George McTurnan Kahin collection on the origins of the Vietnam war, 1954-19701961-1970
Collection Number: 4251

Copies of United States government documents pertaining to the war in Vietnam, collected by Professor Kahin through the Freedom of Information Act for use in his 1986 book Intervention: How America Became Involved in Vietnam. For the pre-1961 period, the largest single group of documents relates to the Geneva Conference in 1954. Although the majority of documents relate to Vietnam, there is also coverage of Cambodia and Laos, particularly during the period from 1961 to 1963.

Categories of documents include cable traffic between the U.S. Embassies in Saigon, Phnom Penh, and Vientiane and the Department of State; cables from the U.S. military command in Saigon; CIA cables and Situation Reports, both day-to-day coverage of specific events and crises, and weekly reports of political and military developments; internal documents from the White House, including National Security memos and other memos between Administration officials, as well as transcripts of meetings between Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and their advisors; and documents from meetings and conferences between U.S. leaders and the leaders of South Vietnam.

George McT. Kahin collection on the origins of the Vietnam war, #4251. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.