GroupB

The Vietnam Anti-War Movement

History of the organization/movement
The Vietnam anti-war protests were arguably the most famous anti-war protests in US history. The extreme controversy was whether or not to continue fighting in Vietnam. The United States was fighting with its South Vietnam anti-communist allies and Russia was fighting with its communist North Vietnam allies. The main cause/problem the anti-war protesters had was that we were fighting a war that was not a direct influence on the US people. Many anti-war posters included "we will not fight the rich man's war" signifying that it was a war that peaked only a small percent of the population. Many of the protesters were family members of young men around the ages of 18-22 that were drafted to fight in Vietnam. Most felt it wasn't right for such inexperienced young boys with bright futures to be thrown into battle for a war that, in their eyes, was not worth fighting for. Many struggles of this protest group included failure to influence the government, abuse by local police, and many others. One of the biggest struggles was between the protesters and the soldiers-- as the soldiers felt disrespected for giving their lives on the battle field. The anti-war protests were during a time of many other protests. One could say these anti-war protests were inspired by many of the civil rights movement protests such as equality and black-power.

Context of the Organization/Movement
The Vietnam War was opposed by some Americans, because of the reaction to the media's coverage of the condition in Southeast Asia, opposition of the draft, and moral, legal, and pragmatic arguments against U.S. intervention. The war began in a time of tremendous student activism which came after the free speech and civil rights movement and when technology was more advanced. College students voiced their opinion that the war was immoral; because of they believed the U.S. to have imperialistic goals in Vietnam. Technology allowed extensive television coverage to the situation in Vietnam so American citizens were made more aware of the casualties with photographic evidence. As more citizens became aware, more of them believed this war was a civil war and should be handled by Vietnam instead of having the U.S. intervene. This movement had the support of some well-known figures at that time like Martin Luther King Jr who voiced his opposition to the U.S.'s involvement in the war, "We have destroyed their land and their crops. We have supported the enemies of the peasants of Saigon." This war also required a large amount of man power and drafting began. The Draft was hated by many for the way it threatened registrants in the lower and middle class since they believed it was unfairly administered. The protesters were fighting for the U.S.'s involvement in the Vietnam War to cease.

Tactics
As a function of the variety of people working for this cause, the tactics ranged immensely. Many of the people believed that peaceful protests would force the government to retract our troops, so all over the country protests were held. By 1969, hundreds of thousands of people had protested or joined a demonstration for this cause. However, soon after, many felt that their time and effort was going unnoticed, and so many switched to more violent methods of getting their point across. They started retaliating against the police at their protests, blocking roads, and even burning ROTC buildings. In addition to this, many of the most active members of the movement were college students, and through severe student pressure, hundreds of campuses throughout the country were forced to go on strike. Most surprisingly were the actions of the dissatisfied soldiers. In all branches of the military, there were soldiers who stopped taking orders. In addition soldiers printed underground anti-war newspapers, and organized small scale mutinies.

Strengths and Weaknesses
A weakness of the movement was the divisiveness of the issue. Many in opposition to the war were primarily angry because of the draft whereas others felt America should not be involved in others affairs, while others were overcome with sympathy because of the devastation in Southeast Asia. However, almost all of the anti-war members believed that America had imperialistic goals in Vietnam, and so while the particulars might have been a weakness, the idea in general definitely strengthened the movement. The vigor and energy of the movement was really what gave it power, and if it were not for its longevity and abundance, it would not have had the overwhelming affect that it did.

Outcome
 Between 1973 and 1975, America slowly withdrew all of her troops from Vietnam. The Paris Peace Accord was signed by all countries, which mandated that US soldiers would be withdrawn and the prisoners of war would be exchanged. Yet almost 60,000 US soldiers died, and the casualties of Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians were at least four times that number. The anti-war movement hugely affected the war effort, and proved to many that it is impossible to win a war with so little public support. Yet for all the protests, all the demonstrations, all the damage done by this movement – 60,000 American soldiers still died.

[[image:protest1.jpg link="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Vietnamdem.jpg"]]
The members in the picture are part of an anti-war demonstration that occurred at the Pentagon. 

Artifact
Bob Dylan’s “Master of War” Come you masters of war You that build all the guns You that build the death planes You that build all the bombs You that hide behind walls You that hide behind desks I just want you to know I can see through your masks. You that never done nothin' But build to destroy You play with my world Like it's your little toy You put a gun in my hand And you hide from my eyes And you turn and run farther When the fast bullets fly. Like Judas of old You lie and deceive A world war can be won You want me to believe But I see through your eyes And I see through your brain Like I see through the water That runs down my drain. You fasten all the triggers For the others to fire Then you set back and watch When the death count gets higher You hide in your mansion' As young people's blood Flows out of their bodies And is buried in the mud. You've thrown the worst fear That can ever be hurled Fear to bring children Into the world For threatening my baby Unborn and unnamed You ain't worth the blood That runs in your veins. How much do I know To talk out of turn You might say that I'm young You might say I'm unlearned That even Jesus would never Forgive what you do. Let me ask you one question Is your money that good Will it buy you forgiveness Do you think that it could I think you will find When your death takes its toll All the money you made Will never buy back your soul. And I hope that you die And your death'll come soon I will follow your casket In the pale afternoon And I'll watch while you're lowered Down to your deathbed And I'll stand over your grave 'Til I'm sure that you're dead. [] The comments above deal with what the movement believes is unfairness of the draft as richer folk and politicians weren't as affected by the draft. As the ones who make the decisions to go to war, don't actually fight or die in the war. The comments are more radical than some members of this group would go since it refers to enjoying another’s death, but it seems the theme of the people without power are the ones laying down their lives is universal in all the Vietnam anti-war protests as the Draft was hated for the way certain groups felt it ‘targeted’ the lower and middle class.