A Nation Divided

Mr. White’s US History 2

Main Idea and Objectives

Main idea – An antiwar movement in the U.S. pitted supporters of the government’s war policy against those who opposed it.

We should be able to:Explain the draft policies that led to the Vietnam war becoming a working-class war

Trace the roots of opposition to the war

Describe the antiwar movement and the growing divisions in U.S. public opinion about the war

The Draft

Most soldiers in the Vietnam war were called up using the Selective Service Act – draftAll males had to register with their local draft boards when they turned 18 – still todayMen could be called to serve from the ages of 18 to 26

Manipulation of the Draft

Many young men looked for ways to avoid the draft, which was very easy to manipulate

Sympathetic doctors – would grant medical exemptions

Some changed where they lived to go to a different, more lenient draft board

Some joined National Guard or Coast Guard

College Deferment

If a young man was enrolled in a university or college, they could put off their military serviceUniversity students in the 1960s tended to be white and financially well-offMany of the men who fought in Vietnam were those who couldn’t afford college – lower class whites and blacks

African-Americans in VietnamServed in much larger numbers than most groups as ground combat troops – most hazardous place to beBlacks accounted for over 20% of U.S. combat deaths, even though they were only 10% of the U.S. populationMartin Luther King spoke out against the injustice of blacks fighting for freedom in another country, when theirs did not grant them freedomRacism in military units led to lower troop morale

Women in the Military

Women were still not allowed to serve in combat roles

Over 10,000 women did serve, mostly as nurses

Also served in the USO and Red CrossUSO – provided hospitality and entertainment

Red Cross

Roots of Opposition – New LeftIn the 1960s, there was a growing youth movement known as the New LeftFollowers demanded sweeping changes in American societyStudents for a Democratic Society

Charged that corporations and government had taken over AmericaWanted more “participatory government” and greater freedom

Free Speech Movement – focused criticism on the American “machine” – business and government

Campus ActivismSDS and FSM ideas spread across campuses of colleges and universities

Protested dress codesCurfewsCampus issues

Students started joining together in protest against these issues, but would later protest the Vietnam War

The Protest Movement EmergesApril, 1965 – SDS helped organize a march on Washington, D.C., by 20,000 protesters, other marches followedJohnson changed college deferment rules, requiring students to be in good academic standingProtests erupted after this – SDS calls for civil disobedience at campuses

Opposition to the War

Youths opposed the war for many different reasons:

Most common belief was that the war in Vietnam was a civil war, and the U.S. had no business there

Some said Diem’s South Vietnamese government wasn’t any better than North Vietnam

Some thought war was draining America’s strength

Some just saw the war as morally unjust

The Movement GrowsMovement grew beyond college campuses

Returning veteransFolk singers

“Eve of Destruction,” a protest song by Barry McGuire, talked about the wrongs of the Vietnam war

Protest to Resistance1967 – antiwar movement had intensifiedSpring of 1967 – protesters marched on New York City’s Central Park - many people burned their draft cardsDraft resistance continued up until President Nixon phased it out in the early 1970sSome Americans had fled to Canada to avoid the draft

March on the PentagonIn October of 1967, a demonstration at the Lincoln Memorial drew 75,000 protestersAbout 30,000 demonstrators marched on the Pentagon to “disrupt the center of the American war machine.”Protesters were turned back with tear gas and clubs – about 700 arrested

War Divides the Nation

Americans were increasingly divided into two camps:

Doves – those who were opposed to the war and thought it should end

Hawks – felt America should use its military might to win the war

Some believed that the protests were acts of disloyalty

Johnson Remains Determined

Johnson remained firmDoves attacked him for continuing the warHawks attacked him for not increasing military power

Johnson continued his policy of slow escalationJohnson’s own administration started to doubt the war – Robert McNamara resigns