The Tragedy of Vietnam

289 Pages·2017·4.717 MB·English

by  Patrick J. Hearden

The Tragedy of Vietnam
The Tragedy of Vietnam is a brief and accessible text providing a comprehensive over-
view of the causes and consequences of the Vietnam War. Patrick J. Hearden
offers historical background of the conflict and examines its long-term con-
sequences on a regional and global scale. This fifth edition includes expanded
discussions of postwar American–Vietnamese relationships and outlines the
ways in which the Vietnam War experience has shaped foreign-policy debates
in the United States up until the present day.
Patrick J. Hearden is Professor Emeritus of Diplomatic History at Purdue
University, U.S.A.

The Tragedy of Vietnam

Fifth Edition
Patrick J. Hearden
Fifth edition published 2018
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Patrick J. Hearden
The right of Patrick J. Hearden to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or
other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by HarperCollins 1991
Fourth edition published by Routledge 2012
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hearden, Patrick J., 1942- author.
Title: The tragedy of Vietnam / by Patrick J. Hearden.
Description: 5th edition. | New York : Routledge, 2017. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017004099 (print) | LCCN 2017020100 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781315164397 (ebook) | ISBN 9781138632677 (alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Vietnam War, 1961-1975—United States. |
United States—Foreign relations—Indochina. | Indochina—Foreign
relations—United States. | United States—Foreign
relations—1945-1989.
Classification: LCC DS558 (ebook) | LCC DS558 .H42 2017 (print) |
DDC 959.704/3373—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017004099
ISBN: 978-1-138-63267-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-63265-3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-16439-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK
In Memory of My Father
One day, in another faraway place, other teenage Americans may fight and die for a reason
as criminal as our mere reluctance to discuss Vietnam. For if we do not speak of it, others
will surely rewrite the script.
An American Veteran of the Vietnam War, 1984

Contents
Preface to the Fifth Edition xi
Acronyms xv
Map of Southeast Asia xvi
1 The French Indochina Empire 1
The Emergence of Vietnam 1
The Establishment of French Rule 5
The Roots of Nationalism and Communism 10
The Rise of the Vietminh 15
Document 1-1 Jules Ferry on Colonialism and the
Preservation of Capitalism 21
Document 1-2 Appeal on the Founding of the
Indochinese Communist Party, February 18, 1930 22
Document 1-3 Declaration of Independence of the
DRV, September 2, 1945 24
Chronological List of Main Events 27
Study Questions 27
2 The Dream of a Pax Americana 28
Blueprints for a New World Order 28
The First Indochina War 33
The Crisis of World Capitalism 38
The Bao Dai Regime 45
Document 2-1 State Department Policy Statement
on Indochina Prepared on September 27, 1948 50
viii Contents
Document 2-2 Problem Paper Prepared by a Working
Group in the State Department on February 1, 1950 53
Document 2-3 Paper on Indochina Prepared in the State
Department on March 27, 1952 57
Chronological List of Main Events 62
Study Questions 62
3 America’s Mandarin 63
The Road to Dien Bien Phu 63
The Geneva Peace Settlement 67
The Birth of a Client State 72
The Revolt in the Rice Fields 78
Document 3-1 The Final Declaration on Indochina of the
Geneva Conference Promulgated on July 21, 1954 84
Document 3-2 Report on the Covert Operations Conducted
by the Saigon Military Mission in 1954 and 1955 87
Document 3-3 John Foster Dulles, Report on Meeting
with Chiefs of American Missions, March 2, 1955 92
Chronological List of Main Events 94
Study Questions 94
4 The Summons of the Trumpet 95
The Global Domino Theory 95
The Second Indochina War 99
The Growth of the Vietcong 104
The Plot to Topple Diem 110
Document 4-1 State Department Cable to Ambassador Henry
Cabot Lodge, Jr., in Saigon on August 24, 1963 116
Document 4-2 Ambassador Lodge Cable to the State
Department on October 5, 1963 118
Document 4-3 National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy
Cable to Ambassador Lodge on October 30, 1963 120
Chronological List of Main Events 121
Study Questions 122
5 The Master of Deceit 123
Political Disorder in South Vietnam 123
The Gulf of Tonkin Affair 130
Contents ix
The Rhetoric of Restraint 133
The Decision to Bomb North Vietnam 140
Document 5-1 The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution,
August 7, 1964 147
Document 5-2 Discussion on When to Begin Bombing
North Vietnam, September 9, 1964 148
Document 5-3 Memorandum from McGeorge Bundy to
President Lyndon B. Johnson, February 7, 1965 151
Chronological List of Main Events 156
Study Questions 157
6 The Escalating Military Stalemate 158
The Dispatch of American Ground Troops 158
The Protracted War of Attrition 164
The American Antiwar Movement 171
The Tet Offensive 175
Document 6-1 Memorandum on Combat Troops in
South Vietnam, July 1, 1965 182
Document 6-2 Notes for a Memorandum on Increasing
American Troops in Vietnam, July 20, 1965 184
Document 6-3 Notes from Lyndon B. Johnson’s
Meeting with Advisory Group, March 26, 1968 188
Chronological List of Main Events 190
Study Questions 190
7 Withdrawal Without Victory 191
The Madman Theory 191
The Vietnamization Policy 195
The Paris Peace Treaty 201
The Fall of Saigon 207
Document 7-1 Richard Nixon, Address on the War in
Vietnam, November 3, 1969 213
Document 7-2 Statement on Vietnam Peace Treaty
Negotiations, October 26, 1972 216
Document 7-3 Richard Nixon, Letter to Prime Minister
Pham Van Dong, February 1, 1973 221
Chronological List of Main Events 223
Study Questions 224