The "silent majority" speech : Richard Nixon, the Vietnam War, and the origins of the new right / Scott Laderman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Laderman, Scott, 1971- author.

Contributor:

Henry Putney Beers Fund.

Series:

Critical moments in American history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994.

Right and left (Political science).

Oratory.

United States--Politics and government--1969-1974.

United States.

Politics and government.

Vietnam--Foreign relations--United States.

Vietnam.

International relations.

United States--Foreign relations--Vietnam.

Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994. Great silent majority.

Nixon, Richard M.

Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994--Oratory.

Speeches, addresses, etc., American.

Presidents--United States--Messages.

Presidents.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Public opinion.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975.

Public opinion.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Protest movements.

Protest movements.

Conservatism--United States.

Conservatism.

Right and left (Political science)--United States.

Diplomatic relations.

Physical Description:

xii, 181 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Routledge, 2020.

Summary:

"The 'Silent Majority' Speech treats Richard Nixon's address of November 3, 1969, as a lens through which to examine the latter years of the Vietnam War and their significance to U.S. global power and American domestic life. The book uses Nixon's speech -- which introduced the policy of 'Vietnamization' and cited the so-called bloodbath theory as a justification for continued U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia -- as a fascinating moment around which to build an analysis of the last years of the war. For Nixon's strategy to be successful, he requested the support of what he called the 'great silent majority,' a term that continues to resonate in American political culture. Scott Laderman moves beyond the war's final years to address the administration's hypocritical exploitation of moral rhetoric and its stoking of social divisiveness to achieve policy aims. Laderman explores the antiwar and pro-war movements, the shattering of the liberal consensus, and the stirrings of the right-wing resurgence that would come to define American politics. Supplemental primary sources make this book an ideal tool for introducing students to historical research. The 'Silent Majority' Speech is critical reading for those studying American political history and U.S.-Asian/Southeast Asian relations"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: Toward "peace"

Richard Nixon, the Cold War, and Southeast Asia

Vietnamization and the illusion of peace

Nixon and the bloodbath theory

The "great silent majority" and right-wing revanchism

Epilogue: Conjuring Nixon in the twenty-first century

Richard Nixon, "Address to the nation on the war in Vietnam," November 3, 1969

Mrs. Dennis W. Harrison to Richard Nixon, November 4, 1969

Commentary by George Salem, KWGN Television, November 5, 1969

Editors, "President on solid ground in search for Vietnam peace," Orlando Sentinel, November 5, 1969

Robert T. Park, et al., to Richard M. Nixon, November 17, 1969

Excerpt from Colonel Robert D. Heinl, Jr., "The collapse of the armed forces," Armed forces journal (June 7, 1971)

Excerpt from George Mct. Kahin, "History and the bloodbath theory in Vietnam," New York times, December 6, 1969

Richard Nixon, "Address to the nation on the situation in Southeast Asia," April 30, 1970.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Henry Putney Beers Fund.

ISBN:

9780415347464

0415347467

9780415347495

0415347491

OCLC:

1110673525

Publisher Number:

99982190973