The Movement : The Antiwar Movement

other ones, like those organized by the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), started to bring

The Vietnam War made impacts on the movement back home. As in 1967 Martin Luther King Jr. even went against his own beliefs of not speaking out about the war he began preaching that it is truly sad to see African American people and the poor who can not make a living, being drafted (Doc C). Not only were they being drafted they were also dying at a much higher rate then just about every other group in society (Doc C). MLK also stated that these individuals were fighting to establish peace and rights over in Vietnam, while they did not even have these for themselves (Doc C). During the Vietnam years there still was some of the American population who supported the war, but would not speak out publicly about supporting the actions. This group was given the name the silent majority. Richard Nixon while in office spoke out about the group saying that the silent majority needs to speak out publicly as all the messages going around about the war are negative (Doc G). He also said in his speech that even though some people may not like the war everyone should help in the mind of creating peace in South Vietnam and that without everyone coming together in the nation that the US military could be defeated in the war (Doc

In this essay I am going to discuss the impact of the antiwar movement on the course of the Vietnam War and ultimately the role the movement had in ending the war. My argument is that the antiwar movement did influence some Vietnam policies; however it did not directly end the war. First I will discuss the impact of the antiwar movement during Lyndon Johnson’s time as President, I will then examine the impact of the movement throughout Richard Nixon’s presidency, and then I will discuss the overall impact on both presidents’ policies; I will then consider the general opinion Americans had towards the movement and finally I will evaluate the role that the movement had in ending the war.

The Vietnam War was not only a war abroad but also a war at home since many people within the United States believed that we should not be evolved in this war, especially since it was a civil war in Vietnam. One of the main reasons for the unrest at home was due to the draft of young men who did not want to fight for a war that they did not believe in. Many young men age 18 and over were drafted but some of the young men who could afford a higher education were able to go to college and avoid the draft but once they graduated they would be in danger of being drafted so many of the college students were protesting to end the war that they did not believe in or want to go and fight in. (The Sixties, n.d.) As the war crept along the college students protested more and even burnt their draft cards to show their disapproval of the war. The war at home took a bad turn on May 4, 1970 when a group of college students at Kent State started protesting. The governor ordered 750 members of the National Guard to stop the demonstrators. The National Guard troops ordered the protestors to break up and when some of the protestors refused and started throwing rocks the troops fired into the crowed killing four students and injuring nine other students. (Davidson et al., 2005) According to Wells, (1999), “The

The Vietnam War a time where a lot of American’s believed that American’s shouldn’t have been a part of in the first place. “Tens of thousands of soldiers received dishonorable discharges for desertion, and about 500,000 American men from 1965-73 became “draft dodgers,” with many fleeing to Canada to evade conscription (Vietnam War History).” During that time there were thousands of protestors against the Vietnam War “On November 15, 1969, the largest anti-war protest in American history took place in Washington, D.C., as over 250,000 Americans gathered peacefully, calling for withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam (Vietnam War History).” A case that is known in history forever “Tinker v. Des Moines” case was a very good example of anti-war protest and was proven to be an example of freedom of speech.

People who were over the age of 30+ were for the war. On May 4th 1970 Richard Nixon gave a speech explaining on how he was going to send more troops in to Vietnam to help the war effort, so this caused riot and chaos in Kent State University, 4 students were gunned down by State troops and 9 students

From the time that the War Resisters League was created, its stance has been against war on an international and civil level. However, it was a one-stance organization when it was first created. This changed at the start of World War II, as several of the members declared themselves conscientious objectors and spent the war years either in Civilian Public Service camps or in prison. The experiences in the Civilian Public Service camps and prison prompted the members to achieve fair working conditions, meaningful work in terms of national interest, and racial integration. As a result, the War Resisters League’s agenda changed from one to several issues. Since then, the issues that the War Resisters league have worked on are World War II, prison life and segregation in prison, Cold War and civil defense drills, Watergate scandal, fight against racism and equality including working closely with Martin Luther King Jr. during the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Great March for Jobs and Freedom, Vietnam War, nuclear warfare and chemical weaponry, women’s rights, poverty and race including the poverty draft into the military, and ending corporate profit from war.

In February of 1965, bombing of the North Vietnamese took place and the intensity kept increasing. In this war, there were not the many ground battles though. At the beginning of the war, the majority of the United States citizens agreed that it was a good idea. As the war went on and on, more and more people jumped on the antiwar bandwagon. It had gone on too long and too many people had died and nothing was getting resolved.

University students and ALP opposed conscription. Students had more freedom then ever before so they started taking part in large Anti - Conscription and Anti - Vietnam War rally’s and protests

From the music; the protests, the assassinations of a President, a Senator and Civil Rights leaders, the resignation of a president. All of these factors had a direct impact on both the anti-war movement, the illegal war crimes and handling by US administrations and the horrific treatment of the soldiers after they returned

The Vietnam war was a war to stop the spread of Communism. America was not going to let communist spread anymore in fear it would take over the world, and they were ready to do whatever they had to do to make sure it did not spread. America had drafted soldiers to fight the long lasting war, and eventually people got tired of loosing Americans to a war they did not really care about and started to protest in hopes to end it. Overall people joined the protest, because America was not with any of their actions and lost the hearts and minds of Americans.

The Vietnam War began in 1955, but it wasn’t until the 1960’s that the nation witnessed large protests against the war. A process called the draft sent many men over to fight against the communists in Vietnam. This “draft” meant that many men would not have a choice about whether or not they wanted to participate in the war. The U.S. government made that determination for them. Twenty years of combat, in some of the worst conditions possible, resulted in the loss of many American soldiers. There were many protests in the United States that helped open the nations eye towards protesting and how protests affect the war. The Kent State massacre was a big turning point for protests, it made many Americans see that the protests were not just hippies, and people of drug culture spreading peace, but a powerful movement to

In 1963, the United States sent in 2,000 military advisors to support the South Vietnamese government in the war (Digital History). At the beginning of the war, many Americans believed that defending South Vietnam from communist aggression was in the country’s favor, although as the war continued, that opinion drastically changed (“The Antiwar Movement”). In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson escalated the war by starting air strikes on North Vietnam. Later on in the war, the 1968 Tet Offensive turned many Americans against the war. This was a large series of attacks resulting in many South Vietnamese and American casualties (Digital History). President Richard Nixon served from 1969 to 1974 and when he was inaugurated the nation was deeply divided by the war and over what was going to happen next. As the war continued more and more Americans grew impatient over the increasing amount of casualties and escalating costs throughout the war. There were large gatherings of anti-war protesters that helped bring attention to the public resentment of the US involvement in the Vietnam War. By the late 1960s, peaceful demonstrations became violent and the anti-war movement was rapidly growing (“The Antiwar Movement”). Protests across the country were part of opposition against the military draft and US

In 1965 the movement began to gain national prominence. Aggressive actions by police and protesters turned the anti-war demonstrations in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic National Convention into a riot. News reports of American military abuses, such as the 1968 My Lai Massacre, brought new attention and support to the anti-war movement bringing it to its height. The movement continued to prosper over the span of the conflict.

The Vietnam War was one of the most hated wars in United States history, for the primary reasons that we did not win and the draft destroyed countless men, physically and mentally. The end result of the war did not justify the means and this made a lot of people very upset. This war was also the most televised war, showing incredibly gruesome, uncensored images on the evening news at dinner time. The political protest for the