Teaching the Vietnam War with DocsTeach

A brand new page on DocsTeach.org, the online tool for teaching with documents from the National Archives, includes primary sources and activities for teaching about the Vietnam War.

The Vietnam War Page on DocsTeach.org

Troops
Troops move through an area cleared during Operation Abilene, 1966. From the Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. Available on DocsTeach.

More than 50 years after the United States committed combat troops to the war in Vietnam, and more than 40 years since the war ended, the complexity of the conflict is still being unraveled. Historical records preserved at the National Archives provide insight into this critical period.

On the new DocsTeach Vietnam War page, you can find primary sources and document-based teaching activities related to the war and U.S. involvement.

Explore Primary Sources

Teach with Online Activities

Communism Means Terrorism Poster
This 1954 poster says “Anywhere there is communism, there is terrorism and assassination!” From the Records of the U.S. Information Agency. Available on DocsTeach.

Many of the documents, photographs, and other sources on the DocsTeach Vietnam War page are featured in the new exhibition, Remembering Vietnam: Twelve Critical Episodes in the Vietnam War.

The exhibition, which opens this Friday, November 10, at the National Archives Museum in Washington, DC, presents both iconic and recently discovered National Archives records related to 12 critical episodes in the Vietnam War. They trace the policies and decisions made by the architects of the conflict and help untangle why the United States became involved in Vietnam, why it went on so long, and why it was so divisive for American society. DocsTeach also pulls photographs from the related traveling exhibit Picturing Nam: U.S. Military Photography of the Vietnam War.

You can also explore Vietnam War Topics, an interactive timeline, and more resources related to the Vietnam War on our new Vietnam War research page.

Remembering Vietnam was created by staff at the National Archives and is presented in part by the Lawrence F. O’Brien Family, Pritzker Military Museum & Library, AARP, and the National Archives Foundation.

 

One thought on “Teaching the Vietnam War with DocsTeach

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *