Anti-Vietnam War Protest

On August 5th, 1964, North Vietnam launched torpedo boats to attack two of the United States' destroyers unprovoked. This incident happened in the Gulf of Tonkin and led the United States to become more engaged with the Vietnam War; President Lyndon B. Johnson chose to fight back with regular bombings in North Vietnam. However, the anti-war movement had started on college campuses and gained tremendous support, spreading awareness across the country due to an organization, Students for a Democratic Society. These protest began rather small and peaceful, but heated up in 1965 after the US began bombings of North Vietnam. The vast majority supported the US policy towards Vietnam around 1964, the minority being many students, music artist, and members of the hippie movement. Also a higher number of young people who rejected authority and embraced drug culture were members of the hippie movement.

The protest addressed Anti-war for Vietnam on November 15th, 1969, and took place in D.C.'s National Mall. Protestors were disappointed with the President's choices with Vietnam. They believe our country shall be in peace with Vietnam to prevent Vietnam from harming the United States. When Richard Nixon took over after Lyndon B. Johnson's presidency, about 34,000 Americans had died fighting in Vietnam. “Nixon claimed in a famous speech that anti-war protesters constituted a small–albeit vocal–minority that should not be allowed to drown out the “silent majority” of Americans. Nixon’s war policies divided the nation still further, however: In December 1969, the government instituted the first U.S. draft lottery since World War II, inciting a vast amount of controversy and causing many young men to flee to Canada to avoid conscription” (History.com, 2010).

Half of the millions of people gathered around to use their platform to be heard, and was the most massive anti-war protest in U.S. history. “The launch of the Tet Offensive by North Vietnamese communist troops in January 1968, and its success against U.S. and South Vietnamese troops, sent waves of shock and discontent across the home front and sparked the most intense period of anti-war protests to date” (History.com, 2010).. The protest was mainly peaceful.

Significant people like Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, and Charles Goodell provided antiwar speeches and sang John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance," along with protestors. The outcome ended up with the United States losing the war; President Richard Nixon withdrew U.S. forces from fighting Vietnam in 1973.

History.com Editors. (2010, February 22). Vietnam War Protests. Retrieved September 12, 2020, from https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-protests

Network, T. (2011, November 15). Nov. 15, 1969 | Anti-Vietnam War Demonstration Held. Retrieved September 12, 2020, from https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/nov-15-1969-anti-vietnam-war-demonstration-held/

Thousands protest the war in Vietnam. (2009, November 13). Retrieved September 12, 2020, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thousands-protest-the-war-in-vietnam