
3) Found a willing partner to begin the end of the Cold War.
George H.W. Bush
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TNMpFKm19E
Who was George H.W. Bush?
How did his attitudes on the Soviet Union differ from his predecessor?
What is the state of global communism going into the late 1980s?
Provide examples…
November 9, 1989…
Francis Fukuyama and the Post-cold world war
What is Fukuyama responding to in this essay?
“Triumph of the West is seen as the exhaustion of systematic alternatives to Western liberalism…”
Collapse of the Soviet Union constitutes collapse of the last real challenger to Western liberalism.
Seen in high politics as well as in consumer culture, pop culture.
History = evolutionary process.
When does the “end” of history arrive, according to Fukuyama?
Ideological concerns de-emphasized; material concerns/connections emphasized.
Was Fukuyama correct in his projection? Is the world more united or divided than it was immediately after the Cold War?
Document 14.1 ”A New World Order?” P. 332-334
What opportunity does the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait provide Bush and U.S. policymakers?
What is the tone of Bush’s address? What is his stance toward U.S./Soviet cooperation in the Middle East?
What is the “New World Order?”
What do we see that’s ”new” here?
What do we see that’s familiar?
Document 14.4 “From Containment to Enlargement” P. 337-341
1993 address by President Clinton’s National Security adviser Tony Lake.
“The successor to a doctrine of containment must be a strategy of enlargement— enlargement of the world’s free community of market democracies…”
Lake proposes four facts about the “new era” in which the U.S. now finds itself.
What are they?
What do they illustrate about U.S. global power?
Lake proposes four components of the new enlargement policy.
What are they?
Is this a departure from previous forms of U.S. foreign policy?
What connections to Fukuyama do we see in Lake’s proposal?
Document 14.11 “The Rise of Al qaeda P. 351-353
After the First Gulf War, what grievances does Al Qaeda leadership hold against the U.S. and the West?
What is the link between Al Qaeda and the Cold War?
How is the threat posed by global terrorism similar to/different than the threat of global communism during the Cold War?
How does the rise of global terrorism challenge Fukuyama’s “End of History?”
Is the world more united or divided since the end of the Cold War?
Next Written assignment…
Book review of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.
Due Monday, May 4th at 5:00pm CST.
That’s a week from this Monday…
11
HISTORY PPT/TR, LODGE, EMPIRE.pptx
“Henry Cabot lodge and the new American empire”
HIST 1321
Presidents at War
Henry Cabot Lodge
Born 1850 in Beverly, Massachusetts.
Product of prominent and wealthy Massachusetts family.
Attended Harvard University, earning Ph.D. in History and Government in addition to a law degree.
What was Henry Cabot Lodge’s view of American history?
What events were most influential?
Who were his heroes?
How did he use history?
New American Empire
“Vigorous, powerful, rich and masters of the continent… We have built up an empire so great that, whether for evil or good, it is a chief factor in the affairs of civilized mankind and of the world.” – Henry Cabot Lodge, 1879.
Visions of pacific empire
Lodge’s belief in international power was rooted in his “romantic belief in America’s destiny, which he saw foreshadowed by the great figures of its past.”
1893: Lodge elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts. His role in shaping U.S. foreign policy begins to emerge during the mid to late 1890s.
Situation in Hawaii beginning to boil over just as Lodge takes his seat in the U.S. Senate.
What is the United States economic relationship to Hawaii in 1893?
Why does President Cleveland reject the Hawaii annexation treaty?
Lodge’s Response
Senator Lodge is horrified by President Cleveland’s retreat in Hawaii.
Argues Queen Liliuokalani and Hawaiian people “semi-barbarous,” “grotesque and miserable.”
Lodge does not refute anti-expansionist arguments, but rather argues for U.S. military and national security.
“Once hoisted, the flag can’t be taken down…”
Based on the ”Reasons for Annexation” outlined in lecture, what reasons does Lodge prioritize in U.S. foreign policy?
