Detailed Notes on Consensus and the Vietnam War

Consensus

• The concept of consensus is a crucial organizing idea, representing an aspiration for Americanism that is broad and inclusive, especially prominent during the Depression and the New Deal.
• During World War II, the consensus was seen as an aspiration; dissent was often hidden, with racial divides and Japanese internment being examples of suppressed issues. Despite these hidden issues, the consensus was a powerful motivator.
• The consensus involved the idea of racial integration, with examples like integrating baseball and the armed forces, but these institutions were not fundamentally changed.
• The consensus promoted a singular American culture and politics, downplaying class divisions and emphasizing a suburban, middle-class ideal. There was less focus on class and race but more on gender, defining proper masculinity, femininity, and domesticity.
• The consensus aimed to cope with change while preserving the status quo and was closely tied to the Cold War, where rapid change was viewed as radical. This led to a paradoxical situation where individuality was encouraged as long as it conformed to the norm.
• Cultural forms like rock and roll that didn't fit the consensus needed to be either assimilated or ignored.
• Containment, initially aimed at the Soviets, was also used to prevent the spread of communism and subversion within the U.S. This involved maintaining conformity and suppressing difference.
• The consensus was challenged by various voices, including the Civil Rights Movement, which critiqued the exclusion of certain groups and the failure to address issues like suburban politics and policing abuses.
• Emerging social movements like the Black Panthers, the American Indian Movement, and the Chicano Movement rejected the consensus, viewing it as a lie that never included them.

Vietnam War

• American involvement in Vietnam further strained the consensus, highlighting paradoxes in American foreign policy.
• The Black Panther Party believed in proactive self-defense and community building rather than peaceful marches, viewing the consensus as ineffective.
• Vietnam became a crucible for American politics, foreign policy, and racial and gender policies.
• The Vietnam War's history dates back to the 1870s with French colonialism in Indochina. Ho Chi Minh, an anti-French rebel, sought independence for Vietnam, aligning with anti-colonial movements and later fighting against the Japanese, French, and Americans.
• After the French left, French Indochina was divided into Laos, Cambodia, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam, strategically important due to its location near India, China, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
• The U.S. aimed to promote independence but distrusted non-aligned nations due to the influence of China and the Soviet Union. The domino theory, which posited that if one nation fell to communism, others would follow, influenced U.S. policy.
• The Truman Doctrine aimed to contain Soviet and communist aggression by providing support to countries resisting communism.
• The Eisenhower Doctrine aimed to stop communist aggression before it started through massive retaliation and nuclear threat.
• The CIA was used for covert operations, including coups and supporting military dictatorships, as highlighted by the Doolittle Commission, which advocated for active intervention while keeping the American public uninformed.
• The Cuban Revolution and the Bay of Pigs failure led the U.S. to rely on the Truman Doctrine in Vietnam, providing guns, money, and troops without limit.
• The polarization of counterculture and the shortcomings of civil rights undermined Americans' trust in foreign policy and the armed forces.

Stages of the Vietnam War

• Eisenhower supported South Vietnam after the French exit, sending guns, money, and advisors.
• The CIA orchestrated a coup to remove the unpopular president of South Vietnam, but this did not stabilize the region.
• Johnson escalated the war following the Gulf of Tonkin incident, obtaining congressional authorization to respond to communist aggression.
• Operation Rolling Thunder involved massive airstrikes on North Vietnam, led by Curtis LeMay, who advocated bombing North Vietnam back to the Stone Age.
• Escalation involved increasing troop deployment to protect airfields, leading to further expansion of the conflict.
• The Tet Offensive in January 1968 shook American confidence, as the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong launched major attacks, disproving Johnson's claims that the war was nearly over.
• The Tet Offensive led to the terms "bright shining lie".

Key Concepts and Policies

• Agent Orange, a defoliant, was used to eliminate jungle cover, and Napalm, a burning gelatinous gasoline, was used to destroy villages, leading to widespread destruction and poisoning.
• Walter Cronkite reported on the nightly news that the war was a quagmire, further eroding public trust. The visual of the street execution during the Tet Offensive as well, swayed public opinion.
• Nixon ran on a platform of "Vietnamization," aiming to transfer the responsibility of defending South Vietnam to the South Vietnamese, reversing the Truman Doctrine and the domino theory.
• Nixon's policies included the "madman theory," which aimed to convince North Vietnam and China that he was unpredictable, and escalating airstrikes while expanding the war into Cambodia and Laos through covert operations.
• The Pentagon Papers revealed the government's hidden strategies and the futility of the war, contributing to public discontent and distrust.

Imagery and Public Perception

• Televised images of the war, including soldiers, helicopters, Buddhist monks protesting, airstrikes, and casualties, brought the conflict into American homes, unlike in World War II.
• Images like the street execution during the Tet Offensive and the use of napalm and Agent Orange raised questions about the morality and purpose of the war.
• Growing anti-war protests, including those by Vietnam Veterans against the War, class and race, reflected increasing public opposition.

Outcomes and Implications

• Nixon negotiated with China to facilitate talks with North Vietnam, leading to the U.S. withdrawal in 1973.
• South Vietnam fell in 1975, disproving the domino theory and highlighting the potential flaws in Cold War policy.
• By 1973, the consensus had collapsed, with widespread distrust in American culture, politics, and leadership such as trust in figures like Nina demised, Johnson, and Nixon.
• After Vietnam, the U.S. had to reassess its Cold War strategies and adapt to a new geopolitical landscape.