The protest movement against the Vietnam War, sometimes called the peace movement, began shortly after the war started, and lasted into the 1970's. At its height, millions were involved. The Vietnam War did not only divide the American people but also the USA's European allies. It often resulted in great bitterness between those who supported it, and those who opposed it. In the end, the protest movement was an important factor in the American decision to leave Vietnam and in ending the war itself.
Early protests
The first protest against US involvement in Vietnam took place in New York in 1963. It was organised by Thomas Cornell, a member of the Catholic Worker Movement. The following year, Cornell formed the Catholic Peace Fellowship with two priests, Daniel and Philip Berrigan. In 1964, a peace rally in Washington DC, was attended by 25,000 people. Some of those marching were socialists and communists who supported North Vietnam, but most were pacifists. They opposed the war because they believed that war and killing were morally wrong. Pacisfist were so sure that the war was wrong that in November 1965, one of them, a Quaker from Baltimore named Norman Morrison, set fire to himself in the street. A few weeks later, two others followed him. This was done to gain publicity and to draw attention to their views.
Students
Thousands of students across the USA become the most active protesters against the war. In 1965, more than 3,000 attended the first anti-war 'teach-in' at the University of Michigan, sparking off a 100 further teach-in's across the country. At these events, students refused to attend lectures and to leave their universities. Instead, they spent the time with their teachers discussing the war and their opposition to the USA's involvement in it. As this grew, student protests increased. In April 1965, 20,000 people attended a rally at the Washington Monument organised by Students for a Democratic Society. By 1967, student protests were becoming less peaceful. Strikes and shouting down government speakers were common.
The anti-draft movements
There were widespread protests against the draft by thousands of young Americans and their supporters. In 1965, David Miller publicly burnt his draft card and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. In late 1966, there was an increase in anti-draft protests after Bruce Dancis, a student at Cornell University, destroyed his draft card and mailed the remains to his draft board. Cornell students formed the first 'We Won't Go' group, followed by two dozen such groups on college campuses. Burning draft cards became a common scene throughout the country, but the government was determined to punish those refusing to fight.
By the end of 1969, 34,000 draft dodgers were wanted by the poljice whilst between 1963 and 1973, 9118 men were prosecuted of avoiding it. In all, around 40,000 young Americans left the country to avoid the draft, 30,000 going to Canada. What rwally brought home to Americans the horrors of Vietnam was the formation of 'Vietnam Veterans Against the War' in 1967. This was a group of ex-soldiers who had fought in Vietnam and who were campaigning for the end of the USA's involvement. They were given great publicity, particularly those disabled from injuries received in the fighting. They had seen the war at first hand and were completely opposed to it.
Martin Luther King
In April 1967, around 400,000 attended a mass protest in New York against the war, and 175 young men burnt their draft cards. Also attending this demonstration was the great black civil rights campaigner, Martin Luther King. King attacked the war, not only because he thought it was morally wrong, but also because the money spent on it - $66 million a day - meant that President Johnson had had to cut back his programs to tackle poverty, especially among blacks. Most of all, King objected to the number of blacks fighting in Vietnam, when other young Americans, mostly whites, at college or university, could defer the draft. Blacks formed a larger percentage of the US army in Vietnam than they did in the US population. Black militants wanted to go much further than King. They threatened to kill the whites who drafted them. In May 1967, the famous boxer, Muhammed Ali, was indicted for refusing to be drafted.
The march on the Pentagon
In 1967, 100,000 anti-war protesters gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. When the rally ended, over 50,000 people, led by the radical Jerry Rubin, marched to the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US military, to continue their protest. The Pentagon was surrounded by 10,000 troops, armed with tear gas, truncheons and unloaded guns. When the protesters attempted to enter the building, violence broke out and there were 1000 arrests. 1967 ended with opposition to the war increasing and becoming more violent.
1968 - a terrible year for America
In the spring and early summer, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, brother of the former president were assassinated. Although the killings were unonnected to the war, they were seen as terrible signs of increasing violence. The Tet Offensive in January 1968 suprised the US military and made many realise the war could not be won. In a survey taken just after the Tet Offensive, 63% of Americans opposed the war. Protests against the war continued in America and throughout the world. Most capital cities in Western Europe saw violent demonstrations, particularly London and Paris. There were similar scenes in Australia.
Johnson decides to stand down
On the 31st March 1968, Lydon B. Johnson, worn down by the growing opposition to the war, announced that he would not be standing again for the US presidency. Robert McNamara, the US Defense Secretary, also announced his decision to retire. The anti-war movement saw the Democrat Senator Eugene McCarthy as the man to follow Johnson. In Chicago in August, the Democratic Party would meet to select their candidate to stand for the presidency against the Republican, Richard Nixon.