Would you want to support a communist regime after Vietnam?

Question

Description

YOU HAVE TO USE THE DOCUMENT I PROVIDED

Overview:

The Vietnam War has always been one of America's most controversial wars. Today we will focus on the battling historical interpretations of the conflict. 

Historians cannot agree on anything about the conflict. In the decade or so after the Vietnam War, most scholars wrote critically of the United States' intervention in Indochina. Three broad positions have emerged from this heated scholarship.

The orthodox scholars follow the traditional doctrine that America’s involvement in the war was unwinnable and unjust. These arguments came straight from the anti-war movement we will study on Thursday.

The revisionists believed that the war was a noble cause and Vietnam, below the 17th parallel, was a viable and stable country, but policies and military tactics were improperly executed.

The debates between the orthodox and revisionists scholars have focused on the authoritarian rule of Ngo Dinh Diem, the leader of South Vietnam, and the leadership of American presidents and other top officials.

Orthodox scholars argue that Diem was a corrupt, tyrannical puppet, while revisionists believe Diem was an independent leader who knew what was necessary to allow his young country to survive. According to the orthodox scholars, American presidents John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson, and other top officials did their best to control the situation in Vietnam, though the war was doomed from the beginning. Revisionists do not believe the war was lost on the battlefield but was lost due to poor decisions and lack of attention to the war.

Most recently, post-revisionists (there are always post-revisionists) have taken a completely different perspective and argued that the United States did not lose the war but had won the war by late 1970.

The situation in Vietnam remained messy by 1970, but the Chinese and Soviets communists had failed to takeover the region and international communism was discredited. In contrast, the United States had shown the world it would commit overwhelming resources to defend democracy/capitalism. Would you want to support a communist regime after Vietnam?

ASSIGNMENT:

A historiographical

 (Links to an external site.)

analysis of the Vietnam War. In no more than 500 words, explain which interpretation of the Vietnam War - orthodox, revisions, or post-revisionist - you find most useful for understanding the conflict. In this short essay, you should first explain your historiographical position, quote the arguments of at least one historian from the reading (document provided) , and include all relevant citations.

Specifically, your short essay should include:

A thesis statement explaining which historiographical you find most persuasive

At least one quote from a supporting book from reading

Correct use of citations for all references