Oral Histories

Interview of Ernest Gruening

Journalist, governor of Alaska, and U.S. senator.
Subtitle:
Principled Opponent of War
Topic:
Politics and Government
Biographical Note:
Journalist, governor of Alaska, and U.S. senator.
Interviewer:
Albert, Paul and Tuttle, Rick
Interviewee:
Gruening, Ernest
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.
Language:
English
Copyright:
Interviewee Retained Copyright
Abstract:
Historical background of Vietnam War; European colonialism in Southeast Asia; creation of Indochina by French; national aspirations in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam; military attitudes about potential United States involvement in Asia; Dwight D. Eisenhower's military mission to aid French forces; John F. Kennedy's flouting of Geneva Accords; Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese nationalism, and China; Tonkin Gulf Resolution proposed by Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964; evidence of attacks on destroyers Maddox and C. Turner Joy questioned; Gruening's and Wayne Morse's votes against Tonkin Gulf Resolution; Gruening's military service during World War I and support of World War II; J. William Fulbright and passage of Tonkin Gulf Resolution; Richard M. Nixon and bombing of Cambodia; opposition to Henry Kissinger's nomination as secretary of state; the Nixon presidency; military influence on American foreign policy; mutual security pacts; Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers; Johnson's reaction to Fulbright, Morse, and Gruening.