Continued opposition to the war Flashcards
When was the My Lai Massacre?
16 March 1968
What was the My Lai Massacre?
US troops were sent to the village of My Lai in South Vietnam, where they were told they’d come under Vietcong fire. There were only women, children, and old men in the village and the soldiers killed everyone the found sexually assaulted many of them
What was the publics reaction to the My Lai Massacre?
The US public didn’t know what to believe and suspected that the government was withholding information. When the photos of the massacre were shown on the news the public saw this as evidence of a huge cover up and were horrified
Who led the military action at My Lai?
Lt Calley
What did Lt Calley claim?
That he was acting on direct orders from his seniors- which tuned out to be true
What was Lt Calleys sentence?
He was found guilty of 22 murders and originally was sentenced life imprisonment, but this was later reduced to three years- despite other soldiers having charges against them, no one else was trialed
What happened on the 1st May 1970?
In Ohio, a group of Kent state University students buried a copy of the US Constitution in protest to Nixons decision to send US troops into Cambodia
What happened on the 2nd May 1970?
There were several demonstrations and a military training building on campus was set on fire
What happened on the 3rd of May 1970?
The number of protesters increased to over 1000 and the mayor declared it an emergency. 900 members of the national guard were called, armed with rifles and tear gas. Tear gas was to disperse several demonstrations
What happened on the 4th of May 1970?
Officials stopped a planned demonstration but 2000 protested anyway. Tear gas didn’t break up the crowd so the national guard resorted to open fire killing four and injuring nine of the students
What was the significance of the Kent State University Shootings?
- Photos of the students were spread across the USA and worldwide
- The public was shocked and outraged at what happened
- The white middle class students were unarmed and two of the dead students had been bystanders
