Oral+History+Research

__Oral History Background Information__
When the first fighting Marines entered Danang, Vietnam, most supported or had no objection to the war. But as years grew slowly, then rose over a decade of fighting in Vietnam War, protests were getting very strong. One place for some of the most strong opinions were college campuses. College students especially opposed the draft, according to __Creating America__. In one demonstration, some young men burned their draft card. On October 21, 1967, in front of the Pentagon, 50,000 people a huge protest. This was another one of those "Rich many's war, but a poor many's fight." To get out of a draft, you had to have money and education. Thus, many poorer middle class men were drafted rather than the richer men. More African Americans were drafted as well, which upset many. They accounted for 24% of the deaths in Vietnam. It was by 1967 that the war really starting divinding the Nation: the anti-war Doves and the pro-war Hawks.

The most deadly and well-known college protest(riot describes the event better) was the Kent State University Shootings. The students were reported to be acting horribly: burned the ROTC building, attacked and stoned National Guardsmen, and causing havoc in these brainless riots that caused much damage and eventually 4 deaths and 9 other serious injuries. Though the students were angry and had a just reason for protestion, their actions were uncalled for and unjustifiable. Lt. Alexander D. Stevenson, a platoon leader of Troop G, described the crowd in these words: "At the time of the firing, the crowd was acting like this whole thing was a circus. The crowd must have thought that the National Guard was harmless. " The kids were acting irresponsible, but the reaction of the Guard was just as inexcusable. 61 shots were fired, killing 4 young people and seriously injuring 9 others. The events on May 4, 1970 will not soon be forgotten.

After, Kent state was ordered to close right away. Classes did not start up again until the summer of 1970, and the faculty went through a lot of trouble helping students finish the semester.The May 4th Shootings triggered a nationwide student strike that forces hundreds of colleges and universites to close. The events leading after Kent was a perfect example that people were still strong with their opinions after they had seen some results of their behavior.

VIDEOS: media type="custom" key="3902915"media type="youtube" key="-OmZvyNrzAs" height="309" width="379"

Information Found at: ~Garcia, Jesus, Donna Ogle, C. Risinger, Joyce Stevos, and Winthrop Jordan. __//Creating America, a History of the United States//__. McDougal Littell, Print. ~JERRY M. LEWIS, THOMAS R. HENSLEY. "THE MAY 4 SHOOTINGS AT KENT STATE UNIVERSITY: THE SEARCH FOR HISTORICAL ACCURACY ." //http://dept.kent.edu//. 27 May 2009 . ~ Gov't / Court Document, "Kent State Report (1970)." //abc-clio.com//. 1970. abc-clio. 27 May 2009 . Videos: ~http://www.factualtv.com/documentary/13-seconds-The-Kent-State-Shootings ~http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OmZvyNrzAs&feature=PlayList&p=36EBB05E9F346E12&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=8