An amazing piece of work on the growth of the peace movement in USA at the time of the Vietnam War. This was produced by Abigayle B, an outstanding student at Philips High School, Whitefield.

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

2. Also, why the
There are 6
peace movement grew:
main reasons why
there was huge amounts
the peace movement
of media coverage; events
grew in
such as the My Lai
America, there are:
massacre provoked
the amount of
conflict; the actual cost of
American soldiers
the war war affecting the
that were getting
entire country.
killed; many people
couldn‟t understand
how America was
defending itself
from a
country, which
was
8,000 miles
away.
Finally, power
ful
figures, like
Martin Luther
King, were
also against
the war in
Vietnam.

3. 58,000 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

4. 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.

5. There 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

6. Events 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

7. The 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

8. Famous 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

9. Between 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

10. The 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

12. In which numerous shocking
photos of the war in Vietnam
were presented.

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

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