Peak of anti-war protests (jan 1, 1968 – feb 1, 1979)
Description:
Anti-war campaigners used the methods of the civil rights movement and student movement, as well as coming up with some new ideas to demonstrate their objections to US involvement in Vietnam, which included:
Mass rallies, where protestors shouted slogans such as “Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?” → they also joked about senior soldiers (eg. by dressing up as ‘General Wastemoreland’ to insult the US forces commander in Vietnam, General Westmoreland
Sit-ins and teach ins, where people gave lectures on the conflict in Vietnam → these protests were held in public buildings, in army recruitment centres and even on the railway tracks transporting troops
Burning draft cards and also helped those who hadn’t been drafted to go into hiding or leave the US, plus giving advice on how to avoid the draft in the first place
The protests peaked between 1968 and 1970 as in the first 6 months of 1968, there were 100 anti-war demonstrations across the country
The largest individual protest was a march on Washington in November 1969, which attracted over 500,000 supporters
As with other protests, some anti=war demonstrations turned violent and there were frequent fights with the police
At Kent State University in Ohio, national guardsmen were called to break up a protest on 4th May 1970
The students refused to move despite tear gas being used, so troops fired into the crowd
Four students were killed and 11 were injured → 2 weeks later, two African Americans students were shot + killed by police trying to break up a protest a Jackson State University
This completely shocked many Americans
Added to timeline:
USA 1945 - 1974
Date:
