Maurice Isserman, the William R. Kenan Professor of History, was interviewed by the Christian Science Monitor for an article about college antiwar protests (Oct. 8, 2002). Isserman said today's dorm-room discussions about U.S. action in Iraq "are probably pretty much like those of 1964" - before President Johnson dramatically escalated the American presence in Vietnam. Isserman is author of America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s.
"This hardy skepticism of government is actually a subtle - but significant - difference between today's students and those in the early days of the Vietnam era, observers say. In the early 1960s, the US government had a strong history of recent success - in World War II and the cold war, 'So, it took a long time for students to think it was OK to oppose American foreign policy,' says Isserman. But these days, students are quick to voice skepticism, partly because 'Vietnam and Watergate have created a healthy distrust of authority.'"
