Times of Change- First Three Readingsl

Look up both words in the title of the short essay. What do they mean?

Dubious means giving rise to doubt, and a crusade is a remedial enterprise undertaken with zeal and enthusiasm. Together they signify a questionable military endeavor.
Relate the title to the reading. What is Warren saying?
James Warren is saying that the US involvement in the Vietnam is seen as a failed operation in the eyes of the American people in that it inflicted great damage to the United
States (in terms of control).

How do you think this will relate to the rest of our study if Vietnam?

This idea of Vietnam being a dubious crusade will evidently lead us as we study Vietnam by being an important perspective of the opposers of the war, and how Americans were affected by and reacted to the war.

What is the overall theme of Vuong-Riddick's poem?

The dominant them in the poem "History" is that throughout time, no matter who was involved with the Korean people, there was a presence of heated conflict that led to retreats, but more importantly, death. Therefore, the theme, in a single word, is death.

What is the main thesis of the essay?

The thesis of the essay is that the fact of whether or not the whole truth was told about Viet Cong PT boats firing on American destroyers, the impact of the event was that it caused the US to begin the Vietnam "War."What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was approval (in what form?) of the defense of US interests in the area of Vietnam in response to the Maddox being attacked by the Northern Vietnamese boats in the form of building up of the US troops and supplies in Vietnam by a nearly unopposed vote in Congress.

What evidence does the author give to support his thesis?

Goldberg states that (I believe his thesis has a supportive as well as a dominant main idea as displayed, but not analyzed in the first question for this reading) that Senator Fulbright argued that President Johnson persuaded Congresses to send troops "over there" by twisting the truth in the course of events involving the Maddox. The author concludes the essay by stating that the Resolution had been enacted, regardless of its status in honesty, and was a prelude to the Vietnam War. He even goes on to state that there were over 50,000 American lives lost in Vietnam to place emphasis on the Resolution's powerful impact.

How does this link to the theme of the first reading, “A Dubious Crusade”?

If "this" means the supporting main idea, concerning the truth behind Johnson's story with the Maddox being attacked, then it relates to the theme of a dubious crusade in that it presents the possibility of the truth being concealed, which, moreover, caused certain individuals (obviously at least the two senators who voted against the Resolution) to the doubt President Johnson and the war that resulted from The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This presents the other, doubtful, perspective that comes from the theme of a dubious crusade, except here, instead of the war being a dubious crusade, a "perceived" event leading up to the war is challenged in terms of reality and therefore honesty from the individuals it was promoted by.