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Opposition to Vietnam War - Coggle Diagram
Opposition to Vietnam War
Dodging the Draft
When your country makes military service compulsory
Public figures (e.g.Muhammad Ali - refused the draft in 1967) risked prison rather than go to Vietnam
Point of focus for Black Civil Rights Movement
Ali stated he wasn't going to fight against a group of people just because the US disagreed with their politics
White, rich men more easily able to dodge than black men - had more power and influence (e.g. Donald Trump, George W Bush)
30% of African Americans drafted compared to 19% of white Americans
Effect of the media
President Johnson said that if he lost the support of Cronkite, he had lost the support of middle America
Media reflected the changing mood to the war (attitudes becoming negative by 1967 anyway)
US public saw what was happening to innocent civilians
TV reporters went to Vietnam - fighting filmed and shown
Saw young US soldiers being injured/killed
Civil Rights
Martin Luther King spoke out against the war in 1967
President Johnson had promised to create a 'Great Society' in 1964 (e.g. better living standards, health care, benefits)
Cost of Vietnam war meant President Johnson could not focus on a 'Great Society' - link to poverty and welfare
MLK and MA spoke out against war - government should focus on racism at home and not fight abroad
Cost of the war
By 1967, war=$30 billion a year
By 1967, casualties=15,000 killed and 110,000 wounded
Many soldiers returned missing limbs, addicted to drugs and suffering from psychological impacts of the war
Student Movement
Many young Americans didn't want to be drafted to fight in a war they didn't believe in
War had become a symbol of defeat, moral corruption and confusion
Thousands began to draft dodge
Anti-war protests reacted their height 1968-1970
Protests included burning the American flag (criminal offense) - symbol of rejecting American values
Kent State Uni, 1970
Student organised a demonstration against President Nixon's decision to invade Cambodia
4 student killed, 11 injured
400 colleges closed as 2 million student went on strike in protest of action