Vietnam and the American Political Tradition: The Politics of Dissent

by Randall B. Woods

Overview

Many came to see cold war liberals during the Vietnam War as willing to invoke the democratic ideal, while at the same time tolerating dictatorships in the cause of anticommunism. This volume of essays demonstrates how opposition to the war, the military-industrial complex, and the national security state crystallized in a variety of different and often divergent political traditions. Indeed, for many of the individuals discussed, dissent was a decidedly conservative act in that they felt the war threatened traditional values, mores, and institutions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521010009
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/24/2003
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	334
Product dimensions:	6.02(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.94(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction Randall B. Woods; 1. Anti-imperialism in US foreign relations Frank Ninkovich; 2. World War II, Congress, and the roots of postwar American foreign policy Randall B. Woods; 3. The progressive dissent: Ernest Gruening and Vietnam Robert D. Johnson; 4. 'Come home, America': the story of George McGovern Thomas J. Knock; 5. Congress must draw the line: senator Frank Church and the opposition to the Vietnam War and the imperial presidency David F. Schmitz; 6. Dixie's Dove: J. William Fulbright, the Vietnam War, and the American South Randall B. Woods; 7. Advice and dissent: Mike Mansfield and the Vietnam War Donald A. Ritchie; 8. The reluctant 'volunteer': the origins of Senator Albert A. Gore's opposition to the Vietnam War Kyle Longley; 9. A delicate balance: John Sherman Cooper and the Republican opposition to the Vietnam War Fredrik Logevall; 10. Friendly fire: Lyndon Johnson and the challenge to containment H. W. Brands; 11. Richard Nixon, Congress and the War in Vietnam, 1969–74 Robert D. Schulzinger.

Editorial Reviews

"The war in Vietnam was, like the Civil War, one of the formative, tragic events in American history. This splendid collection tells the important story of those in Congress who launched a brave, and at first lonely, effort to end the conflict that they believed was corroding America's finest values." Ronald Steel, University of Southern California

"Highly recommended." Choice

"Vietnam and the American Political Tradition is a work of importance to historians and political scientists." The Journal of Interdisciplinary History

From the Publisher