22.+Antiwar+Notes


 * Why did people start protesting the war in Vietnam?:**
 * Many people began to oppose the draft, arguing that it was unfair to the poor or enethical to send men to fight an unnecessary war.
 * The way the army was fighting made people worried. They used things like agent orange and gorilla warfare made people fear of the things that their fellow Americans were going up against. That made everyone worry and want their troops to come home, as well as them using chemical weapons.
 * The Tet offensive made people get more angry at the war and not support it. Also, now 60% of Americans thought the war was a mistake and started to pound down on LBJ for getting us involved in this mess that we were not going to win.
 * The media played a HUGE role because the whole thing was being televised and they could all see how harsh and just gruesome this war was turning out to be. In 1967 was when the media stopped being so positive and started doubting the war and one anchor on CBS quoted, "What the hell is going on? I thought we were winning the war!"
 * Nixon was generally liked until he expanded the war and made it every more extensive. On April 30, Nixon ordered a search and destroy mission of the Army to get rid of the trail that the VC came to the US on. After this in 1970, two thirds of Americans were against the war.
 * The war was getting personal and so many people were dying and it made people just want it to end.


 * Methods used to protest the war:**
 * On college campuses, professors held "teach-ins". College faculty and students would meet to discuss and larn about the Vietnam War and challenge the government's policies.
 * They refused to enter the draft and instead they left the country of some even had to go to jail! This was actually a kind of effective way because without as many people entering in the draft and the fact that so many people were getting injured, they really needed those people in war.
 * Many of the youth also protested with the power of asking questions. They demanded for a reason as to why they were fighting and why the peace talks failed and why they weren't working out anymore. This caused the US to think about why exactly we were fighting and they did not know why.
 * The Students for Democracy Society held many things like Teach- Ins but most importantly, they held rallies and marches. The most important one was in Washington in April of 1965 where well known antiwar leaders made banners and even talked to people. This was much like the Civil Rights Movement and march on Washington.

> to have your boy come home in a box" - //Feel Like I'm Fixing To Die Rag//, Country Joe and the Fish
 * Different people or groups of people who protested:**
 * Hippies were members of the counterculture who rejected many American institutions. One of their biggest targets was the Vietnam War, which went agianst their idea of peace, love, and harmony.
 * The youth protested a lot, like the Students for Democracy Society. This group was part of the main rallies and marched that are still famous to this day.
 * Yippies also protested, the Yippies were an Youth International Party and they protested at many famous rallies, and even though they were very small, they were actually well known.
 * Martin Luther King was even a very great leader in the fight for peace. He tried hard just like he did with the Civil Rights Movement and was known partly for his action in the antiwar protests.
 * Lyrics of Anti Vietnam War songs:**
 * "Come on fathers don't hesitate, send your sons off before it's too late, and you can be the first ones on your block


 * "His mother got a Telegram, it was addressed from Vietnam....'but mistress Brown your son is dead!' And it came from Vietnam Vietnam Vietnam..... Vietnam Vietnam Vietnam- Somebody please stop that war now!" - Jimmy Cliff, "Vietnam"


 * "It was from my brother, don't you know that boy's laying down in Vietnam. Lord they say, you don't have no reason to fight. But the lord knows you think you're right..... The m others, all the wives. All the fathers that have sons in Vietnam, you hear me? This is to you, always." - Junior Wells, "Vietcong Blues"

"I got a letter from L. B. J. > It said this is your lucky day. > It's time to put your khaki trousers on. > Though it may seem very queer > We've got no jobs to give you here > So we are sending you to Viet Nam Lyndon Johnson told the nation, "Have no fear of escalation. > I am trying everyone to please. > Though it isn't really war, > We're sending fifty thousand more, > To help save Viet nam from Viet Namese." I jumped off the old troop ship, > And sank in mud up to my hips. > I cussed until the captain called me down. > Never mind how hard it's raining, > Think of all the ground we're gaining, > Just don't take one step outside of town. Every night the local gentry, > Sneak out past the sleeping sentry. > They go to join the old VC. > In their nightly little dramas, > They put on their black pajamas, > And come lobbing mortar shells at me. We go round in helicopters, > Like a bunch of big grasshoppers, > Searching for the Viet Cong in vain. > They left a note that they had gone. > They had to get down to Saigon, > Their government positions to maintain. Well here I sit in this rice paddy, > Wondering about Big Daddy, > And I know that Lyndon loves me so. > Yet how sadly I remember, > Way back yonder in November, > When he said I'd never have to go." - Tom Paxton, "Lyndon Johnson Told Me"











Video of protests: []

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Sites: http://lighthousepatriotjournal.wordpress.com/2008/04/09/historical-footnote-year-of-1968-part-1/ http://www.wellsphere.com/green-living-article/i-m-loving-mark-morford-s-column/342572  //Creating America// [|Vietnam Antiwar Movement Research List] from ABC-CLIO [|The Anti-War Movement in the United States] [|**Vietnam Protest** Movement] from Spartacus

Some potest music sites - part of [|Strange Fruit from PBS], [|Anti-War **Music**] from JWs Rock Garden, [|BBC NEWS **Vietnam**: The **music** of **protest**], [|**PROTEST MUSIC**] from SHSU,