A Nation Divided
Mr. White’s US History 2
Main Idea and ObjectivesMain 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 warTrace the roots of opposition to the warDescribe the antiwar movement and the growing divisions in U.S. public opinion about the war
The DraftMost 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 DraftMany young men looked for ways to avoid the draft, which was very easy to manipulate
Sympathetic doctors – would grant medical exemptionsSome changed where they lived to go to a different, more lenient draft boardSome joined National Guard or Coast Guard
College DefermentIf 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 MilitaryWomen were still not allowed to serve in combat rolesOver 10,000 women did serve, mostly as nursesAlso served in the USO and Red Cross
USO – provided hospitality and entertainmentRed 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 WarYouths 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 thereSome said Diem’s South Vietnamese government wasn’t any better than North VietnamSome thought war was draining America’s strengthSome 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 NationAmericans were increasingly divided into two camps:
Doves – those who were opposed to the war and thought it should endHawks – felt America should use its military might to win the war
Some believed that the protests were acts of disloyalty
Johnson Remains DeterminedJohnson remained firm
Doves 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