The War at Home

Section 20.3

Protest on a college campus during Vietnam War

Abraham, Martin And JohnRecorded by "Dion“ (1968)

Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?Can you tell me where he's gone?

He freed a lot of people, But it seems the good they die young.

You know, I just looked around and he's gone.

Anybody here seen my old friend John?Can you tell me where he's gone?

He freed a lot of people, But it seems the good they die young.

I just looked around and he's gone.

Anybody here seen my old friend Martin?Can you tell me where he's gone?

He freed a lot of people, But it seems the good they die young.

I just looked 'round and he's gone.

Didn't you love the things that they stood for?Didn't they try to find some good for you and

me?And we'll be free

Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?

Can you tell me where he's gone?I thought I saw him walk up over the hill,

With Abraham, Martin and John.

Clockwise, from top: Lincoln, JFK, RFK, King

Abraham, Martin And John

Capture of clippings on Lincoln’s assassination from video clip

Love it or Leave it?

Capture from clip of father/son conflict over the war

Is it disloyal or unpatriotic to protest a war? Do protesters weaken America/morale? What does it

mean to “support the troops”?

Montage of 21st century protest images: people singing songs and carrying signs

Campus Unrest PresentationReprise of opening image

Describe colleges in the 1960s.• Attendance skyrocketed

– 1950- 1 million– 1969- 8 million

• Students– White-upper middle class

background– Affluent– Idealistic

• Joined Peace Corps, Civil Rights movement

• Minority formed New Left– Radical liberals who opposed

Established authority– Admired Ho Chi Mihn, Fidel Castro,

Black Panthers, Che Guevara

Above: traditional college classroom; below: Che Guevara

Campus Unrest

Capture from clip on free speech restrictions on college campuses

What is the SDS?• Student for a Democratic Society

– Core of radical New Left from University of Michigan

• Port Huron Statement– Known as an Agenda for a

Generation• Co written by Tom Hayden

– Said US was controlled by governmental, corporate, and educational machine that attempted to program the individual

• Called for– Participatory democracy, free

speech on college campuses, end of Vietnam War

– Methods• Peaceful resistance (at first)

Above: free speech rally; below: student activists

What issue made the membership of SDS skyrocket?

• Vietnam!!!

• Rooted in Civil Rights Movement

• 1965 large scale bombing and first combat troops sent to Vietnam– 10 thousand new members– 150 Chapters– Led Antiwar protest – Organized Teach-ins

College student staffs recruiting station for SDS

Capture from clip on SDS

Weather Underground

Members of the Weather Underground

Weather Underground

Capture from clip on the Weathermen (W. Underground)

Draft Presentation

Above: burning draft cards; left: as labeled

Who was subject to the draft and what problems arose from it?

• Draft- mandatory military service– 18 to 25 chosen according to lottery

• Deferment= postponement of service– Full time college student, Children, Health

• Working class– poor twice as likely to see combat– Blacks

• 10% of population• Made up 18% of draftees

• Conscientious objectors– Refused to fight for moral reasons

• Draft dodgers– Used political influence to avoid Vietnam

• Draft resisters– Went underground, to Canada

FORTUNATE SON Credence Clearwater Revival

Some folks are born made to wave the flag,Ooh, they're red, white and blue.

And when the band plays "Hail to the chief",Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord,

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no senator's son, son.It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, no,

Yeah!Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,

Lord, don't they help themselves, oh.But when the taxman comes to the door,

Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no millionaire's son, no.

It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, no.Some folks inherit star spangled eyes,Ooh, they send you down to war, Lord,

And when you ask them, "How much should we give?"Ooh, they only answer More! more! more! oh,

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no military son, son.It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, one.

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate one, no no no,It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate son, no no no,

Describe Antiwar protests in the late 60s: • Growing! And more diverse!• March on the Pentagon

10/21/67– 10 thousand protesters

marched at the Pentagon– Placed flowers in barrels of

troops• Women Strike for Peace

– Pounded on McNamara’s door

• SDS 4/23/68– Protested Columbia

University’s ties to military research

Above: another demonstration; below: putting a daisy in the gun barrel

Capture from clip on veterans-turned-protestors

What were the results of antiwar protests?

• Nation divided between hawks and doves

– Before 1968, 70% of America viewed protestors as disloyal

– This changed after Tet: most were at least neutral

Above: rally for Nixon and Agnew; below: Peace Now

What role did the media play in the Vietnam war?

• Molded public opinion by what they reported/did not report

• Not censored by military• 1968- over 800 reporters in

Vietnam• Generally supported war

until Tet• Questioned

– reliability of Government reports

– Whether we should be there in 1st place

• Showed graphic images of war

Above: Dan Rather as young reporter; below: iconic photo of Vietnamese girl, victim of a napalm attack, running naked down the road

Napalm Attack

Capture from clip on napalm attacks

My Lai Massacre

Woman about to be shot point-blank (symbolizes My Lai)

• US soldiers massacred 350 civilians– Village had been used as

VC sniper base• Revealed brutality of war• Lieutenant Calley

– Became the scapegoat for military

– Said he was following orders

– Sentenced to life in prison

– Paroled by Nixon

What happened at My Lai in Nov. of 1969?

Above: actual footage from My Lai (seconds later, these people were shot); below: bodies in a ditch

My Lai Massacre

Capture from great clip: an aged Cronkite narrates a report on My Lai

Americans did this!!!

Bloody dead bodies, killed by Calley and his men

What was the Silent Majority?• Nixon's label for his supporters

– Hard working, tax paying Americans who quietly supported their government

• Divided America into we and they– We= silent majority– They= radical counterculture

protesters

• Result– Turned some peaceful protesters

into violent revolutionaries– Ex. The Weathermen

Above: Nixon supporters; below: the Weathermen

Nixon and the Silent Majority

Capture from clip of Nixon’s inaugural: shows the conservatives still had huge support

So let’s revisit question #1: What would you do? Is it justified to protest a war you view as unjust? How far should protesters go?

Capture from another clip on anti-war movement

Kent State Shootings

College student lies dead at Kent State

What happened at Kent State (Ohio) 5/3/70?

• Nixon announced that US soldiers invaded Cambodia to attack VC bases– Perceived expansion of war

outraged college students

• National guardsmen called to Kent State University to stop student rioting, arson

• Jeering students + nervous guardsmen = chaos– 4 dead, 9 injured

• Public opinion divided – Some blamed government, others

students

Above: protestor waves a communist flag; below: reprise of Kent State victim

Kent State and Public Reaction

Capture from clip on Kent State, Cambodia and reaction

You know, you see these bums, you know, blowin' up the

campuses. Listen, the boys that are on the

college campuses today are the luckiest

people in the world, going to the greatest universities,

and here they are, burnin' up the books, I mean,

stormin' around about this issue, I mean, you name

it - get rid of the war, there'll be another one.

-- Richard Nixon, New York Times, May 2, 1970

Nixon on cover of Time: self-explanatory caption

Capture from clip addressing the hostility directed at the students

by conservative Americans

Are there limits to the 1st Amendment?

Montage of 21st century protest clips