The Antiwar Movement

The anti-war movement attracted people from college campuses, middle class suburbs, labour unions and government institutions. Pacifists were also against the war on moral and religious grounds as they believed all war is wrong because it is against Christian teaching. By the end of the sixties,

The first major antiwar march on Washington D.C. took place in April of 1965. It was organized by the Students for a Democratic Society, and attracted over twenty-five thousand people (McCormick, 37). College students made up a majority of the protestors in almost any gathering. "However the antiwar movement

From the time that the War Resisters League was created, its stance has been against war on an international and civil level. However, it was a one-stance organization when it was first created. This changed at the start of World War II, as several of the members declared themselves conscientious objectors and spent the war years either in Civilian Public Service camps or in prison. The experiences in the Civilian Public Service camps and prison prompted the members to achieve fair working conditions, meaningful work in terms of national interest, and racial integration. As a result, the War Resisters League’s agenda changed from one to several issues. Since then, the issues that the War Resisters league have worked on are World War II, prison life and segregation in prison, Cold War and civil defense drills, Watergate scandal, fight against racism and equality including working closely with Martin Luther King Jr. during the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Great March for Jobs and Freedom, Vietnam War, nuclear warfare and chemical weaponry, women’s rights, poverty and race including the poverty draft into the military, and ending corporate profit from war.

The war in Vietnam did not affect only matured political leaders. In fact, one of the largest demographics affected by the war was the population of young adults ages 18-35. These people, who were commonly referred to as ‘college aged’, experienced a time of revolution during 1961-1975. Previous to the war, students in universities could not voice their opinions on political or social issues. The voting age at the time was actually 21, meaning many students in college could not even vote in elections. Despite their oppression, many students felt that their opinions were valid and wanted to be heard. This birthed the Free Speech Movement. Programs and organizations such as Chicago’s JOIN (Jobs or Income Now), SDS (Students for a Democratic Society), and other campus-based political organizations fueled the fight for equality of all ages. Much of the Free Speech Movement’s success can be credited to Mario Savio’s intense speeches. The generation of students in

The Vietnam War made impacts on the movement back home. As in 1967 Martin Luther King Jr. even went against his own beliefs of not speaking out about the war he began preaching that it is truly sad to see African American people and the poor who can not make a living, being drafted (Doc C). Not only were they being drafted they were also dying at a much higher rate then just about every other group in society (Doc C). MLK also stated that these individuals were fighting to establish peace and rights over in Vietnam, while they did not even have these for themselves (Doc C). During the Vietnam years there still was some of the American population who supported the war, but would not speak out publicly about supporting the actions. This group was given the name the silent majority. Richard Nixon while in office spoke out about the group saying that the silent majority needs to speak out publicly as all the messages going around about the war are negative (Doc G). He also said in his speech that even though some people may not like the war everyone should help in the mind of creating peace in South Vietnam and that without everyone coming together in the nation that the US military could be defeated in the war (Doc

From the late 1950s to the late 1970s a phenomenon erupted over the United States. A proud counter culture was born in the midst of the Vietnam War. Many people protested against the Vietnam War and the horrors that many people saw on TV because of it. Many incidents triggered the Anti-War movement and the Hippie counter culture such as the growing United States involvement in Southern Vietnam, the gruesome images that the evening news showed uncensored, the draft that caused many thousands of men to lose their lives and their minds as the end result of the war. This war triggered a great sense of what is right and wrong in specifically young people. Social justice and moral justice were some of the main focal points of the Anti-War and Hippie movements. This war allowed teenagers and young adults to have power in what they believe in and to stand up against unjust killings of our men and innocent lives in Vietnam. The eighteen-year span of the war from 1956 -1975 saw the rise and eventually the fall of the anti-war movement and the hippie movement.

According to president Franklin D. Roosevelt the future world shout be a world that people have essential human freedoms also known as the four freedoms; freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. The reason of the United States took part in the World War II was to fight for human’s freedoms to liberate humanity in Europe and Asia, and to spread the American democracy to the entire world. “A revolution which goes on steadily, quietly adjusting itself to changing conditions without the concentration camp or the quick –lime in the ditch” (Franklin D. Roosevelt 1941). However the war enhanced the commitment of many white Americans to maintain the existing racial order in the United States. The war also gave birth to the civil right movement. While we were fighting for the freedom of other nations there were still inequality exist in the United States. The World War II didn’t directly push forward the democracy in the United States; on the contrary it created many inequalities on non-white races during the World War II and post war that directly lead to the civil right movement. The civil right movement is a “war” that African-Americans against inequality in education, social rights, and human rights it given people the idea that the existing racial order in the united states was wrong, so the civil rights movement directly push forward the American democracy to a step forward.

