Influence of the Media in the Anti-War Movement of the 60's and 70's

Secretary of State John Kerry once said “I saw courage both in the Vietnam War and in the struggle to stop it. I learned that patriotism includes protest, not just military service.” The Vietnam War was a conflict that lasted from 1956-1975 which the United States participated in along with the South Vietnamese who fought against the Communist North Vietnamese. Many Americans strongly disapproved of the war which caused many protests and riots. The war lasted 25 years killing many people and eventually the North Vietnamese won. The Vietnam War was important to Americans back home because it tested the citizen’s right to free speech, effected future foreign policy, and created many issues for returning veterans.

In April 1971 John Kerry gave his famous statement before the Senate of Foreign Relations Committee, “Vietnam Veterans Against the War”. He presented this speech as a plea from the veterans across the country to the government of the United States to bring an end to the war in Vietnam. Kerry’s speech was used to enlighten the committee about the true horrors going on in Vietnam and was effective in doing so. He used various examples of what had happened and what was still occurring. Kerry also explained the tragic effect of the many who did return home from the war. By doing so he was able to bring attention to the truth about the Vietnam War which so many americans had ignored.

Young men were drafted into war; however, people were able to dodge the draft through various circumstances, conscientious objectors, most prominent being that they were part of a peace church, the government also allowed for those in college to stay and continue their education. This meant that a disproportionate amount of soldiers fighting in the war came from working class families, and so a rift was created between working class and college educated, who predominantly opposed the war. Throughout the 60s anti-war protests broke out, and people would burn their draft cards in the street. That angered those who felt that the action was un-American, and directly combated the struggle of the military personnel across the seas. Nixon, after having won the election in 1968 actively opposed the anti war movement, he even linked dissent with treason, and refused to pull troops from Vietnam. Despite the outcry of voices demanding an end to the war, Nixon and his vice president Agnew sided with the “silent majority” putting those who opposed in a minority, so that when the war continued it appeared as if it were all part of the democratic

Students were one of the first organizations who rallied behind ending the Vietnam war. In part because they were the most affected, especially young male college students who were targets for the draft. Although there were many student organizations like The Student Peace Union (SPU) and Young Socialist Alliance (YSA) the face of the students by 1965 would be the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)(11). Founded in 1960, the SDS began as a student branch of the League for Industrial Democracy(27). A misconception about the SDS was that they were advocates for “draft-dodging” program and that they were the leading anti-war organization(60). On the contrary, the SDS believed in a broader social change that would help end the Vietnam War.

Although plenty of author’s have documented the debate of idea’s in the Vietnam senate hearings, Joseph A. Fry provides an intricate and compelling analysis that is unlike any other. Fry gives the reader plenty of information so they can really understand exactly what went on with the two committees and what each of them represented. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee presented a direct and powerful argument with genuine, hard hitting points that urged the public to think more about what is going on and what they stand for. Led by the tenacious Senator J. William Fulbright, the SFRC analyzed and questioned the strategy’s, reasoning, and goals of the administration. Fulbright always had support backing up each of his claim’s and well planned

The anti-war protests of the 1960s was a response of resentment by minorities and young educated college students against the nation’s desire to participate in war against Communism in Vietnam and conduct a military draft. The protests, originally began with peaceful public demonstrations by activists, who were nonviolent; however, the peaceful demonstrators were frequently attacked and victimized by the police and other citizens, who did not share their same opinion. Throughout the peaceful protests the activists suffered many beatings in the hands of the police and as a result, many of the activists claimed the right of self-defense and turned to taking offensive actions against their oppressors including the police and other citizens. Later, the scene of violence and mayhem quickly shifted to college campuses, to which college students began protesting the draft (Gurr, 1989, pp. 183-185). At the time the average age of an American soldier serving in Vietnam was 19 and students quickly rebelled after realizing that young Americans were legally old enough to be drafted to fight and die, but were not yet legally allowed to vote or drink alcohol (UShistory, nd.).

“Anyone who commits American Forces to a land war in Asia, ought to have his head examined,” averred the World War II hero and late five-star general Douglas MacArthur, assaying the United States ' involvement in Vietnam with President John F. Kennedy in 1962 (McDougall 2013, 251). Apprehensive about a Communist drive in Asia, the United States Congress radically dissented from MacArthur 's perspective while the vast preponderance of Americans wallowed in ambivalence. The Vietnam War was a war on two fronts for the United States, one at home and one abroad. As public opinion canted, domestic tensions became substantiated through inexorable antiwar protests across the nation. With a mounting resistance movement in the United States knocking on Washington 's door and a North Vietnamese foe devoted to a protracted guerrilla-style war, the most inimical adversary of the American war effort was the clock.

