1. Vietnam II: The Anti-war Movement
Reform, Revolt and Reaction
Lecture Nine, Term 2 Week 2

2. Establishment Critics
J. William Fulbright (Chairman of Senate Foreign relations committee)
Walter Lippmann (dean of American Journalists)
George Ball (Asst. Sec. of State under JFK)
George Kennan (theory of “containment”)
Hans Morgenthau (theorist on international relations)

3. “Teach-ins” University of Michigan, March 1965
Washington DC May 1965 (national, televised)

4. A Coherent “Movement”? Moderates Traditional Pacifists Communists
Criticism of nuclear weapons, but never demanded withdrawal
Traditional Pacifists
Christian values, linked to Civil Rights Movement, called for non-violent resistance
Communists
Not influential; war as imperialist genocide
Students for a Democratic Society (est. 1960)
Most aggressive, campus radicals – based on ideas of secular alienation
Hippies (from 1967 Yippies: New Youth International Party)
Cultural radicalism / anarchism?
National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam
Mobilization to End the War (MOBE)

5. Anti-War Posters

6. Spring 1965 Marches 20,000 protestors in Washington
500,000 protestors in Manhattan
“Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?”

7. Self Immolation
2 Nov 1965, Norman Morrison outside the Pentagon

8. 21 October 1967 March on Washington and the Pentagon

11. “The living room war”

12. The Silent Majority 1964 – 85% supported LBJ with Gulf of Tonkin
Feb 1965 – 35% wanted to withdraw; 75% wanted a negotiated settlement
July 1966 LBJ support at 46% - and continued to decline

13. The 1968 Democratic Convention

14. 4 May 1970 Kent State University

19. The Pentagon Papers
Study commissioned by McNamara leaked to New York Times, June 1971 by Daniel Ellsberg

20. Resisting the Draft 200,000 refused to obey draft orders
Sentence for draft evasion:
1965: 21 months
1968: 37 months
1972: 4,906 prosecutions (highest during war)

21. Organised Resistance to Draft
SDS Slogans 1966:
“Hell no, we won’t go!”
“Not with my life, you don’t!”
April 1967 Muhammad Ali refused draft
“The Resistance” (Berkeley)
Mass card turn-in Autumn 1967
Stop-the-Draft Week Oct 1967
Tried to shut down induction centre in Oakland, CA (failed)

23. How to defer the draft? College Work in defence company
Husbands/fathers
Medical problems
Homosexuality
Madness
Failing IQ tests
Conscientious objectors
Enlistment
National Guard / Coast guard
8, given permanent deferment
Easy to manipulate
Varied by locality
Lack of patriotism?
Selfishness?
Cowardice or courage?

24. Key Questions to Consider…
What groups of people opposed the war, and why?
How radical was the anti-war movement?
What impact did the media have on the anti-war movement?
How and why did people try to resist the draft?
How did ordinary people and conservatives react to the war and the anti-war movement?