By 1964 America was deeply embroiled in a conflict in Vietnam that would, over the next decade, claim millions of lives including almost 60,000 US servicemen. But how did the war come about? Who were its major players? Why did the actions and attitudes of US presidents differ? And how did Americans at home shape the outcome of the war. Rob Weinberg asks the big questions to Kevin Ruane, Professor of Modern History at Canterbury Christ Church University.
Up Next in Season 1
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🎧 The Black Death
Between 75 million and 200 million people died in the Black Death, or Plague, which caused social, economic and religious upheavals that had a profound effect on the course of European history. How did the Black Death come about? How did if affect particular populations? For how long did it ravag...
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🎧 America's Entry into the World Wars
When World War I broke out in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the United States would remain neutral. The U.S.A. only officially entered the conflict three years later. It took the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941 to bring America into the Second World War. But why was America ...
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🎧 The Gunpowder Plot
On 5 November 1605, a planned assassination attempt on King James I was thwarted. While a group of English Catholics planned to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament, the name of the man caught guarding the gunpowder became legendary – Guy Fawkes. But how and why did t...