Anti War Movement of the Vietnam War Paper

Anti War Movement of the Vietnam War

HIS 145

May 17, 2010

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The evening news coverage of the Vietnam War in the fall of 1967 was at 90 percent. An

estimated 50 million tuned in for their daily updates of the war. During this period, the war was

supported favorably by most Americans and Congress. The media reported the Armed

Forces were making progress daily and this sat well with the viewing public. This perception

changed quickly when the military did not censor the journalists who were allowed to follow the

troops into combat missions and report what they encountered. The media personnel reported

more graphic stories and pictures, this was unsettling to the American public. The turning point

came in early 1968 when the media reported a United States defeat in which the military won.

The media would often report that the military could not win the war. The media was the

true cause for the turning point in the American perspective on the war in Vietnam and that there

was no way the troops could defeat the enemy.

In May 1970, college students across the nation were taking part in peaceful protests of

the war in Vietnam. The students wanted the troops home and did not like what they were seeing

on television every night. President Nixon made a decision to buy time for Vietnam and ordered

an attack on Cambodia. This did not sit well and set off a series of antiwar protests across the

country. On May 4, 1970, the students of Kent State University protest ended in tragedy. The

Ohio National Guardsmen killed four students while they were demonstrating. The tragedy

sparked a wave of demonstrations that crippled universities across the country. Between May 4

and May 8, universities averaged 100 demonstrations every day. Nationwide over 350 campuses

were on strike, and a reported 73 campus protests with violence. Students let the nation know

they were involved and wanted their...