Questions Flashcards
(10 cards)
What was the Liberal Consensus?
The Liberal Consensus was a post-war agreement across U.S. political elites that the government should promote economic growth, fight poverty, defend democracy, and contain communism.
When did the Liberal Consensus collapse?
The Liberal Consensus collapsed in the late 1960s.
What caused the collapse of the Liberal Consensus?
The collapse was due to failures in the Vietnam War, civil rights unrest, urban riots, and growing distrust of the government.
What were the consequences of the collapse of the Liberal Consensus?
The consequences included conservative backlash, political polarization, and the rise of the new right.
Why did Vietnam become the focus of debate among powerful countries in the 1950s-1970s?
Vietnam symbolized Cold War tensions, with the U.S. viewing it as a test of containing communism and the USSR and China seeing it as part of global anti-colonial movements.
What were the strategies of attrition used by North Vietnam and the U.S.?
Both sides aimed to wear down the other over time; the U.S. used firepower and search and destroy missions, while North Vietnam relied on political will and guerrilla warfare.
What made the 1950s a seedbed for discontent in the 1960s?
The 1950s masked deep racial, gender, and generational inequalities, with suburban conformity and suppressed dissent creating frustrations that exploded in the 1960s.
Which social movement was most consequential in the 1960s?
The civil rights movement was the most consequential as it reshaped national laws and inspired other movements.
What was the state of the U.S. army in Vietnam by 1969?
By 1969, the U.S. army faced a morale collapse with widespread drug use, racial tensions, and disillusionment with unclear objectives.
What was LBJ and Nixon’s major miscalculation regarding North Vietnam?
Their major miscalculation was underestimating the limits of military solutions in a politically driven war, not simply holding back firepower.
