The anti-war movement in the USA 1964 to 1975

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

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

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

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 men were sent to prison for “draft dodging”

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

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

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

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

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

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

Soldiers against the war 1960 to 1973 – 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

The Kent State Massacre 1970 On 4 th 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

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

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