Why did students protest during the Vietnam War?

Republican President Richard Nixon suspected that most students protested the Vietnam War because they feared being drafted. Because Nixon was then withdrawing U.S. troops from South Vietnam, the higher a young man’s draft number, the less likely he would be inducted. Nearly all campus anti-war protest ended.

How did college students protest the Vietnam War?

The student strike of 1970 was a massive protest across the United States, that included walk-outs from college and high school classrooms initially in response to the United States expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia.

What role did students play in the protest movements of the 1960s?

The first third of the 1960s student movement was dedicated to resolving issues involving civil rights, poverty and liberating college students. By 1965, the tide of protest changed for students as they began focusing on the war in Vietnam. At first, students gathered to protest the war in general.

What was the main message of those who protested the Vietnam War?

Peace movement leaders opposed the war on moral and economic grounds. The North Vietnamese, they argued, were fighting a patriotic war to rid themselves of foreign aggressors.

Why did students protest the draft?

Protesting the Draft Demonstrations grew in 1966, spurred by a change in the Selective Service System’s draft policy that exposed students in the bottom of half of their classes to the possibility that their deferments would be revoked and they would be drafted.

What happened during the Vietnam War protests?

Protests against the Vietnam War took place in the 1960s and 1970s. The protests were part of a movement in opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War. The majority of the protests were in the United States, but some took place around the world.

What role did students play during the civil rights movement?

From its inception, the 1960s civil-rights movement was fueled by youth leaders and student activists. In many cases college students were the ones leading marches, voter-registration drives, and social-justice actions.

Which act was a protest against the Vietnam?

Draft-card burning became one of the most iconic forms of protest during the war. It was a gesture made by young men who wished to buck the system but were not comfortable with more extreme measures such as going to Canada, participating in riots, or destroying induction centers.

What was the impact of student protests on war policy?

Student groups held protests and demonstrations, burned draft cards, and chanted slogans like “Hey, hey LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?” Massive US spending on the war effort contributed to skyrocketing deficits and deteriorating economic conditions at home, which turned more segments of the American public.

What student organizations grew from the antiwar movement?

The Young Communist League (YCL) and the National Student League (the Com- munist Party affiliated national student group) were relative newcomers to student antiwar activity. They would play, however, a key role in the student movement of the 1930’s.

Where did the first organized student opposition to the Vietnam War take place?

The May 1970 student strike at the University of Washington was part of a national week of student strikes, organized in reaction to the expansion of the Vietnam War in Cambodia, the killings of student protesters at Kent State University, and “to reconstitute the University as a center for organizing against the war …

When did students start protesting the Vietnam War?

By 1970, Americans were deeply divided over the Vietnam War. Antiwar protests were common and intensified as the number of casualties increased and U.S. troops invaded Cambodia. On May 1, students at Kent State University in Ohio began a protest against the war.

What was the student movement in the 1960s?

Read about the student protests against the Cold War in the 1960s. The student movement arose to demand free speech on college campuses, but as the US involvement in the Vietnam war expanded, the war became the main target of student-led protests.

What was the name of the group that protested the Vietnam War?

Anti-war marches and other protests, such as the ones organized by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), attracted a widening base of support over the next three years, peaking in early 1968 after the successful Tet Offensive by North Vietnamese troops proved that war’s end was nowhere in sight.

When did student protest turn into anti communism?

On November 17, 1989 a student march marking International Students Day turned into an anti-communism rally. The peaceful marchers were attacked by riot police and 167 of them were hospitalized. Rather than squelch the student movement, the attack further united the protestors and much of the country against the government’s tyranny.