History 490

Vietnam War: Research Paper

American Students Start Their Own War With The Anti-Vietnam Movement

American citizens in the 1960s experienced one of the most saddened war stories
in the nation. There were many who stood by their country when America was fighting
for themselves and their alliance of South Vietnam while others grew confused over if the
war was really worth the pain and suffering of our own men. As the United States slowly
began to lose their credibility as a strong and powerful protector country, a war at home
in the states broke out as well. Students that were being easily influenced by the media
coverage of the war sought out their own rights as citizens, forming protests to end the
war and bring back our troops once and for all. An influx of protests became apparent
after the announcement that the Vietnam War was not close to being won and that
America would escalate the war by placing more troops abroad, making the numbers of
soldier deaths increase more than ever before.
With administration being determined for a successful outcome of the Vietnam
War, they kept investing more than the United States citizens were willing to give
towards the Vietnam war. At this point those who were supporting the war became weary
because there was no guarantee that we could win regardless of how many troops we had.
Emotions were sparked across the nation and a variety of movements evolved from this
news, some protests were peacefully organized while others were taken over by anger
driven teenagers on college campuses.
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Anti-war protests become a popular way to express thoughts on Americas

involvement in the war and were attracted by a wide variety of people at the time. Those
of different racial backgrounds, a wide span of ages, students across America, school
professionals, religious organizations, war veterans, and other professionals could be
found at one point or another during this era.1 The student movement in particular raised
the bar on confrontation of the Vietnam War. With youthful energy and daring attitudes
they made their mark on campuses across America and were widely known across the
nation due to the media coverage that depicted their ruthless characters. Their intense
struggle for anti-war awareness was fought back by more violence from authority,
creating a circle of hopelessness for peace and dignity in America during this crucial
time.
In comparison to other protests, the youth on college campuses were not able to make an
anti-Vietnam war statement without raising concern for the safety of the community.
Protests that had been considered successful included the Vietnam Moratorium that
occurred on October 15, 1969 and the wide protests in November of 1969. During the
Moratorium, black armbands were worn as a nationwide symbol to stop the war.2 Other
actions in support of the anti-war movement was to fly the American flag at half- mast.
What spoke most to the community was the actions of Mrs. Martin Luther King Jr., who
was essentially the most influential leader on this day. In Washington D.C. she organized
a march from the Washington Monument to the White House and upon arrival she simply
1 Baral, J. K. 1978. "ANTI-VIETNAM WAR STUDENT MOVEMENT IN AMERICA
1965-1971." Indian Political Science Review 12, no. 1: 43-58. America: History
and Life with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed April 23, 2015). 44.
2 Ibid., 48.
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lit a candle for peace for the United States and Vietnam.3 An estimated 45,000 people
followed her footsteps that day, making a passive opinion on the risks of the war as one
unit. She spoke confidently to the demonstrators that the only solution to the problem is
to bring the boys home and to bring them home now. The power that came from this
peaceful protest put shame on the youth that felt the need to be destructive in order to get
their point across. In comparison, the minds of the youth were not able to make a
statement to end the war without creating a war on their own campus between students
and protective forces unlike Mrs. Martin Luther King Jr.4
Secondly, the other successful non college protest was the November demonstrations in
1969. This protest focused on the casualties that were an ongoing problem in the war.
This sparked the cause of The March Against Death which was attended by thousands
in Washington D.C. Attendees included family members who had lost loved ones in
combat in Vietnam.5
After this time, protests took a turning point. With youth being easily persuaded, violence
and destruction became a well known factor on college campuses during anti-war protests
for Vietnam.
It was the Spring of 1970 when America was digging itself deeper into a war with
a continuous outcome of US soldier casualties and the casualties of Vietnamese civilians.
Vietnamization was a proposed plan from President Richard Nixon in order to end
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid,. 49.
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American involvement in Vietnam. With the public gaining public knowledge of more
troops being ordered into Cambodia, college campuses erupted with furious young adults.
On May 4, 1970, Kent State had become one of the most influential colleges when
protesting the continuation of the War. Although this was meant to be an anti-war
movement, they would be known to have created complete tyranny for their school and
the effect of other campuses across the nation. In order to end this horrific scene, the
National Guard arrived to the site and fired their guns into the crowd of rambunctious
students.6 The result of this tactic brought nothing but violence to an antiwar protest. As a
result of the shootings, Four students were killed while nine others were injured. These
deaths and injuries became a turning point in America which caused over 700 other
campuses in the United States to partially close their campus or close entirely.7There is an
argument that the presence of the National Guard made matters worse but there were
limited options to stop the havoc. The Guard Jeep was a target for students throwing
rocks. Due to the restlessness of the students, tear gas was first used in hopes that the
mob would disperse but the cans were picked up by students and thrown back into the
faces of the National Guard as well as rocks and large pieces of concrete.8 With the
violence escalating, the National Guard began to fear their own lives causing them to
shoot their weapons randomly into the crowd. The actions of the guardsmen had been
6 Grose, Andrew. 2007. "Voices of Southern Protest during the Vietnam War
Era: The University of South Carolina as a Case Study." Peace & Change 32,
no. 2: 153-167. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 23,
2015). 153.
7 Ibid.
8 Spry, I.C.F. 1999. "Lessons from the Vietnam war." National Observer no. 40:
39. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 23, 2015).
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criticized but there were also people of the community who supported their work on that
day at Kent State after they themselves had grown weary of the violence that anti-war
movements.9
Actions followed at the University of South Carolina during May of 1970. Due to the size
of the campus, their involvement was lesser than of Kent State but students still managed
to express themselves by ways of viciousness. Several hundred arrests were reported as a
result of two buildings being taken over by angered students as well as thousands of
dollars in damage to their own college grounds.10 In attempt to end the war as a unit, they
were only successful in damaging a place where they should be thriving. The anger of
Kent states protest had completely over run the minds of the easily persuaded youth. Not
only was the war not getting any better for the United States soldiers, but the lives of the
American citizens were diminishing with hope and replaced with rage.
Students organized themselves into diverse yet powerful groups in order to display their
own beliefs on the Vietnam War. Within these divisions, students were labeled as part of
conservative groups, New Left Organizations, and apolitical students that each casted a
different view on politics.11 The segregation of these students only managed to form more
frustration, fear and confusion between each other due to their differences in morals and
tactics. With such strong emotion within a confined area, rebellion began to grow.
9 Ibid
10 Grose, Andrew. 2007. "Voices of Southern Protest during the Vietnam War
Era: The University of South Carolina as a Case Study." Peace & Change 32,
no. 2: 153-167. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 23,
2015). 154.
11 Ibid,. 155.
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University of Southern Carolina students began to disobey authority on their campus in

