The anti-war movement in the USA

1. The anti-war movement in the USA 1964 to 1975

2. Aims of the lesson By the end of this lesson you will • Identify the main features of the anti-war movement in the USA during the 1960s and 1970s • Evaluate the influence that it had on the conduct of the war • Evaluate the importance of other factors in the ending of the war

3. The anti war movement • Initially only a small number of Americans opposed the war • Three categories of people opposed to the war • Left wingers who wanted a Communist victory • Pacifists • Liberals who objected to the South Vietnamese govt

4. 1964 to 1965 • 1st protest December 1965 – 25 000 attended • Biggest anti war protest in US history • November 1965 - Norman Morrison burned himself alive in protest at the war • In the weeks that followed Roger La Porte and Alice Hertz did the same

5. Protests against the draft • 1965 draft introduced • Increased the level of protest by young men – especially students • 1965 David Miller burned his draft card publicly and was sent to 30 months in prison • 1963 to 1973 nearly 10 000 men were sent to prison for “draft dodging”

6. Draft dodging • Many young men refused to be drafted – the rich could avoid the draft • Bush and Clinton – good examples of this • Muhammad Ali – objected for religious reasons • Became a symbol for all non white protesters against the war

7. The International War Crimes Tribunal 1967 • Set up in 1967 – led by Bertrand Russell • Argued that the US was violating international war by sending troops to Vietnam, torturing captured soldiers and using illegal weapons • Claimed that the behaviour of the US was similar to the Nazis in WW2

8. The war and civil rights (1) • Draft targeted black and Hispanic young men from poorer backgrounds • Many objected fighting for a system which did not give them civil rights • Luther King and other civil rights leaders led protests • 1968 – violent protests in black ghettos in the major cities

9. The war and civil rights (2) • By 1968 the war was costing $60 million a day • Took resources from projects to help poor Americans • Poor areas and the ghettoes suffered most • Many worried that a revolution was taking place

10. 1968 – a year of protests • In New York a protest involving over a million people took place • A majority of people still supported the war • This changed after the My Lai massacre and the Tet offensive of 1968 • The draft was starting to cover middle class children as opposed to poor working class men – bit home

11. 1968 – the end of LBJ • By 1968 the war was taking its toll on President Johnson • The war had broken his sprit and he decided not to stand for re-election • Nixon was elected in his place • Once LBJ had gone the war was as good as lost

12. Soldiers against the war • 1960 to 1973 – 503 626 soldiers deserted the army • Many soldiers did not believe in the cause that they were fighting for • Did not feel that they had the support of the folks back home • 1967 – Vietnam Veterans Against the War was formed

13. The Kent State Massacre 1970 • On 4th May 1970 a protest against the war took place at Kent State University • The state troopers panicked and opened fire – 4 protesters were killed • Many people were horrified by this – others felt that they got what they deserved

14. The media and the war (1) • First war to be covered in colour and to have pictures via satellite • Meant that the government could not control what people saw on television • Every night pictures of the war were seen in ordinary homes in colour

15. The media and the war (2) • Many in the military criticised coverage of the war – esp the Tet offensive • Time magazine in 1970 showed the pictures of 242 US soldiers killed in one week • As the war dragged on the media became more sceptical towards the war