Adversaries and Allies: Diplomacy in World War II and the Vietnam War

We will examine the diplomacy before and during America's two most traumatic 20th Century wars. We will begin with the diplomatic origins of World War II in Europe, followed by the failed diplomacy between the United States and Japan. Then we will consider negotiations among the Western allied leaders: Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin. The final half of the course will cover America's engagement in and escalation of the Vietnam War, and then move to Kissinger's secret negotiations with North Vietnam, as well as the troubled relationship between the U.S. and South Vietnam.