How Did Opposition to the War Grow in the USA? (AQA GCSE History): Revision Note

Summary

Protests in the USA against the war in Vietnam continued throughout the late 1960s and into the 1970s. In May 1970, four protesters were killed at Kent State University. This, together with a political scandal that caused President Nixon to resign, led to a complete breakdown in trust between many Americans and their government. 

Advances in camera technology and a huge increase in TV ownership also meant that Americans were exposed to the events of the war in Vietnam to a much greater degree than they had been in previous conflicts. 

The combined effect caused more Americans than ever to question the US government and to oppose the war in Vietnam.

Kent State University

• On 4th May 1970, students at Kent State University in Ohio organised a demonstration to protest the US invasion of Cambodia

  • The Mayor of Kent was concerned that the protest would turn violent

  • Around 1,000 members of the National Guard were sent to the campus

• Around midday, some of the 1,500 demonstrators started throwing rocks at the National Guard soldiers

  • Some of the soldiers responded by firing into the crowd

  • Four people were shot dead, and nine were injured

  • One of those killed was a 14-year-old girl called Mary Ann Vecchio

• The protestors’ deaths triggered even more demonstrations across the US, and hundreds of colleges and universities were forced to close 

  • Another two students were shot dead when police opened fire on protestors at Jackson State College in Mississippi

• A government inquiry into the Kent State shootings recommended the prosecution of the National Guard soldiers involved

  • Eight were arrested, but none were prosecuted due to a lack of evidence

Role of the media in the Vietnam War

• Television ownership in the United States increased enormously between the Korean War and the Vietnam War

  • Just 9% of American homes had a TV set when the Korean War began in 1950

  • By 1961, that number had increased to 93%

  • During the 1960s, television became the main way that Americans accessed the news

• The growth in TV ownership coincided with the development of lightweight colour cameras and sound recorders

  • This meant journalists could travel around the war zones, capturing images of the fighting

  • As a result, for the first time, scenes of death, destruction and suffering were shown in American living rooms on a daily basis

• This graphic footage, which included atrocities such as the My Lai massacre, deeply affected many Americans

  • The constant exposure to distressing images from Vietnam helped to turn US public opinion against the war

 The Watergate scandal

• The Watergate scandal led to the resignation of President Nixon in August 1974

  • Nixon was linked to a break-in of his political opponent’s offices in the Watergate hotel and office complex

  • The perpetrators of the break-in were attempting to steal secret documents and install secret listening devices 

  • Although Nixon was not present at the break-in and there was no evidence that he knew about it, there was proof that he had attempted to cover it up 

• The scandal not only led to Nixon’s resignation, but it also caused many Americans to question how much they could trust their government

  • Many people assumed that if Nixon was lying and covering up about Watergate, he was lying and covering up things about the Vietnam War, too

  • The scandal damaged public trust in the government and caused even more people to question the US’s involvement in Vietnam