William Conrad Gibbons
Encyclopedia
William Conrad Gibbons was born in 1926 in Harrisonburg, Virginia
to Howard and Jessie Gibbons. He entered the University of Virginia
in 1945. His studies were interrupted in order to serve in World War II
but he returned to finish his college education at Randolph-Macon College
in Ashland, Virginia and was graduated in 1949. Dr. Gibbons went on to earn his Masters and Ph.D. in Government from Princeton University
in 1957 and was in the 1954-55 class of the American Political Science Association
Congressional Fellowship Program.
He worked in Capitol Hill
for both Senator Wayne Morse
and Senator Mike Mansfield
and also served as an advance man for presidential contender Lyndon B. Johnson
in 1960. He was a professional staff member of the Democratic Policy Committee and Assistant to the Majority Leader
of the United States Senate
(Lyndon B. Johnson
followed by Mike Mansfield
) from 1960-63.
Dr. Gibbons ran for Congress from the Western District of Virginia, which covered his hometown of Harrisonburg
but was defeated. He then returned to Washington
to work as legislative program staff (62-63); Deputy Director (1963–65) and Director (1965–68) of Congressional Liaison for the Agency for International Development
, Department of State.
At the beginning of the Nixon Administration, William Gibbons left Washington
to set up and head the political science
department at Texas A&M University
. He went on to be a visiting professor at Wellesley College and worked briefly as the Senior Program Officer in charge of all historical activities for the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission
. In 1972, Dr. Gibbons became a senior analyst for the Foreign Affairs Division (“FAND”) of the Library of Congress
, where he stayed for twenty years.
It was as a senior analyst at FAND that he authored the four-volume set entitled “The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War.”
The series has been described by historians and journalists as: “By far the best books on the subject” (William Bundy
), “The master of Vietnam research” (David Maraniss
), “Magisterial” (Brian VanDeMark), “Bill is an overlooked hero…for people like myself, well, just watch how much his name comes up in the footnotes” (Paul Hendrickson), “One of the most valuable studies of the formulation of Vietnam policy during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations” (Stanley Karnow
).
This series was a major resource for Robert McNamara
’s book In Retrospect and for Stanley Karnow
’s book, Vietnam, A History and his subsequent 26-part PBS series, Vietnam: A Television History. Senator Mansfield and TET, both written by Don Oberdorfer
, were greatly aided by the research from the Vietnam series by Gibbons.
In 1980 he became a visiting professor at George Mason University
where he continued work on the series.
Library)
Collection of fifteen linear feet (35 archive boxes) comprising copies of old original documents, being the files of historian William Conrad Gibbons, assembled during the research and writing of his multi-volume scholarly work The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War: Executive and Legislative Roles and Relationships (Princeton University Press
).
Filed in chronological order, the documents cover the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson
(the period from November 1963 through December 1968). The documents are concerned primarily with the background, formulation, and implementation of high-level policy by officials in the White House
, the Congress, the State Department, the Defense Department, and the armed forces during the Vietnam War.
The documents were copied at several libraries and repositories across the country, including the Johnson Library, the National Archives, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Army Military History Institute, the United States Army Center of Military History.
The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War: Executive and Legislative Roles and Relationships, Part II, 1961–1964, prepared for the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, by the Congressional Research Service, Senate Print 98-185, Pt. 2 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1985), 424 pp. ISBN 0691077150 ISBN 978-0691077154
The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War: Executive and Legislative Roles and Relationships, Part III, December–July 1965, prepared for the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, by the Congressional Research Service, Senate Print 100-163, Pt. 3 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1988), 489 pp. ISBN 0691077339 ISBN 978-0691077338
The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War: Executive and Legislative Roles and Relationships, Part IV, July 1965-January 1968, prepared for the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, by the Congressional Research Service, Senate Print 100-163, Pt. 4 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 19__), __ pp. ISBN 0691006350 ISBN 978-0691006352
All of the above volumes have also been published by Princeton University Press
.
