Vietnam

Mr. Johnson's War—or Mr. Eisenhower's

Bibliographic Data

ID10434698
AuthorsEdward Cuddy (corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume65
Issue4
Pages351-374
Publication date2003-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Review of Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0034-6705 • E-ISSN: 1748-6858
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0034670500039073
OpenAlexW2138696580
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited19

Conventional wisdom pins responsibility for the Vietnam War primarily on Lyndon B. Johnson. This essay presents a revisionist argument, attempting to shift primary responsibility for the war on President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The case rests heavily on John F. Kennedy's challenge to historians: “How the hell” can they evaluate presidential performances unless they know the “real pressures” and the “real alternatives” confronting the occupiers of the Oval Office. In assessing those pressures, this essay concludes that Eisenhower had the unique luxury of a clean break from President Truman's commitments, thanks to the Vietnamese victory at Dien Bien Phu, and a clear-cut alternative provided by the Geneva Accords. Unfortunately, Eisenhower chose to ignore the Accords, committed America to South Vietnam, and played a major role, during and after his presidency, in creating the heavy pressures that shaped Johnson's Vietnam decisions

Argument (complex analysis · Political science · Politics · Presidency · Presidential system · Spanish Civil War · Victory · Vietnam War · Vietnamese · Law · Philosophy · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies

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