"Fighting the Wrong War": Radical Pacifists and the Vietnam Antiwar Movement, 1962-1964

The Vietnam antiwar movement developed in stages that reflected the escalation of American involvement in South Vietnam. Between 1962 and 1964 radical pacifist leaders responded to this escalation by questioning the legitimacy of an American military presence in South Vietnam, identifying the issues of supporting a troubled national government that allegedly failed to meet its commitments to social justice, and challenging the foundational Cold War policies that defined American involvement in Southeast Asia. Through their collected response, the radical pacifists concluded that America’s military intervention against Communism in South Vietnam could not succeed because of the political, social, and economic instability of that country. For the radical pacifists, the American government’s only option was an immediate and complete withdrawal of its military personnel from South Vietnam. This thesis examines the work of radical pacifists published in Liberation magazine, and other key pacifist documents published during this period, to understand their contribution to the early stages of the antiwar movement.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

History

Grantor dc:publisher

Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina

Year dc:date.issued

2016

Author dc:creator

• Elich, Steven Thomas

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Flood, Dawn

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Anderson, Mark
• Germani, Ian

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

https://doi.org/10.82465/4435

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uregina.scholaris.ca:10294/7699