The American Vision © 2011 Virginia Edition

Unit 8: A Time of Upheaval, 1954-1980

Historical Thinking Activities

Assignment: Analyzing Positions on the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War bitterly divided the nation when it was fought and for many years afterwards. Supporters and opponents differed on many points, including whether a communist government in Vietnam threatened the United States; whether communism was necessarily a bad political system for Vietnam; whether American intervention was justified; whether the war could be won; and whether specific tactics, such as bombing, were moral or effective.

In their speeches and written documents on Vietnam, public figures often mingled arguments. When you analyze primary sources that are meant to persuade, it is important to scrutinize them closely and separate them logically—you want to break each argument into its simplest component. This is what you will do with the sources below before you write up your analysis of 1) how persuasive the speakers or writers are; and 2) how well they are responding to each other's arguments.

Assignment Task List
Step 1: Review how to analyze primary and secondary sources on pages R19 and R20 of the Skills Handbook in The American Vision. Remember it is always useful to the historian to know two things about a source: biographical information about the author, and what was happening at the time it was written or produced.

Step 2: Review your textbook's material on the Vietnam War to remind yourself of the general course of the war and of shifts in public opinion.

Step 3: Read all of the primary sources below, researching the author where necessary. The sites for each are listed in order.

Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
President Lyndon Johnson's Address at Johns Hopkins University, 1967

CNN Interactive: Vietnam
1967 Letter Exchange between Lyndon Baines Johnson and Ho Chi Minh

George Washington University, National Security Archive
Letter from Clark Clifford to President Johnson, 1965

Time: The Debate
Time magazine's report on a 1965 debate at Georgetown University

Step 4: For each source, list the different arguments being made. There could be only one argument, but there might well be more than one (Someone could for example, say the war is too expensive and the war costs too many American lives—those are two arguments.)

Step 5: Compare your lists to see whether the arguments are about different issues or the same issue (but taking an opposite point of view).

Step 6: Write up a report on your comparison. In your report, answer these questions: Were the people addressing the same issues? Did you find one or another speaker or writer more persuasive? Why?

Step 7: Review your work against the checklist below. Revise your report as necessary.