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Protests Carl Schurz was originally German but moved to settle in the USA. In 1896 he made a famous speech where he said that every US citizen had a duty to defend its government’s policy even if they disagreed with it. His ‘my country right or wrong’ speech is still quoted today by loyal patriotic Americans. During the Vietnam War it was a phrase often quoted by ordinary citizens who didn’t like the war but felt it would be unpatriotic to protest against it. The ‘My country right or wrong’ sentiment gradually began to change. In 1965 the US government increased the number of young men drafted to fight in Vietnam from 17,000 to 35,000 per month. The first to oppose the war were draft dodgers – young men who refused to go to fight in a war they believed was wrong. In 1964 the first ‘draft card burning’ took place – young men publically burned their call up cards in open protest about the War. Many ‘draft dodgers’ faced jail instead of going to fight. The most high profile case was the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Mohammed Ali who went to jail and lost his title. At university campuses and events such as the Woodstock Rock festival, protests became widespread. 1969 – A protest in Central Park, New York. Protestors released black and white balloons. The Black balloons represented the number of US soldiers who had died in Vietnam. The White balloons represented the number who would die if the War continued. In 1968 President Lyndon B Johnson made the decision not to stand for re-election as US President. The growing unrest and opposition to the War was one of the reasons he gave for making this decision. The following year he was replaced by Richard Nixon as president but the protests continued. By the late 1960’s many returning soldiers (Veterans) were also beginning to protest. In 1967 ‘Veterans against the War’ was formed as a protest movement. In 1971 over 300,000 took part in a march on Washington.
Kent State • In January 1969 the USA had a new President. • During his election campaign Richard Nixon had promised to end the War. • So many hoped for a change in Vietnam. • Nixon did start to bring home some soldiers which kept some Americans happy.
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But he also did not want to be the first ever American President to lose a war. So he ordered further bombing campaigns in an attempt to finally finish off the VC. Some of these were in neighbouring Cambodia – he was widening the War.
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Many university students across the USA continued to protest against the war. On 2nd May 1970 at Kent State University in Ohio over 1,000 students began a protest. At one point they burned down an old building that was used by the local military training corps. In response the governor of Ohio ordered 800 National Guardsmen to enter the University. These were armed part time soldiers who could be called upon in emergency situations. They were ordered to ‘use every force possible’ to restore order.
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Minor confrontations continued between students and guardsmen continued for 3 days. On 4th May about 1,000 students were protesting, some of these were actively chanting anti-war slogans, but others were curious bystanders. The Guardsmen started to march towards them and fire tear gas canisters. However the guardsmen ran out of tear gas and started to retreat. Some students were angry about the tear gas attack and followed them throwing stones. Some of the guardsmen then turned and fired into the crowd. 4 students were killed, 9 were wounded. All the killed and injured were hundreds of feet away from the guardsmen and posed no immediate threat to them. Two of the students killed were protesters, two were innocent bystanders.
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4 million students across the USA protested closing 900 campuses. 5 days later 100,000 people marched to Washington to protest. The Vietnam War was again hitting the headlines. Photographs of the dead and dying were again front page news. But this time the deaths had occurred on American soil.
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A song was recorded by Neil Young. ‘Ohio’ was released as a single and reached no14 in the charts.
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However not everyone defended the students. Some saw them as a bunch of unpatriotic trouble makers who deserved all they got. One local politician even called the students ‘bums’ and said that he thought that more of them should have been shot.
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The shootings divided opinion across the USA, but the majority of people saw the students as innocent victims.
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From the late 1970’s the protests which had started with a few draft dodgers and students became widespread. They were one of the reasons that pressure built on the US government to finally withdraw from Vietnam.
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