Paper on "Vietnam and the Breakdown of Consensus," for a conference on consensus and foreign policy held by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, and published in Richard A. Melanson and Kenneth W. Thompson (Eds.), Foreign Policy and Domestic Consensus (Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1985).
Paper on "The Origin of the War Power Provision of the Constitution" for a conference at the State University of New York at Stonybrook honoring Jacob Javits, published in Michael Barnhart (Ed.), Congress and U.S. Foreign Policy (Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York, 1987).
Paper on "The 1965 Decision to Send U.S. Ground Forces to Vietnam," for the Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association, April 16, 1987 in Washington D.C.
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...
to Howard and Jessie Gibbons. He entered the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
in 1945. His studies were interrupted in order to serve in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
but he returned to finish his college education at Randolph-Macon College
Randolph-Macon College
Randolph–Macon College is a private, co-educational liberal arts college located in Ashland, Virginia, United States, near the capital city of Richmond. Founded in 1830, the school has an enrollment of over 1,200 students...
in Ashland, Virginia and was graduated in 1949. Dr. Gibbons went on to earn his Masters and Ph.D. in Government from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1957 and was in the 1954-55 class of the American Political Science Association
American Political Science Association
The American Political Science Association is a professional association of political science students and scholars in the United States. Founded in 1903, it publishes three academic journals...
Congressional Fellowship Program.
He worked in Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
Capitol Hill, aside from being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues...
for both Senator Wayne Morse
Wayne Morse
Wayne Lyman Morse was a politician and attorney from Oregon, United States, known for his proclivity for opposing his parties' leadership, and specifically for his opposition to the Vietnam War on constitutional grounds....
and Senator Mike Mansfield
Mike Mansfield
Michael Joseph Mansfield was an American Democratic politician and the longest-serving Majority Leader of the United States Senate, serving from 1961 to 1977. He also served as United States Ambassador to Japan for over ten years...
and also served as an advance man for presidential contender Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
in 1960. He was a professional staff member of the Democratic Policy Committee and Assistant to the Majority Leader
Majority leader
In U.S. politics, the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.In the federal Congress, the role differs slightly in the two houses. In the House of Representatives, which chooses its own presiding officer, the leader of the majority party is elected the Speaker of the...
of the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
(Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
followed by Mike Mansfield
Mike Mansfield
Michael Joseph Mansfield was an American Democratic politician and the longest-serving Majority Leader of the United States Senate, serving from 1961 to 1977. He also served as United States Ambassador to Japan for over ten years...
) from 1960-63.
Dr. Gibbons ran for Congress from the Western District of Virginia, which covered his hometown of Harrisonburg
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...
but was defeated. He then returned to Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to work as legislative program staff (62-63); Deputy Director (1963–65) and Director (1965–68) of Congressional Liaison for the Agency for International Development
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
, Department of State.
At the beginning of the Nixon Administration, William Gibbons left Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to set up and head the political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
department at Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
. He went on to be a visiting professor at Wellesley College and worked briefly as the Senior Program Officer in charge of all historical activities for the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission
United States Bicentennial
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic...
. In 1972, Dr. Gibbons became a senior analyst for the Foreign Affairs Division (“FAND”) of the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, where he stayed for twenty years.
It was as a senior analyst at FAND that he authored the four-volume set entitled “The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War.”
The series has been described by historians and journalists as: “By far the best books on the subject” (William Bundy
William Bundy
William Putnam "Bill" Bundy was a member of the CIA and foreign affairs advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He had a key role in planning the Vietnam War. After leaving government service he became a historian.-Early years:Raised in Boston, Massachusetts he came from a...
), “The master of Vietnam research” (David Maraniss
David Maraniss
David Maraniss is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author. As a reporter for The Washington Post he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for his stories about the life and career of candidate Bill Clinton in the 1992 campaign for the U.S...