order to remain in control of their own lives.12 By these obscure actions, they were
furthering themselves from the control of their own freedom.
The role of Kent State has gone down in history to be the location of one of the most
influential anti-war events during the Vietnam war time period. University President
Carol Wright spoke on behalf of the event that happened years prior saying "There are
still some mixed feelings about the events back then and the university's role within
world history," and is hopeful that even though it was a tragedy she notes: "I want people
to begin to turn their eyes forward."13
There are two types of protestors focused on during the anti-war movement. The
activists are those who are part of a group that perform demonstrations that express his
or her feelings on the unjust world. They are known to hold basic human values and
optimistic when it comes to reaching goals through group activity within the system.14
Secondly, there is the culturally alienated student who is driven by their own personal
belief system and other causes they are subjected to. They are opposed to the system
and think that social and political change cannot be accomplished within the system.15
12 Ibid
13 Clines, Francis X. 2000. "Students From Then and Now Pass On Painful
Lessons of Kent State." New York Times, April 28. A8. Academic Search
Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 23, 2015).
14 Baral, J. K. 1978. "ANTI-VIETNAM WAR STUDENT MOVEMENT IN AMERICA
1965-1971." Indian Political Science Review 12, no. 1: 43-58. America: History
and Life with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed April 23, 2015). 44.
15 Ibid.
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These students are characterized as more quiet and peaceful. The differences between
groups proves to be an example of why these was a clash among the student body at the
University of South Carolina in particular during their protest.16
The New left group is to be described as various uncoordinated groups of civil rights
marchers, campus-revolutionaries, and the peaceniks. They are the groups who have
mainly dominated the United States student movement since beginning in 1960. They
were looking for peace and had been opposed of the Vietnam War.
The escalation of the war is to be cause of wakening the antiwar movement during
1966. Those who had once thought the war as a harsh mistake made by administration
started to alter their thoughts with the progression of the war. It was now viewed by
people of the public as a disease in the defective system.17
Although only a minor number of the college communities participated in these
movement act, their actions gave them immediate attention of those who surrounded the
areas, followed the war, and paid attention to media coverage.18
An abundance of those who were opposed to the antiwar movement were the working
class. It is assumed that they were in fear that if the war had come to an end, the workers
who were employed in factories would expect an immediate change in their futures.
These workers were not alone when against the anti-war student movement. Vice

16 Ibid.
17 Ibid,. 47.
18 Ibid,. 50.
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President Agnew thought of these student led demonstrations as carnivals in the street
and that they were performed by effete corps of impudent snobs who characterize
themselves as intellectuals.19 He brought his point further by describing them as being
unkempt individuals and believed that they were communist-inspired.20 The vice
president was then followed by both Attorney General Mitchell and FBI director J Edger
Hoover who expressed that they too believed there were links between the student
movements and the communists. Most importantly, the students had grabbed the attention
of the President at the time who saw the activists to be bums, vandals, and
hoodlums.21 With this being said, students were even more provoked than before after
listening to these statements made by officials.
Another factor of the anti-war protests were the stand that African Americans took on the
war. Many assumed it to be a racial war due to the fact that America was fighting against
people of color. There were African Americans coming forward to the government asking
them to stop the viciousness in Vietnam that they referred to as a war of genocide.22
They warned that if it was not stopped in Vietnam, then they would be driven to open
the second front in the home itself. By not being an active part of the student
movement, the protests failed to include effective leadership of African Americans in
these areas of antiwar but would not have had the opportunity for inclusion due to their
19 Ibid,. 52.
20 Ibid.
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid,. 53.
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need for every days wage rather than spending their time rallying against the war.23 The
silent majority of America viewed the protests as inconvenient and were opposed due
to the radical methods being anti-democratic and anti-traditional.

