Work produced by Abigail B, a year 11 student at Philips High School, Whitefield

Also, why the peace movement grew: there was huge amounts of media coverage; events such as the My Lai massacre provoked conflict; the actual cost of the war war affecting the entire country.

There are 6 main reasons why the peace movement grew in America, there are: the amount of American soldiers that were getting killed; many people couldn’t understand how America was defending itself from a country, which was 8,000 miles away. Finally,

powerful figures, like Martin Luther King, were also against the war in Vietnam.

THE DEATHS OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS AT A YOUNG AGE58,000 American soldiers were killed throughout the

war. Overall, for the amount of soldiers who died there was an average age of just 19. The war had been presented as an easy victory for the U.S; therefore it thoroughly angered the Americans when too many young soldiers were being reported dead in a supposedly easy war. For example in just one week 562 troops were killed. Especially since the troops were supporting a corrupt government. Many people became frustrated and confused at how 18, 19 and 20 year olds could fight and die however, couldn’t drink alcohol and smoke. This was one area that a national poll revealed had more influence to loathe war compared to the media.

HARD TO BELIEVE

Many Americans found it difficult to believe/ understand why America was defending itself in and against a country, which was over 8,000 miles away.

MEDIA COVERAGEThere were huge amounts of media coverage throughout all of

the war, from newspapers, to radio and television broadcasts. This brought all the horror of the war into the homes of all American civilians. People finally could see what really occurred during war. All the media from radio, newspapers and T.V were constantly reporting back to Europe and the U.S with images and videos of the horror of the war. This caused many Americans to begin protests and peace marches. Life magazine did a series of issues, which contain shocking images from the war. Strangely, the government made no attempt to census the media. What makes it worse is that the people of America would watch the war unfold, every night, on the news – in colour! Furthermore, journalists had the right and freedom to question the war all they liked and they would dig as deep as they could on every angle. Some viewed much of the media to be bias against the war, causing support of the war to lack, undermining moral and causing troops to become less efficient and lose out on victory.

EVENTSEvents during the war, such as the My Lai massacre, caused

huge uproar and debate; this also undermined the moral of the government, putting them in a position for a disadvantage in the war. The My Lai massacre had been attempted to be covered up, however was discovered when photographs were retrieved. This highlighted the reality of the war and deeply shocked the American public causing them to, again, protest for peace. It was often seen that the government were sanctioning the deaths of America’s young men and the children of North and South Vietnam. In one case a protest yelled to President Johnson: “Hey! Hey! How many kids did you kill today?” It was said that the American troops were running the environment, for the Vietnamese villagers, by using chemical weapons. The use of chemical weapons overall sparked a new riot. The Tet Offensive, was a surprise attack by Vietnamese troops upon the Americans, which proved to be drastic event bot6555h losing moral and more support.

COSTThe cost of the war was proving to be a huge burden on

America. It also meant that president Johnson has to cancel his ‘Great Society’ programme of reform. The cost of the war also took away funds from American towns for education, housing, welfare and necessary renovation. This obviously angered many American civilians. By 1968 the war was costing America just under $66 million per day! Because of this, taxes were increased, meaning there was now even more reason for the American civilians to become annoyed. If men were going to fight, they would be poorer men because the people who could afford to go to college go avoid the draft. Many saw this as unfair and this is another reason why they protested. This was one area that a national poll revealed had more influence to loathe war compared to the media.

INFLUENTIAL OPPOSITIONFamous figures, such as Martin Luther King and

Muhammad Ail thoroughly opposed the war. Martin Luther King attempted to join the civil rights movement and anti war movement in order to protest against the war. This earned him the anger of President Johnson, however gained him a lot of support from American civilians. Muhammad Ali was most famously seen burning his draft papers to join the war. Moreover, the majority of the black community in America was against the war because they were less likely to be able to avoid war and twice as more likely to die in the war compared to the average ‘wealthy white man’. Jane Fonda also visited North Vietnam in 1972 and in the previous years she participated in many protests and marches across the U.S.

TROOP DESERTIONBetween 1960 and 1973 many U.S troops began to

desert the war. They had become fed-up with the constant undermining or moral and thorough lack of support back home in America Overall 503,926 soldiers deserted their troops. One soldier, name Keith Franklin, wrote a letter which was opened on his death in 1970. It said “If you are reading this letter, you will never see me again, the reason being that if you are reading this I have died. The question is whether or. not my death has been in vain. The answer is yes. The war that has taken my life and many thousands before me is immoral, unlawful and an atrocity... I had no choice as to my fate. It was predetermined by the war-mongering hypocrites in Washington. As I lie dead, please grant my last request. Help me inform the American people, the silent majority who have not yet voiced their opinions."

PROTESTSThe first protests began in October of 1965 because the

draft was increased from 3,000 to 33,000. A common protest was tearing or burning draft papers. The Chicago Seven are an infamous group of seven protesters who attempted to begin an anti-Vietnam war riot outside Chicago’s Democratic National Convention hall in 1968. Out of the 7, only 5 men were convicted. In March 1966 there was evidence that the peace movement was growing, when a protest rally in New York has 50,000 protesters. A similar occurrence took place a year later, when 100,000 protesters participated in a march through Washington D.C. The first march to the capital, Washington D.C was in 196, when 25,000 people took part. As protests grew more violent, the police often had to stop the marches. Many protesters often brought doves to fly during protests. In November of 1965 Norman Morrison, a Quaker, publically set fire to himself as a protest to the war. In 1967, Vietnam Veterans against the War was formed. A group of former soldiers from Vietnam who, in disgust of the war, through away their badges, which some called their badges for murder. Also, many would publically apologise to the Vietnamese people. One even said: "I hope that someday I can return to Vietnam and help to rebuild that country we tore apart."

AMERICAN WAR MEMORIAL

LIFE MAGAZINEIn which numerous shocking photos of the war in Vietnam were presented.

A PROTEST BADGEMany protest badges and banners held the slogans: "How Many More?," "I'm a Viet Nam Dropout" and "Ship the GI's Home Now!"

ANTI-WAR PROTEST

An anti-war protest, which took place in 1967 at the Pentagon.