), “Magisterial” (Brian VanDeMark), “Bill is an overlooked hero…for people like myself, well, just watch how much his name comes up in the footnotes” (Paul Hendrickson), “One of the most valuable studies of the formulation of Vietnam policy during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations” (Stanley Karnow
Stanley Karnow
Stanley Karnow is an American journalist and historian.After serving with the United States Army Air Forces in Asia during World War II, he graduated from Harvard with a bachelor's degree in 1947; in 1947 and 1948 he attended the Sorbonne, and from 1948 to 1949 the Institut d'Études Politiques de...
).
This series was a major resource for Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War...
’s book In Retrospect and for Stanley Karnow
Stanley Karnow
Stanley Karnow is an American journalist and historian.After serving with the United States Army Air Forces in Asia during World War II, he graduated from Harvard with a bachelor's degree in 1947; in 1947 and 1948 he attended the Sorbonne, and from 1948 to 1949 the Institut d'Études Politiques de...
’s book, Vietnam, A History and his subsequent 26-part PBS series, Vietnam: A Television History. Senator Mansfield and TET, both written by Don Oberdorfer
Don Oberdorfer
Don Oberdorfer is an American professor at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University and was a journalist for 38 years, 25 of them with The Washington Post...
, were greatly aided by the research from the Vietnam series by Gibbons.
In 1980 he became a visiting professor at George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
where he continued work on the series.
Papers
(Deposited at the Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
Library)
Collection of fifteen linear feet (35 archive boxes) comprising copies of old original documents, being the files of historian William Conrad Gibbons, assembled during the research and writing of his multi-volume scholarly work The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War: Executive and Legislative Roles and Relationships (Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press
-Further reading:* "". Artforum International, 2005.-External links:* * * * *...
).
Filed in chronological order, the documents cover the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
(the period from November 1963 through December 1968). The documents are concerned primarily with the background, formulation, and implementation of high-level policy by officials in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, the Congress, the State Department, the Defense Department, and the armed forces during the Vietnam War.
The documents were copied at several libraries and repositories across the country, including the Johnson Library, the National Archives, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Army Military History Institute, the United States Army Center of Military History.
Publications
The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War: Executive and Legislative Roles and Relationships, Part I, 1945–1961, prepared for the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, by the Congressional Research Service, Senate Print 98-185, Pt. 1 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1984), 365 pp. ISBN 0691077142 ISBN 978-0691077147The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War: Executive and Legislative Roles and Relationships, Part II, 1961–1964, prepared for the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, by the Congressional Research Service, Senate Print 98-185, Pt. 2 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1985), 424 pp. ISBN 0691077150 ISBN 978-0691077154
The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War: Executive and Legislative Roles and Relationships, Part III, December–July 1965, prepared for the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, by the Congressional Research Service, Senate Print 100-163, Pt. 3 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1988), 489 pp. ISBN 0691077339 ISBN 978-0691077338
The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War: Executive and Legislative Roles and Relationships, Part IV, July 1965-January 1968, prepared for the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, by the Congressional Research Service, Senate Print 100-163, Pt. 4 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 19__), __ pp. ISBN 0691006350 ISBN 978-0691006352
All of the above volumes have also been published by Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press
-Further reading:* "". Artforum International, 2005.-External links:* * * * *...
.
Paper on "Vietnam and the Breakdown of Consensus," for a conference on consensus and foreign policy held by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, and published in Richard A. Melanson and Kenneth W. Thompson (Eds.), Foreign Policy and Domestic Consensus (Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1985).
Paper on "The Origin of the War Power Provision of the Constitution" for a conference at the State University of New York at Stonybrook honoring Jacob Javits, published in Michael Barnhart (Ed.), Congress and U.S. Foreign Policy (Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York, 1987).
Paper on "The 1965 Decision to Send U.S. Ground Forces to Vietnam," for the Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association, April 16, 1987 in Washington D.C.
External links
- http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/searches.hom/forpol.hom/vietnam.aspPapers of William Conrad Gibbons at the Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
Library] - Dr. William Conrad Gibbons' website