Submitted by: Submitted by Husker3232
Views: 477
Words: 775
Pages: 4
Category: World History
Date Submitted: 10/28/2010 12:23 PM
Anti War Movement of the Vietnam War
HIS 145
May 17, 2010
| |
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...