The vietnam war vietnamese and american perspectives pdf

Teaching the vietnam war from the vietnamese perspective. Controversies about what americans call the vietnam war that go back to the 1960s live on in classrooms today. A history is an extraordinary study of exceptional scholarship and unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library vietnam war collections and supplemental studies lists. That is simply how they viewed the war from their perspective.

Akin to the monikers of other wars, the names vietnam war and american war fail to fully encapsulate the experiences of the groups of people involved, the irreversible damage. Many standard american histories of the vietnam war at least those arguing the war was winnablecontend that the us army squandered its chances at victory in southeast asia because of misguided. The unending war jljy god, weve kicked the vietnam syndrome once and for all. A documentary history from american and vietnamese perspectives. American views on the vietnam war historical society of. The vietnam war an australian perspective compiled from records and historical articles by r freshfield introduction what is referred to as the vietnam war began for the us in the early 1950s when it deployed military advisors to support south vietnam forces. Vietnamese and american perspectives jayne werner and luu doan huynh an improbable opportunity. Nguyen 1 jennifer nguyen professor carlson expository. Failure in vietnam and afghanistan a comparative analysis of the. The official tally of american pows who were captured by the north vietnamese army nva during the vietnam war totaled 766, and of these 114 died while in captivity2. Much of the war was fought in a nontraditional guerilla style, and there were many casualties on both sides. On april 30, 1975, the war came to an abrupt end when saigon transferred hands.

Vietnam war 195475, conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam and its allies in south vietnam, the viet cong, against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. From the outbreak of the vietnamese civil war, the united states became more anxious to hold. It would be difficult to overstate the impact on the united states of the war in. This volume derives from an unprecedented seminar held at columbia universitys school of international and public affairs in november 1990. I teach about this war and its effects on american domestic politics, foreign relations, and society and culture, and the interconnections among these, in a seminar for history majors and minors called the united states and the vietnam war.

While the list of books about this conflict includes hundreds of enlightening works, we pick ten of the best texts offering illuminating perspectives on the war, its context and the effects it had on vietnam. President lyndon johnson had adopted foreign participation in the war as a key component in the american strategy for vietnam. While we might have made it our war, the vietnam war was about one group of people, the vietnamese. This effort became a war in august 1945 when the viet minh overthrew french. One popular interpretation is that american leaders feared direct chinese. Various explana vv tions have come from scholars with american perspectives. Memoirs of a victim turned soldier accounts of the vietnam war from the perspective of vietnamese are often overlooked, and books by south vietnamese soldiers in particular are relatively rare. The vietnam war was a period of american involvement in southeast asia from 19611975 in which u. A vietnamese perspective on the wars war is boring.

This lesson plan asks students to analyze the local context of the vietnam war, and to consider the impact of american and french policies on the countrys struggle for independence and. The photographs bellow are often excluded from our textbooks. Legacies of the vietnam war oxford academic journals. A topical section offers essays that highlight creative and effective ways to teach important topics, drawing on recently available primary sources and exploring the war s most critical aspectsthe cold war, decolonization, vietnamese perspectives, the french in vietnam. As an american who has lived in the vietnamese capital for three years, i rarely hear the conflict discussed. A peoples history of the vietnam war the new press. The protagonists in neales history of the american war as the vietnamese refer to it are common people struggling to shape the outcome of events unfolding on an international stage american foot soldiers who increasingly opposed american military policy on the ground in vietnam, local vietnamese activists and guerrillas fighting to. Vietnam war, as it is remembered in the united states, is known in vietnam as the american war. Use this page to find primary sources and documentbased teaching activities related to the vietnam war. Every major southern city was initially lost to the north then retaken us media makes it seem worse than it really was and helps turn public opinion against the war heavy losses for vietcong and regular north vietnamese army overall, a victory for the usa.

Akin to the monikers of other wars, the names vietnam war and american war fail to fully encapsulate the experiences of the groups of people involved, the irreversible damage done, and the pain dealt to all sides. These obligations consisted of feeding, clothing, medical treatment, mail, and delivery of parcels from prisoners. The vietnam war, as seen by the victors the atlantic. As the war continued and more young men were drafted, it became. Other fresh perspectives on the topic include american intelligence failure in vietnam, the international dimensions of americas defeat in vietnam, and the foreign. The vietnam war article 1960s america khan academy. Many of these important topics in american historythe cold war, the civil rights movement, the anti war movement, as well as the vietnamese experienceare seen through fresh and expanded perspectives. The vietnamese communist perspective in the last decade, there have been a growing number of scholarly writings on the vietnam war seen from the communist side.

