The Vietnam War
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- Category: History: American
- Date Submitted: 04/24/2011 11:46 AM
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The Vietnam War was the longest war in United States History. It started in 1950 when the United States sent funding and troops to help the French, and ended in 1975 when the last of our troops came home from Thailand. Thousands of United States soldiers died in this time. There was an anti-war movement in the home land while the war was at its peak in Indo-China. The war caused a great unrest amongst students.
Student Unrest
The citizens of the United States did not understand our involvement in the affairs of the countries in Indo-China. The politicians believed that if Vietnam fell to communist rule, then there would be a “domino effect” with the surrounding countries. The citizens did not believe we had any business getting in the middle of it.
When the draft was introduced, the student unrest began. Many students found it easy to use their schools to find members for their cause. They formed groups like the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to stage protests and rally against the war.
It was the Kent State Shootings that really set off the protests. On May 1st. 1970, a group of about 500 students gathered in the Kent State University commons area for a peaceful protest. When the police dispersed the crowd, they retreated to bars. Some bars were scared that the protests would get out of control, so they shut down. When the students began to gather in the streets and started rioting, the Mayor ordered all bars to close. The police finally dispersed the crowd.
On May 2nd, the National Guard was called in. A couple of thousand students were gathered watching the ROTC building burn. No one was arrested for this arson. The police and firefighters were attacked with rocks and other objects while trying to put out the fire.
On May 3rd, the Mayor announced that he would be implementing a curfew. Students gathered around 8:00 to rally and protest more. The National Guard came in around 11:00pm and announced that the curfew was in affect....
Student Unrest
The citizens of the United States did not understand our involvement in the affairs of the countries in Indo-China. The politicians believed that if Vietnam fell to communist rule, then there would be a “domino effect” with the surrounding countries. The citizens did not believe we had any business getting in the middle of it.
When the draft was introduced, the student unrest began. Many students found it easy to use their schools to find members for their cause. They formed groups like the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to stage protests and rally against the war.
It was the Kent State Shootings that really set off the protests. On May 1st. 1970, a group of about 500 students gathered in the Kent State University commons area for a peaceful protest. When the police dispersed the crowd, they retreated to bars. Some bars were scared that the protests would get out of control, so they shut down. When the students began to gather in the streets and started rioting, the Mayor ordered all bars to close. The police finally dispersed the crowd.
On May 2nd, the National Guard was called in. A couple of thousand students were gathered watching the ROTC building burn. No one was arrested for this arson. The police and firefighters were attacked with rocks and other objects while trying to put out the fire.
On May 3rd, the Mayor announced that he would be implementing a curfew. Students gathered around 8:00 to rally and protest more. The National Guard came in around 11:00pm and announced that the curfew was in affect....