Reasons for annexation throughout history
1) Commercial
2) Strategic
3) Honor
4) Religion
5) Duty
Imperial influences
Two key developments directly influence Lodge’s thought process regarding American imperialism.
1) Relationship with Alfred Thayer Mahan.
2) 1895: Crisis in Venezuela.
“The political culture of 1895 mandated that the U.S. not remain a bystander.”
How do we read this quote as it relates to U.S. global power at the turn of the century?
Course concept: President’s power has grown in proportion to U.S global power.
Course concept: Presidential power accumulates during moments of crisis/opportunity. This power generally does not recede once acquired.
Passing the test
“Passing the test required that the United States demonstrate its willingness and resolve to take risks, to accept sacrifice, and to shed blood, all in the name of honor and country. Urbanization, immigration, industrialization, depression, and other contributors to the politics, society, and culture of post-Civil War United States challenged the makeup and moral fiber of the America of Lodge’s imagination…”
How are these factors changing the way Lodge and other Americans perceive their nation’s role in the world?
“Among contemporary citizens there seemed to be a potentially fatal absence of the civic virtue and commitment to the notion of nationhood—and thus for Lodge manhood— that he associated with Washington and Hamilton.”
What is the connection between manhood and nationhood?
War in the Philippines
1898: Lodge welcomes Theodore Roosevelt’s ordering of U.S. Navy into Manila Bay.
Under command of Admiral George Dewey, the U.S. defeats the Spanish fleet.
Treaty of Paris (1899) transfers possession of Philippine Islands into U.S. hands.
However, discontent over the situation in the Philippines soon emerges.
Who were the Anti-Imperialists? What arguments did they make in opposition to U.S. imperial expansion?
“A Critique of America’s Civilizing Mission”
Take five minutes and review document 3.14 on p. 73.
Who was Jane Addams? What was her critique of the United States’ civilizing mission?
Drawing on material from lecture as well from this document, what issues defined Progressivism?
What elements of Progressivism do you read in this document?
Henry Cabot Lodge was a self-avowed Progressive, as was Theodore Roosevelt. Is it possible to reconcile Progressivism with empire?
Race and empire
In his defense of American imperialism, Lodge makes varied and often contradictory arguments based on racist theories prevalent during the 1890s and 1900s.
He criticized Democratic anti-imperialists for what he perceived to be their racial hypocrisy.
Assailed Democrats for supporting Jim Crow policies in the South, while sympathizing with the plight of Filipinos, Cubans, and other colonized peoples.
Lodge also makes the case that the race war breaking out in the Philippines is the byproduct of Filipino “semi-civilization” and ”barbarism.”
U.S. troops can’t be blamed for combatting savagery with savagery.
However, it is important to note that Lodge’s beliefs on race evolved over the course of his political career.
Lodge opposed immigration while supporting empire. Why?
Theodore Roosevelt 26th POTUS 1901-1909
Born of a wealthy New York family.
Sickly as a child, reinvents himself through vigorous exercise and going out into nature.
Graduates from Harvard, enters New York state politics, serves as Police Commissioner for New York City.
Takes refuge in the West after tragedy strikes.
Serves as Assistant Secretary of the Navy and later as Vice President under William McKinley.
Mastered the art of public relations.
How does TR’s biographer help us understand his actions as POTUS?
What is his vision for America at the dawn of the 20th century?
Theodore Roosevelt’s “Corollary” to THE MONROE DOCTRINE
Take five minutes and review document 3.11 on p. 71.
What is the Monroe Doctrine? How does Roosevelt’s Corollary add to it?
What provoked Roosevelt to issue the Corollary?
“If every country washed by the Caribbean Sea would show progress in stable and just civilization…all questions of our interference by this Nation with their affairs would be at an end.”
How would Jane Addams respond to Roosevelt’s claim here?
What elements of Progressivism do you read in this document?
“Condemnation of U.S. Methods in Panama”
Take five minutes and review document 3.10 on p. 69.
