Protesting Begins
Even early on in the war, Americans opposed U.S. involvement. Americans thought U.S. involvement was imperialistic and unjust. They did not want to fight in a war they believed America should not have been involved in. Most of the major protesting, however, began in 1965. The first major demonstration was led by the SDS, Students for a Democratic Society. 15,000 people came to Washington D.C. to protest the war. College professors also held "teach-ins", criticizing U.S. foreign policy. At this time, the draft was also protested. The first public protest of the draft was by David Miller when he burned his draft card and was subsequently arrested and sentenced to two years in jail. In 1967, The National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam organized a rally in Washington D.C., and 100,000 people participated. 35,000 people then went on to march the steps of the Pentagon.
Tinker v. De Moines
As the antiwar movement gained more support, students started to speak out in opposition of the war. In 1965, a group of students wore black armbands to school to protest U.S. involvement in the war. Some of the students were suspended for protesting, even though they did not cause a major disruption to school activities. Three students represented by the Iowa Civil Liberties Union brought a case against the school district. After much deliberation, the Supreme Court ruled that the children had the right to express their opinions and wear antiwar armbands to school.
Protesting Becomes Violent
After the Democratic National Convention in 1968, rioting led by a coalition of extremist antiwar organizations broke out in the streets of Chicago. As a result, more than 1,000 people were wounded and about 700 were arrested. Two years later, a peaceful protest at Kent State University in Ohio ended horribly when four protestors were shot and killed by National Guard. Nine other students were wounded in the incident. Following the shooting, 8 million students went on strike from their colleges and high schools. Five days later, 100,000 people marched in Washington D.C. to show their support of the students. The song "Ohio" by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young was written to commemorate the incident.
America Speaks Out
In 1971, the New York Times published sections of the Pentagon Papers, a report outlining U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War from 1945-68. Americans were outraged and felt they could no longer trust the government. By this time, many Americans started to join the protests. Senators and other politicians started to speak out in their support of the antiwar movement. America was nearly unanimous in their support of ending the war.