Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Historical Commentary: Vietnam And Revisionism, David Culver

Bridgewater Review

Last year General William Westmoreland told a Boston College audience that politicians caused America's defeat in Vietnam. Westmoreland’s charge reflects recent Vietnam War revisionism, the effort to rationalize America’s defeat by claiming that United States forces were prevented from winning. Besides the politicians, who reduced military spending, the revisionists’ cast of villains includes the media and antiwar dissenters, who turned the nation against the war, and various Presidents, who restricted military operations. If polls are to be believed, these interpretations are widely held by Americans, especially Vietnam veterans.