The antiwar protest movements that took place throughout the Vietnam War were one of the most divisive and tumultuous internal forces during twentieth century U.S. history. The divisive nature of the antiwar protest movements becomes multiplied, because instead of a social conflict where there are two dichotomised “camps”, (those who are pro-war and those who are antiwar,) we are instead presented with antiwar sentiment which is largely segmented, and not a “unified” movement. The antiwar movements comprised of a number of independent groups, such as the Students for a Democratic Society, the War Resisters League, and the Committee for Nonviolent Direct Action. These groups all had varying motives, ideologies and tactics associated with their method of antiwar protest and resistance to the Vietnam War, making it impossible to give sufficient detail to all the separate movements in this paper. The myriad of movements were often only vaguely allied and for the most part, united only in their opposition to America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. For the majority of this essay however, I intend to focus on the youth cultures movements, as many key events of protest took place on campuses, or were predominantly orchestrated by the American youth.

The Anti-War movement had begun ever since the Cold War, but it flared up after the U.S began bombing North Vietnam. The Students for Democratic Society (SDS) began protests all across the country,but most of them took place on college campuses. All around the country, there was billboard burnings and other visual acts that clearly showed the discontent of the people with the Johnson Administration. By 1968 these protests had gone all the way to the attention of the government.

Social advances in American life led to many young adult getting involved with the Antiwar Movement of the 1960s. Older generations were not the ones typically vocalizing their beliefs and disapproval of the war. Protesters not only wanted to express disapproval of the Vietnam war, but also the draft. The first Antiwar Movements took place in April 1965 and were nonviolently protesting the Vietnam War. Those who were apart of the antiwar movement were determined to get their message across. Radical protestors held up signs that read slogans such as “Make love, not war,” and “Hell no, we won't go!”. These signs highly offended traditionalists and was set apart from the norm. Antiwar movement eclipsed the other movements going on during the 1960s due to its cause and its protestors (“Antiwar Movement (Vietnam)” 1). As the country surged into the 1970s, the protests turned from nonviolent to violent. “As violence increased within the Antiwar Movement there was a shift in public opinion: Older Americans and prominent figures became more vocal in their criticism of the continuing war” (“Antiwar Movement (Vietnam ) 3”. United States citizens, particularly the youth, furthered from “thinking inside of the box” and like their parents and began expressing their own ideologies and beliefs.. Also, with the up rise of

The antiwar movement became a mass crusade in which millions of Americans participated. It involved people of all ages, organized in hundreds of diverse local and national groups, including the National Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam, Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam, Women Strike for Peace, Resistance, American Friends Service Committee, and Business Executives Move for a Vietnam Peace. Among student groups, the SDS played a vital role. While antiwar activists came from all elements of American society, most were white, middle class, and well educated. Colleges and universities were among the most important sites of antiwar activism.

Vietnam War veterans are particularly aware of the anti-war movement of the 1960s, which tried to denigrate them and tarnish their service. A survey of events, from the 1950s to today, shows that the Vietnam anti-war movement was one of a succession of activities against contemporary U.S. events and also against American history.

The Arrogance of Power by Senator J. William Fulbright, provides an insightful analysis of America’s national identity, politics, and international relations through the context of the Vietnam War that is still relevant today. Fulbright’s analysis is perceptive and prognosticative. His predictions regarding the War and future relations with the east were often times proven correct. By the same token, his arguments were also rhetorically effective. Throughout the book, Fulbright skillfully uses logos and ethos to transmit his ideas. Moreover, the book has added to the class by providing additional context and insight into the Vietnam War and by providing examples of leadership. Despite the merits of the book, there are instances where I agree

From the late 1950s to the late 1970s a phenomenon erupted over the United States. A proud counter culture was born in the midst of the Vietnam War. Many people protested against the Vietnam War and the horrors that many people saw on TV because of it. Many incidents triggered the Anti-War movement and the Hippie counter culture such as the growing United States involvement in Southern Vietnam, the gruesome images that the evening news showed uncensored, the draft that caused many thousands of men to lose their lives and their minds as the end result of the war. This war triggered a great sense of what is right and wrong in specifically young people. Social justice and moral justice were some of the main focal points of the Anti-War and Hippie movements. This war allowed teenagers and young adults to have power in what they believe in and to stand up against unjust killings of our men and innocent lives in Vietnam. The eighteen-year span of the war from 1956 -1975 saw the rise and eventually the fall of the anti-war movement and the hippie movement.

In response to great opposition to United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, the antiwar movement of the 1960s sprung forth. A vast majority of involvement in this movement was represented on college campuses across the nation. Many college students wholeheartedly believed that the war in Vietnam served no point. America was simply once again sticking its nose in business that was not our own. As a result of the war, universities nationwide in the sixties were in uproar as students attempted to express their opinions through both violent and nonviolent means.