Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War

In Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War David F. Shmitz provides students of US history and the Vietnam era with an up-to-date analysis of Nixon’s Vietnam policy in a brief and accessible book that addresses the main controversies of the Nixon years. Richard Nixon came into office seeking a decisive victory in Vietnam and expanded the war in hopes of upholding a policy of “containment” protecting America’s credibility and defying the growing antiwar movement. However by 1971 the president was forced to significantly de-escalate the American presence and seek a negotiated end to the war. Aided by recently declassified documents Schmitz provides a comprehensive analysis of Nixon’s Vietnam policy during the first years of his administration clearly demonstrating that Nixon pursued military victory and providing a new periodization for our understanding of the Vietnam War.