Bibliography
Bator, Francis M. “No Good Choices: LBJ and the Vietnam/Great Society Connection.” Diplomatic History, 32 no. 3 (June 2008): 309-240. Accessed April 18, 2022. https://academic.oup/dh/article/32/3/309/357107. Bator uses his insider status (was an undersecretary in the Johnson years) to comment on Johnson’s handling of the war, and the social legislation. He concludes that while Johnson may not have made the best choices from 1965 on, there were in fact no choices open to him that would have been better.
Bundy, McGeorge. “The Case for Withdrawal.” In America in the World: A History in Documents from the War with Spain to the War on Terror, edited by Jeffrey A. Engel, Mark Atwood Lawrence, and Andrew Preston, 264-266. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014. Primary source for students to review showing McBundy’s thoughts on whether or not the United States could withdraw from Vietnam in xxxx and what the consequences would be.
Burbank, Jane and Cooper Frederick. Empires in World History: Power and the Politics of Difference. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010. Useful for students to see how the authors define the difference between an empire and a nation, and how once those definitions are accepted how they overlap and evolve over time.
Dallek, Robert. “Lyndon Johnson ad Vietnam: The Making of. Tragedy.” Diplomatic History, 20, no. 2 (Spring 1996): 147-162. Accessed April 29, 2022. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24913374. Dallek’s view of the Johnson presidency during the full terms. In this he comments on the tension between Vietnam and Johnson’s desire to fulfill his social policy dreams.
“Evaluating the Success of the Great Society.” Washington Post. Accessed August 3, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/national/great-society-at-50/ This website provides a month by month listing of all of the legislation passed by the Johnson White House during the Great Society and War of Poverty years. It also provides students with commentary on the relative success in several key areas, including Civil Rights, Housing, Immigration, and more.
Helsing, Jeffrey W. Johnson’s War/Johnson’s Great Society: The Guns and Butter Trap. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2000. More detailed than some secondary sources listed here, Helsing also traces the trajectory of both the Great Society and Vietnam during Johnson’s full term. Helsing’s work stands out from an organization viewpoint as he discusses events from the perspectives of major players involved, including Johnson himself.
Humphrey, Hubert. “The Case for Withdrawal.” In America in the World: A History in Documents from the War with Spain to the War on Terror, edited by Jeffrey A. Engel, Mark Atwood Lawrence, and Andrew Preston, 264-266. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014. Much like the Bundy article from the same book, students can use this source to see the words of someone involved in the action at the time being studied.
Immerwahr, Daniel. How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States. New York: Picador, 2019. The author’s take on different forms of empire and how the United States may continue to be one even in its territories are diminished provides students with a framework to start thinking about how Vietnam affected programs designed to assist at home. This book is a great resource for a history classroom beyond this unit.
Johnson, Lyndon Baines. “Why America Fights.” In America in the World: A History in Documents from the War with Spain to the War on Terror, edited by Jeffrey A. Engel, Mark Atwood Lawrence, and Andrew Preston, 267 - 269. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014. Another primary source, this time president Johnson’s own words about why the United States needs to be involved in Vietnam. Great for making comparisons to his reasons for the social programs that he championed.
“Kennan and Containment, 1947.” U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/kennan. This short article does a great job in explaining how the theory of containment came to be. This will be a good resource at the start of the unit for students that have not already begin to study the Cold War in other ways.
King, Martin Luther Jr. “The War and Damage Done.” In America in the World: A History in Documents from the War with Spain to the War on Terror, edited by Jeffrey A. Engel, Mark Atwood Lawrence, and Andrew Preston, 272-274. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014. In this primary source King describes the negative effect that the war in Vietnam is having on the poor and people from minority groups in the United States. Students can begin to judge the effectiveness of the War on Poverty using King’s words.
LaFeber, Walter. The Deadly Bet: LBJ, Vietnam, and the 1968 Election. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2005. LaFeber describes Johnson’s balancing act as a wager that was made. Would the economy remain robust enough to support the increase in social programs that Johnson wanted as well as the cost of escalation in Southeast Asia? This is the question that LaFeber attempts to answer with his work here.
“Lyndon B. Johnson, Commencement Address at the University of Michigan (“Great Society” Speech), May 22, 1964.” Bill of Rights Institute. Accessed July 25, 2022.
https://billofrightsinstitute.org/activities/lyndon-b-johnson-commencement-address-at-the-university-of-michigan-great-society-speech-may-22-1964. Transcript of the speech in which Johnson began to announce his Great Society. Students can study Johnson’s rationale in his own words.
“Modern History Sourcebook: President Lyndon B. Johnson: The War on Poverty, March 1964.” Internet history sourcebooks. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1964johnson-warpoverty.asp. Similar to above, this speech transcript allows students to see Johnson’s words introducing his War on Poverty.
Woods, Randall B. “The Politics of Idealism: Lyndon Johnson, Civil Rights, and Vietnam.” Diplomatic History, 31, no.1 (April 1964): 1-18. Accessed April 18, 2022. https://academic.oup.com/article/31/1/1/356070. This source also traces the Johnson years of decision between his social programs and the need to commit more resources in Vietnam.
Woods, Randall B. LBJ: Architect of American Ambition. New York: Free Press, 2006. This work expands on the Johnson work by Woods above, including readings about Johnson’s pre-presidency days. Some passages useful for students to see that Johnson’s emphasis on social programs came from a much longer-term interest and commitment in helping those less fortunate in the United States, and was not just a knee-jerk continuation of Kennedy programs already in progress.
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