The Future

The American mindset during Vietnam rested on the notion of America as a rolemodel for the rest of the world and the notion of the "City Upon a Hill." What other American conflicts throughout history reflect the situation at Vietnam, and how? How about wars we currently are fighting in (Iraq, Afghanistan)?

The Conclusion

Was Richard Nixon's foreign policy an effective end to the Vietnam War? What would Lyndon Johnson and John F. Kennedy have done? What do you think should have been done?

The Credibility Gap

Much of the internal turmoil in America during the Vietnam war was a direct consequence of the credibility gap. If the U.S. government did not censor media coverage as actively as it did during Vietnam, how would that have affected the antiwar movement? How about other counterculture movements?

The Movement

The Vietnam war legitimized anti-government sentiment during that period. How did the Vietnam war interact with other American cultural movements? What may have happened to those movements without the Vietnam war?

American Ideals

Were American "sentimental imperialism" (imperialism to spread ideals that are viewed as beneficial to the welfare of the rest of the world, like democracy) and the use of violence to spread American ideals consistent with the concept of the "City Upon a Hill?"

The Backdrop

How did the 50's make the United States culturally receptive to the concept of "sentimental imperialism" and the Vietnam War?