What is Storey responding to with this document?
What methods does he seem to take issue with? Why?
Are there patterns of U.S. intervention going on during this period? Think back to how the U.S. involves itself in Hawaii, Cuba, Philippines, and now Panama.
What is the relationship between U.S. global power and the executive branch during the late 1800s and early 1900s?
HISTORY PPT/VIETNAM PART 1.pptx
Vietnam: A Concise International History
Mark Atwood Lawrence
Introduction
Lawrence is seeking to answer four questions regarding U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
1) What were the basic motives of the Vietnamese who fought against the United States?
2) Why did Vietnam become a focus of dispute among the world’s mightiest nations?
3) Why did the Vietnam War turn out the way that it did?
4) What are the legacies of the Vietnam War?
The Road to Revolution
The modern nation of Vietnam has a long history of colonialism that stretches back thousands of years.
For nearly two centuries, Vietnam struggled to free itself from colonization by the Chinese.
Domination by the Chinese helped formulate a strong sense of Vietnamese national identity, and by the 1700s Vietnam became an imperial power in its own right.
However, this independent period was short lived…
The Road to Revolution
During the mid 1800s, the French took a concerted interest in expanding its imperial footprint in SE Asia.
What about Vietnam specifically appealed to the French?
How did French colonization change Vietnamese society? For better and worse.
How did North and South Vietnam change during this period?
What difficulties did early Vietnamese nationalists encounter in trying to resist French colonial rule?
The Road To Revolution
Ho Chi Minh emerges as one of Vietnam’s most charismatic and successful nationalist organizers.
Who was he?
What biographical information can you provide to help us understand his rise in Vietnamese society?
What was his relationship to the United States and the West in general?
How did he make communist rhetoric appeal to the Vietnamese peasantry?
The Road to Revolution
World War II proves disruptive for the French and serves as a moment of opportunity for Vietnamese nationalists seeking to challenge colonial rule.
Upon France’s surrender to Germany in 1940, Japanese forces occupy Vietnam and other French-held nations in Southeast Asia.
What impact does this have on the emerging Vietnamese nationalist movement? (Think back to our discussions of the Japanese “co-prosperity” sphere in Asia).
What was the August Revolution of 1945?
Colonialism and Cold War
Ho Chi Minh assumes control after the August Revolution of 1945. Creating the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
What does he cite in his declaration of Vietnamese independence from France? Why do you think he selects this piece of oratory?
Why do the French attempt to take back Vietnam after World War II?
How does the United States come to view the struggle between the French and Vietnamese for control of the nation?
France installs Bao Dai as a Western-friendly ruler in South Vietnam, further fragmenting the people of Vietnam.
Colonialism and Cold War
The late 1940s-1960s mark the ”heating up” period of tensions between the Soviet Union and United States.
What are some of the critical showdowns between the U.S. and Soviet Union during this period?
How would these events influence the way American policymakers understood the situation in Vietnam?
By the fall of 1952, the United States is shouldering 1/3 of the total cost of the French war in Vietnam. Why?
Does the U.S.’ Vietnam War begin here?
Colonialism and cold war
By the early 1950s, U.S. aid to the French war effort is increasing, just as the French are beginning to lose their grip in Vietnam.
Based on what you already know about the U.S. war in Vietnam, what similarities do you see in the French experience? Differences?
President Eisenhower redoubles the U.S. pledge to support French resistance against communist insurgencies; authorizing the Navarre Plan and installing Ngo Dinh Diem as ruler of South Vietnam.
France finally meets their defeat in Vietnam in March 1954 at Dien Ben Phu. Peace talks begin…
An Anguished Peace
After Dien Ben Phu, DRV forces under Ho Chi Minh still have to contend with international forces to secure control of Vietnam.
In peace talks at Geneva, Switzerland, it is decided that Vietnam will be partitioned into a communist North Vietnam and a non-communist South Vietnam.
Does this solution strike you as familiar?