The posters above depict the differences between protestors and their plans to end the war.

On the left, spring mobilization in 1967 is being advertised in a subtle way. Their
focus is to draw a large crowd of all ages in order to create a unit of strength. This poster
avoids a focus on the death and violence that is happening around the world by depicting
a young child bearing flowers in her hand. Viewers of this advertisement can believe that
23 Ibid.
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the protest that will be held on April 15 is likely to be peaceful and child friendly for the
community.24The poster on the right was created in October of 1968, when emotions
vastly changed after the escalation of the war. Made by New York University students in
order to promote their political views, violence and chaos is being promoted.25 Crowds
cover the surface of the collage with security forces places in the corners giving the
impression that there is more strength in numbers. Their choice of language is not
surprising due to the history of college riot acts with a focus on anti-war. Comparing the
two posters, viewers can get a sense of the harsh emotions and fearless behaviors that
these college students engaged in. Their method of ending war was to create a group to
destroy their own streets and casing mayhem for the surrounding community.
The invasion of Laos sparked another anti-war movement on college campuses including
Kent State but their impact was nothing compared to their previous protest. At this time
in November of 1971, it was apparent that the student movement had lost its strength
against Vietnam. There are factors which led to this calming point such as students trying
to find a new way to fight against the war and that the student movement had become
divided into groups to the point where they could not unite in order to perform a changing
demonstration. An apparent view of tiredness fell upon the activists to the extent where
they could not keep up due to their lack of patience and motivation for the movement any

24 Brown, Josh, and Ellen Noonan. "Calls to Action: Posters of the AntiVietnam War Movement." Radical History Review no. 78 (Fall2000 2000): 141.
Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 23, 2015).
25Ibid.
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longer. With Vietnamization causing less American men to be drafted and troops being
pulled from South Vietnam also played a role in the lull of Vietnam protests.26
It is likely that anti-war protests did not have a chance in being powerful enough to put an
end to the war in Vietnam regardless of their various actions. People of different classes
began to separate from one another and ties were weakened. College students used
confrontation as their main focus in protests making their demonstrations ill natured. By
expressing their outrage in such a manner, their movements can be reviewed as
physically and emotionally costly for the schools and those involved.27 They made their
presence known, but due to the need for national guard reinforcements, the event is
looked at in a negative manner.
The anti-Vietnam war protests are noted to be the most popular college protested topic at
38% with living regulations following at 34%.28 In 1967 it was reported that only one
third of college students were in favor of de-escalating the war with no intention of
withdrawing completely while half of the students were in favor of escalation. Opinions
took a dramatic turn in 1969 after only two years. During this time two thirds of the

26 Baral, J. K. 1978. "ANTI-VIETNAM WAR STUDENT MOVEMENT IN AMERICA

1965-1971." Indian Political Science Review 12, no. 1: 43-58. America: History
and Life with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed April 23, 2015). 56.
27 Fish, George. 1994. "The Vietnam War at home." Monthly Review: An
Independent Socialist Magazine 45, no. 9: 53. Academic Search Complete,
EBSCOhost (accessed April 23, 2015).
28 Schrciber, E. M. 1973. "Opposition to the Vietnam war among American
university students and faculty." British Journal Of Sociology 24, no. 3: 288.
America: History and Life with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed April 23, 2015).
289.
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student population in the United States was in favor of de-escalation in Vietnam.29

Faculty of schools also had a different standpoint compared to students with 8% wanting
to defeat the communists completely, only 18% willing to withdraw from the war
immediately, 33% willing to de-escalate Americas involvement in the war, and 40% who
wanted to encourage a coalition government.30
The violence of these protests on campuses were not successful in what they were set out
to do. Instead of being persuasive on why the war should end, their protests became
unorganized and over the top. With students causing unnecessary riots, they were
outnumbering officials trying to keep the peace and instead put everyone in danger
including themselves. It is clear that the escalation of the war tore America and its
citizens in half. With so many mixed emotions, it became more difficult to settle on a
constructive way to win the war without losing all the efforts we had put into stopping
communism from taking over. Administration disapproved of those who were not
supporting the troops who were fighting for the United States and instead causing
distractions across the nation.

29 Ibid,. 290.
30 Ibid,. 291.
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History 490
The Vietnam War: Research Paper

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