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The Anti-War Movement. By: Melanie Coles and MaryMeghan Young. The beginning. The anti-war movement began on college campuses. Peace Movement leaders opposed the war on moral and economic grounds . The draft was another major source of resentment among college students.
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The Anti-War Movement By: Melanie Coles and MaryMeghan Young
The beginning • The anti-war movement began on college campuses. • Peace Movement leaders opposed the war on moral and economic grounds. • The draft was another major source of resentment among college students. • After Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, there were few anti-war demonstrations. • As the Johnson Administration escalated the commitment, the peace movement grew. • Television changed many minds of Americans who witnessed body bags being carried away.
The anti-war activists • Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) began organizing “teach-ins” • A liberal minority was making their voice heard. Included young adults, artists, students and intellectuals. • Members of the hippie movement, a growing number of young people who rejected authority and embraced the drug culture practiced anti-war demonstrations. • Members of the organization Vietnam Veterans Against the War began to protest as well.
Making their voices heard • On college campuses, professors held "teach-ins“ where faculty and students would meet to discuss and learn about the War and challenge the government's policies. • The launch of the Tet Offensive sparked the most intense period of anti-war protests. • Peaceful demonstrations turned violent. When police officers arrived, the protestors would retaliate. • Students occupied buildings across college campuses forcing many schools to cancel classes. • Roads were blocked and ROTC buildings were burned. • Gatherings of anti-war demonstrators helped bring attention to the public resentment of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
In November of 1969, a second march on Washington drew an estimated 500,000 participants. • There were raids on draft boards and activists smeared blood on records and shredded files. • There were brutal clashes between the authorities and peace activists. • Tensions ran higher than ever, spurred on by mass demonstrations and incidents of official violence such as the Kent State Tragedy. • Peace activists and police clashed at the Democratic National Convention, where anti-war protestors wished to prevent the nomination of a pro-war candidate.
