Voices Against War: Rise of the Anti-War Movement

The Anti-War Movement

Anti-War Movement Emerges • As the war dragged on in Vietnam, the public support dropped • Suspicion of the government’s truthfulness about the war grew • In the early years of the war, General William Westmoreland had reported the enemy was on the verge of defeat, but the war continued on for years

Anti-War Movement Emerges • Media accounts from reporters stationed overseas told a more depressing story • Aired footage of battle deaths, women and children fighting, and other guerilla tactics • Vietnam was the first “televised war” with footage of combat appeared nightly in American homes • Credibility gap  it was hard to believe what the Johnson administration said about the war

The First D.C. Rally • April 17, 1965 • One month after the U.S. sent its first troops to Vietnam • Staged by the Leftist group, Students for a Democratic Society • 16,000 people picketed outside the White House • “No More War” • “We Want Peace Now” • Only 4 arrests made

Teach-ins Begin • March 1965  a group of faculty members and students at the University of Michigan joined together at a teach-in • They discussed issues surrounding the war and reaffirmed their reasons for opposing it • May 1965  122 colleges held a “National Teach-In” by radio for more than 100,000 people • People opposed the war for many reasons, and this gave them a forum to discuss those reasons

March on the Pentagon • October 21, 1967 • Culmination of 5 days of protests organized by the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam • Famous speakers came to address the crowd (Robert Lowell, Benjamin Spock) • The protest escalated when the leaders of the Youth International Party announced they were going to “exorcise” the Pentagon • People surrounded the building and chanted spells to try and drive out the “evil war spirits” • “LBJ, Pull Out Now, Like Your Father Should Have Done.” • Tear gas was released into the crowd • 2,500 troops guarded the Pentagon • 681 arrested

The Moratorium Rally (D.C.) • November 15, 1969 • America’s biggest anti- war demonstration ever • 250,000- 500,000 protestors present • A little less wild • LBJ was out of office and Nixon had initiated his “Vietnamization” plan • Police had learned how to handle protests • 3,000 Police, 9,000 Army troops, 200 Lawyers, 75 Clergymen • Protest was peaceful for the most part • 135 arrests made

Anger at the Draft • 500,000 draftees refused to go when called • Some burned their draft cards, did not show up for induction, or fled the country • Between 1965-69, the government prosecuted 3,300 Americans who refused to serve the war • April 1965  Students for a Democratic Society marched on Washington with 20,000 people • Arguments over the draft fueled debate over voting age • 1971  26th Amendment lowered the national voting age to 18 due to the American response to the draft

Anger at the Draft • Until 1969, a college student was able to defer military service until after graduation • Therefore, young people from working-class families were more likely to be drafted and sent to war because they could not afford college • Draftees were more likely to be assigned to dangerous combat units • 1969  Draftees made up 62% of battle deaths • Majority of the soldiers during Vietnam were volunteer enlistees because it provided vocational training and a source of upward mobility

Kent State • In response to Nixon’s invasion of Cambodia • Didn’t want to be drafted • May 1, 1970- Day One • Huge demonstration on the College’s commons • Around midnight rowdy bikers began throwing bottles and vandalizing cars in the street • Approximately 100 students joined in • Police eventually got the situation under control

Kent State (cont.) • May 2, 1970- Day Two • State of Emergency declared in Kent • Ohio Governor, James A. Rhodes, called in the National Guard • Demonstrations continued on campus • Reserve Officer Training Corps building was set on fire • Fire men and police were pelted with rocks by the surrounding crowd • 10:00 p.m.- National Guard set up camp on Kent State’s campus • Used tear gas and arrested the protestors • At least one person was bayoneted • May 3, 1970- Day Three • More protests • Curfew imposed on students

Kent State (cont.) • May 4, 1970- Day Four • Pre-planned rally commenced • Approx. 2,000 people present • National Guard told them to disperse • People refused • Troops sprayed the crowd with tear gas • Crowd began throwing rocks and chased the National Guard off campus • “Pigs off Campus!” • After being chased up a hill by the angry protestors, the National Guard opened fire on the crowd • Firing lasted 13 seconds • 4 dead • 9 wounded

Anti-War Slogans • Common slogans and chants • "Hey, hey LBJ, how many kids have you killed today?" • The chant "One, two, three, four! We don't want your f***ing war!" was chanted repeatedly at demonstrations throughout the U.S. in the late 1960s and early 1970s. • "Draft Beer, not boys", "Hell no, we won't go", "Make love, not war", "Eighteen today, dead tomorrow",

Distrust Continues with Nixon • 1971- Pentagon Papers leaked to the press • Showed that the U.S. had deliberately expanded its involvement in Vietnam • This was happening while Pres. Lyndon Johnson was telling the American people that the U.S. would not expand its involvement, but negatively affected Nixon

Vietnam Protest Songs • (I Feel Like I’m) Fixin’ to Die Rag – Country Joe and the Fish (1967) • Fortunate Son – Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969) • Gimme Shelter – Rolling Stones • Imagine - John Lennon (1971) • War - The Temptations, later covered by Edwin Starr (1970) • The Unknown Soldier - The Doors (1968) • What's Going On - Marvin Gaye (1971)

Hawks and Doves • Hawks  those who insisted that the country stay and fight the war • Doves  those who wanted the United States to withdraw from Vietnam

Voices Against War: Rise of the Anti-War Movement