The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was unlike anything that the United States had ever been involved in before.   Many were unsure what exactly this war was all about.   Since the draft was reinstated, many men were trying to find a way to escape being forced into war.   The soldiers were treated like enemies rather than as the brave heroes they surely were.   The Vietnam War happened during the “hippie era” of the United States, and in turn there were hundreds of protests on college campuses all across the country.   Once the war ended, it was not truly over.   The social and political outcomes that followed were not something anyone could have been prepared for.
The catalyst to one of the most notorious protests was after President Nixon had recently “…expanded the war beyond Vietnam into Cambodia…” (Davidson, 2005).   Students at Kent State University decided to protest this decision on May 4, 1970.   About 300 student protestors gathered, and after burning the pages of a the Constitution form a text book, were returning back to campus to “…burn down an old army ROTC building.” (Davidson, 2005).   Word of this got back to Governor James Rhodes who in turn ordered the National Guard to the campus.   The National Guard had ordered the crowd of protestors to leave immediately, and while a few did, most did not.   In fact, some of the protestors began throwing rocks and stood their ground.   “The guardsmen suddenly fired into the crowd, many of whom were students passing back and forth from classes.”   (Davidson, 2005).   Three students were killed and nine more were wounded.   Unfortunately this was not an isolated event.   On May 14, 1970, two students were killed and dozens of others were injured after police opened fire on unarmed protesters inside of a dormitory at Jackson State in Mississippi.   The protests were influential in that they cast doubt in many leaders minds.   So much doubt, in fact, that many of these leaders advised President Johnson to try to reach some sort of resolution in...