Many of the movements came from college students. One of these groups was the Students for a Democratic Society. This group had emphasized individual rights, demanded economic justice and a variety of social reforms. It largely rejected current American society and condemned the Cold War structure, poverty, and segregation. The SDS would be the largest radical student organization of the 1960’s. Along with movements with colleges, television shows no longer reinforced cultural norms, but began to challenge norms that included opinions on the war, gender, race, etc. In regards to racial equality, there were several groups who pushed for change. The Black Panthers were an example with how they sought several changes in African American treatment, and demanded changes such as full employment, decent housing, and decent education. Martin Luther King Jr. was also part of huge movements during the 1960’s as well, such as the Civil Rights Movement, and the Poor People’s Campaign of 1968 that focused primarily on economic justice across racial lines. Gender roles were also a part of various movements in the 1960’s. Betty Friedan was an example of one of the leading figures on how she depicted the roles of women in industrial societies, and focused on the popular notion that women during this time could only find fulfillment through childbearing

The anti-war protests of the 1960s was a response of resentment by minorities and young educated college students against the nation’s desire to participate in war against Communism in Vietnam and conduct a military draft. The protests, originally began with peaceful public demonstrations by activists, who were nonviolent; however, the peaceful demonstrators were frequently attacked and victimized by the police and other citizens, who did not share their same opinion. Throughout the peaceful protests the activists suffered many beatings in the hands of the police and as a result, many of the activists claimed the right of self-defense and turned to taking offensive actions against their oppressors including the police and other citizens. Later, the scene of violence and mayhem quickly shifted to college campuses, to which college students began protesting the draft (Gurr, 1989, pp. 183-185). At the time the average age of an American soldier serving in Vietnam was 19 and students quickly rebelled after realizing that young Americans were legally old enough to be drafted to fight and die, but were not yet legally allowed to vote or drink alcohol (UShistory, nd.).

Pacifism covers an array of views and there are many subcategories of pacifism, some of which I will cover, but the main definition of the word pacifism is the opposition to war and/or violence. Perhaps the most famous use of the word pacifism is found in the “Sermon on the Mount”, where Jesus claims the “peacemakers” are blessed. In this passage, the Greek word eirenopoios is translated into Latin as pacifici, which means those who work for peace. One common and simple argument for pacifism among religious groups or god fearing people is the argument that god’s revealed words says, through the bible, “Thou shalt not kill.”

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Students were one of the first organizations who rallied behind ending the Vietnam war. In part because they were the most affected, especially young male college students who were targets for the draft. Although there were many student organizations like The Student Peace Union (SPU) and Young Socialist Alliance (YSA) the face of the students by 1965 would be the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)(11). Founded in 1960, the SDS began as a student branch of the League for Industrial Democracy(27). A misconception about the SDS was that they were advocates for “draft-dodging” program and that they were the leading anti-war organization(60). On the contrary, the SDS believed in a broader social change that would help end the Vietnam War.

As the presidential race rages on, Donald Trump has lashed out against a fellow republican candidate who was seemingly slated early on as a potential vice president running mate. Instead, Trump has turned the table on Cruz by running a 30-second commercial ad portraying candidate Ted Cruz campaign of wrongful practices in his candidacy sweetheart funding, amnesty for illegal immigrants, and falsely accused the Cruz campaign of starting rumors of Ben Carson suspending his bid for the White House.

Description: The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was formed in 1959 after they decided to branch off of the Student League for Industrial Democracy, which was the youth branch of the Socialist League for Industrial Democracy. The SDS was a radical group made up of teens and young adults that sought to overthrow America’s democratic society and remake it in a Marxist image. Many of the SDS’ key members where known as “red diaper babies” as their parents were often members of the Communist parties of the 1930’s. The Students for a Democratic Society’s founding can be accredited to a man named Aryeh Neier in 1959; who would later become the National Executive Director of the ACLU and go on to build two other influential organizations, the Human Rights Watch and the Open Society Institute. SDS held its first meeting in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1960 where it announced its first President, Alan Haber. Haber was an editor for the student newspaper at the University of Michigan and was known as “Ann Arbor’s resident radical”. From their first meeting, the SDS decided that they wanted to set the tone and introduce an itinerary for their generation as they grew to influence the political world. The SDS denounced bigotry, materialism, personal alienation, and industrialization in America and also widely protested American abundance, the threat of nuclear war, military spending, and the Cold War. They publicly addressed this in 1962 by creating what historian Michael Kazin

Starting with teach-ins during the spring of 1965, the massive antiwar efforts centered on the colleges, with the students playing leading roles. These teach-ins were mass public demonstrations, usually held in the spring and fall seasons. The teach-in movement was at first, a gentle approach to the antiwar activity (Gettleman, 54). "Teach-ins were one important way to bring more people into the antiwar movement. During a teach-in, students, faculty members, and guest speakers discussed issues concerning the Vietnam war"(McCormick, 37).