To Americans aged 60 and over, the Vietnam War stands as one of the most traumatic and significant of world events. The American phase of the war lasted for over a decade, led to the deaths of over 58,000 US military personnel, shattered our politics, and polarized a generation of young people. The war changed American culture, society, race relations, gender relations, and gave rise to deep distrust in government. The Vietnam War transformed America. Today’s college students are largely unfamiliar with the conflict. It has fallen between the cracks, a conflict rarely discussed in detail in college courses anymore.
This lecture, part of the Cavalier Travels Destinations & Discovery Faculty Webinar Series, surveyed how the Vietnam War changed America, and concluded with some discussion of why the study of this war, with its many difficult lessons and controversies, remains of vital interest for all Americans.
William Hitchcock is the James Madison Professor of History at the University of Virginia. His latest book, The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s, was a New York Times bestseller.
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