Ngo Dinh Diem is installed as ruler of non-communist South Vietnam.
Who was Diem and why was he appealing to U.S. policymakers?
U.S. pours millions of dollars into South Vietnam, trying to demonstrate the superiority of capitalist economics re: communism.
An Anguished Peace
By 1959: armed hostilities between North and South Vietnam resume.
China and the Soviets signed off and supported such action.
Diem had effectively alienated rural peoples across Vietnam, who in turn begin to sympathize with Ho Chi Minh’s communist forces.
September 1960:
Ho Chi Minh forms the National Liberation Front, which seamlessly blends Vietnamese communist and nationalist rhetoric.
Mass appeal among the rural and peasant classes of Vietnamese North and South.
November 1960: U.S. is in a presidential election year.
HISTORY PPT/VIETNAM PART 2.pptx
The Vietnam War: A Concise International history
HIST 1321: Presidents at War
Three presidents, one war.
We’ll be looking at how three presidents prosecuted the U.S. war effort in Vietnam…
John Kennedy, 1960-1963.
Lyndon Johnson. 1963-1968.
Richard Nixon, 1968-1974.
Kennedy inherits vietnam
John Kennedy elected to the presidency in November 1960.
Campaigned on vigorous response to Communist threat across the globe.
Missile Gap
Flexible response.
Immediately confronted with Communist insurgencies in Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, and elsewhere.
Who does Kennedy surround himself with? What does this tell us about him as a leader and policymaker?
Escalation
The period from 1961 to 1965 marks a general escalation in U.S. involvement in the Vietnam conflict.
Robert McNamara, McGeorge Bundy, and other members of JFK’S cabinet are convinced that three key factors will ensure U.S. victory against Communist forces in Vietnam.
Material advantage
Influence in the Third World
Ability to “dial in” appropriate response
1961-1962: “Project Beefup” enacted. U.S. ramps up aid to South Vietnam, short of boots on the ground.
Number of U.S. “advisers” triples from 3,000 to 9,000.
Why is it important for the Kennedy Administration to appear tough on Communism?
ESCALATION
The Kennedy Administration coordinates the anti-Communist war effort with South Vietnam leader Ngo Dinh Diem.
By 1962-63, South Vietnam is coordinating the ”Strategic Hamlet” program.
Detainment camps for rural Vietnamese peasantry.
Extremely unpopular.
Recruitment tool for Ho Chi Minh and the National Liberation Front.
Diem does not prove to be a great ally for the U.S.
Why?
November 2, 1963: Diem is ousted via military coup.
Three weeks later, JFK is assassinated in Dallas.
JFK’s Handling of Vietnam
How would you assess Kennedy’s handling of Vietnam from the beginning of his presidency to his assassination in November 1963?
You are called to brief President Johnson on the state of the war in late 1963.
How do you characterize the U.S. war strategy?
What action(s) do you advise him to take regarding Vietnam/Cold War?
War on many fronts
Lyndon Johnson assumes the presidency in November 1963.
Tricky position to be in….
Presidential election is less than a year away.
Johnson, like his predecessors, fears being seen as “soft” on Communism.
August 1964 – Gulf of Tonkin Incident.
What happens? How does Johnson respond?
How does U.S. domestic politics factor into Johnson’s decision-making?
1964 Election: Johnson sweeps to victory over Republican candidate Barry Goldwater.
War on many fronts
LBJ oversees a gradual, but dramatic, escalation of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
After Gulf of Tonkin:
Johnson initiates airstrikes targeting North Vietnam.
DRV sends troops south for first time.
DRV solicits more and more material assistance from China and the Soviet Union.
Johnson bases his decision making in Vietnam on three fears:
1) He feared U.S. military intervention on the ground in Vietnam could provoke responses from China and the Soviet Union.
2) He feared that dramatic U.S. intervention could topple support for the South Vietnamese government.
3) He feared getting bogged down in a foreign war could detract from his domestic political agenda.