The vietnam war story begins with patriotic ancestors who opened the drama decades before their country had even begun to penetrate american consciousness. Look at the sources bellow and create an interpretation of the vietnamese perspective of the vietnam war. Having recently fought a bloody civil war against communists in the korean war with american help, south korea made offers to send troops to support south vietnam. Iconic music from the vietnam era, audio recordings from inside the johnson and nixon administrations, and. We begin by placing the vietnamese american population in the historical context of the displacement from vietnam and resettlement in the united states. Smith identified three broad phases in the evolution of western scholarship on the communist side of.

The latest project from documentary filmmakers ken burns and lynn novick looks at the u. During this time marine lieutenant philip caputo landed at da nang with the first ground combat unit deployed to vietnam. Like others who came before them to america, the vietnamese have. To put the vietnam war in perspective three questions must be addressed. American motives in the vietnam war, from a realist perspective, were irrational, since the us had no explicit interests in vietnam. So said president george bush in a euphoric victory statement at the end of the gulf war, suggesting the extent to which vietnam continued to prey on the american psyche. The vietnamese communist perspective in the last decade, there have been a growing numberof scholarly writings on the vietnam war seen from the communist side. America and the democratic republic of vietnam s 1947 initiative mark bradley waging revolutionary war.

However, this article argues that in order to understand american motives behind the war, neorealist views must be. It is unclear how the vietnamese government figures correlate to other reports of 300330,000 pavnvc missinginaction from the vietnam war. Vietnamese army, the allies of the viet cong, and american troops. Knowing nothing about the vietnamese or vietnam, african american soldiers interpreted their experiences in the vietnam war from a perspective shaped almost entirely by their experiences back in the united states.

American pirsoners of war in vietnam 2205 words 123. Teaching the vietnam war from the vietnamese perspective tlhe vietnamese struggle for independence began with the french colonization of indochina in the late nineteenth century and gained steam with the rapid development of nationalist movements from the 1920s onward. In addition to jayne werner and luu doan huynh, the contributors are mark bradley, william duiker, david elliott, kristin pelzer, george vickers, james harrison, george herring, ronald spector, paul joseph, jeffrey clarke, ngo vinh long, benedict kiernan, marilyn. The attack by north vietnamese army and viet cong guerrilla forces in south vietnam known as the tet offensive began fifty years ago on january 30th, 1968. Many of the documents, photographs, and other sources found on this page are featured in the remembering vietnam. Keywords vietnam war scholarship and films, rethinking vietnam war, american gis and. More insidious, however, yet less wellknown to the general public, was the chemical war waged from 1961 to 1971against south vietnam. Twelve critical episodes in the vietnam war exhibition. It was one the largest and most important battles of the long vietnamese war. It was part of a larger regional conflict as well as a manifestation of the cold war.

Why the north won the vietnam war free pdf d0wnl0ad, audio books. Ho chi minh, the leader of the viet minh vietnamese independence league and the. The vietnam war was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. Here are two very different accounts of that same extraordinary day.

This thesis closely examines the american and south vietnamese pacification efforts in. A topical section offers essays that highlight creative and effective ways to teach important topics, drawing on recently available primary sources and exploring the war s most critical aspectsthe cold war, decolonization, vietnamese perspectives, the french in vietnam, the role of the hmong, and the tet offensive. Offering a unique and impressively informed and informative perspective, vietnam s american war. Sorrow of war offers the north vietnamese perspective by tracing the. The united states and the vietnam war the british library. His collection incorporates the vietnamese perspective to an unusual degree, his timeframe starts from as early as 1861, and hunts selection of. Three generations of welleducated, politically engaged vietnamese faced french colonial control as a force that was penetrating and upending their world. Vietnamese and american perspectives jayne werner, luu doan huynh on. The vietnam war has scarred, transformed and inspired countless writers and art practitioners. Vietnamese, 1990 and the american war in vietnamese memory in the vietnam war. At the seminar, leading western diplomatic and military historians and vietnam scholars met with prominent vietnamese communists to reflect on the vietnam war. During the tet offensive, provincial capitals, villages, and military bases in the u. Many african american soldiers saw a close connection between the poverty that most blacks experienced in the united.