WAR ON MANY FRONTS
1965 marks a massive increase in U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
By March 1965, Operation Rolling Thunder under way. U.S. Marines deployed to Vietnam.
Both the U.S./South Vietnam and Communist North Vietnam believe their best chance at victory lies on the battlefield.
How do both sides envision their paths to victory?
Dramatic U.S. troop deployments during 1965.
Johnson approves 100,000 U.S. servicemen to Vietnam.
Offensive tactics approved. U.S. takes the lead militarily.
DRV forces also going on the offensive.
War on many fronts
In spite of U.S. escalation, North Vietnam remains largely unimpeded in continuing armed resistance.
1967: Johnson Administration approves two-pronged strategy for tackling Communist threats across Vietnam.
1) Air war in North Vietnam.
2) Ground war in South Vietnam.
Sustained aerial bombings in North Vietnam have three primary objectives for U.S. policymakers.
1) Bolster South Vietnamese morale.
2) Prevent infiltration of Communist forces into South Vietnam.
3) Punish North Vietnamese until surrender is only option.
How effective is LBJ’s two-pronged strategy?
War on many fronts
North Vietnam is largely successful in negating U.S. military and technological advantages.
Hanoi remains flexible.
North Vietnam is largely rural and agricultural.
North Vietnam is supplied by South Vietnam.
North Vietnam is also supported by China and the Soviet Union.
U.S. policymakers are persistent in their belief that it is simply a matter of time until Hanoi capitulates.
THE TET OFFENSIVE
What was the Tet Offensive? Successful?
Early 1968: Three setbacks for Johnson Administration…
1) Growing anti-war activism in U.S.
2) War costs damaging domestic economy.
3) ”Wise Men” assessment of U.S. war effort.
March 31, 1968: LBJ addresses the nation.
Announces gradual draw down of U.S. armed combatants in Vietnam.
And?
How do domestic politics influence LBJ’s decision making at this juncture?
Ending the American War
Richard Nixon assumes U.S. presidency after electoral win in November 1968.
Who is Richard Nixon?
What do we need to know about him to understand him as a president?
”Peace with Honor…”
Ending the American War
Nixon comes into office hoping to end the war in a matter of months.
The goal of the Nixon Administration in Vietnam is to help establish a stable and independent South Vietnam.
The Nixon plan in Vietnam consists of:
1) Isolate North Vietnam diplomatically and politically. Negotiate with Moscow.
2) Intimidate North Vietnamese with Nixon’s “madman theory.”
Early 1969: Nixon initiates massive bombing campaign into Cambodia.
Why?
Nixon’s Vietnam strategy runs up against many of the same problems faced by his predecessors.
Ending the American war
By 1971, Nixon recognizes the limitations of his strategy in Vietnam.
Again, a re-election campaign is looming for the American president.
The “Pentagon Papers” appear in the New York Times.
Public mistrust of U.S. policymakers on the rise.
May 1971: Using backchannel with Hanoi, Nixon and Henry Kissinger offer to withdraw U.S. troops with no similar guarantee from North Vietnam.
Talks stall…
Ending the American War
North Vietnam launches massive offensive south of 17th parallel in hopes of bringing U.S. to the table.
Peace talks resume between D.C. and Hanoi in July 1972.
Saigon government is the sticking point in talks between D.C. and Hanoi.
Finally, North Vietnamese negotiators relent and drop demands regarding South Vietnamese leadership.
Similar to 1954 Geneva Accord, 1973 Peace Accord is fragile and flawed.
Status quo remains…
ENDing the American War
Nixon resigns from office in August 1974.
The burden of the Vietnam conflict falls to Gerald Ford.
Ford is hemmed in by Congress and wary of allowing Vietnam to consume his young and fragile presidency.
1975: North Vietnam assumes aggressive offensive posture in the South.
Capture Hue, Da Nang, and finally Saigon.
April 1975: Ford declares an end to U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
Four Questions
Lawrence is seeking to answer four questions regarding U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
1) What were the basic motives of the Vietnamese who fought against the United States?
2) Why did Vietnam become a focus of dispute among the world’s mightiest nations?
3) Why did the Vietnam War turn out the way that it did?
4) What are the legacies of the Vietnam War?
“The Day After” Movie Review
Due April 19, 2020 by 11:59pm.
"In no less than 1250, but no more than 1500 words, review the movie "The Day After" for its historical accuracy, purpose, moment, and persuasiveness."
Historical accuracy.
Purpose.
Moment.
Persuasiveness.
What do these terms mean? Come with your ideas next week.
HISTORY PPT/WILSON OP-ED.pptx
Woodrow Wilson, WWI, and the League of Nations HIST 1321 Presidents at war
Op-ed assignment
In no more than 1,000 words, and no less than 850, prepare an opinion piece suitable for publication in a major newspaper, dated January 1, 1917, advocating a new (and specific) American policy for the ongoing Great War. Take into account your strategic assessment of the war at that juncture and the domestic and international consequences of your advice.
Submit your assignment via Canvas AND as a Word document emailed to me.
Due Sunday, February 9 by 11:59pm/
What makes an effective op-ed?
Make an argument
This is the basis for the entire assignment.
Make an argument at the top of your op-ed.
It should be clear where you stand on the issue.
Use the title to indicate your position.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FOLLOW EVENTS AS THEY ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
Defend your argument
Think about the argument your making.
The “why?” question.
What are the strengths/weaknesses of your case?
List the strong points and use them to organize body paragraphs.
Use the weaknesses to anticipate counterarguments.
Evidence
Take five minutes.
Select a document from the Engel reader p. 79-106.
Explain how you would use this document in arguing your position in the op-ed.
Place the document in historical context.
Offer specific excerpts you might include in your op-ed.
Are there any weaknesses in your selected document?
Organization
Here is a suggested template. You don’t have to follow it, just here to help.
Introduction
State your policy recommendation.
Outline three supporting arguments.
What will your policy recommendation achieve?
Organization
Body Paragraphs
Paragraph One: State first supporting argument, evidence to support argument, transition into next paragraph.
Paragraph Two: State second supporting argument, evidence to support argument, transition into next paragraph.
Paragraph Three: State final supporting argument, evidence to support argument, transition into counterarguments.
Organization
Closing Paragraphs
Paragraph Four:
Anticipate counterarguments.
Dismantle them.
Re-emphasize why your course of action is best.
Conclusion: Restate your recommendation, answer your “why” question.
General tips
Be mindful of the publication date (Jan. 1, 1917).
Make an argument.
Defend your argument with specific evidence.
Stay on topic.
Stay organized.
Answer the “why?” Why is your policy recommendation the best course of action?
MAKE SURE TO SUBMIT VIA CANVAS AND EMAIL ME A WORD DOCUMENT.
“Goodbye iowa”
Take five minutes.
What is the author responding to?
What is his position?
What are his supporting arguments?
How effective is he in his organization, tone, style?
In preparing your own op-eds, what do you find useful about this example?
What needs improving?
“One Long Wilderness of Despair: Woodrow Wilson’s Stroke and the League of Nations”
What was Woodrow Wilson’s vision for the League of Nations?
Most of Wilson’s opponents in the Senate were “conservative internationalists.” How did their vision for peace differ from Wilson’s?
Why did the United States ultimately decide NOT to join the League of Nations? (Variety of possible answers)
HISTORY PPT/history final.docx
-The final will be an essay style prompt and response.
-There will be no word limit or length requirement.
-Open note and open book.
In studying for the final, think about the evolution of the presidency as an office, and the U.S. as a global power. How have these things changed over the 20th century? Look for trends, themes, transformations, etc. If you can isolate and articulate how these two things (POTUS and the U.S.) have changed over time AND be able to illustrate these changes, then you're in good shape!
Don't let the dates, names, places, wars overwhelm you. Use them selectively and efficiently to illustrate the changes that you see.
