Demands for Peace 1968-1973 Flashcards

1
Q

In what year was the draft increased?

A

1965

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2
Q

What was the draft?

A

The system of conscription into the armed forces

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3
Q

Why did young people protest against the war in Vietnam?

A
  • They saw the Vietnam War as one key strand of older generations’ much wider disillusionment
  • Thought the government was out of touch and that the Vietnam War exemplified its abuse of power
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4
Q

Why did young people protest against the draft?

A
  • Exemptions to the draft favoured the wealthy, white, middle-class
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5
Q

How did young people protest?

A
  • Organised sit-ins
  • Formed the Draft Resisitance Movement which gave advice on how to avoid conscription
  • Burnt draft cards, eg. Muhammad Ali
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6
Q

What was the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)?

A

Committee originally set up to campaign for equal rights for blacks

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7
Q

When did the SNCC begin to protest against the Vietnam War?

A

1969

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8
Q

How many draft-dodgers were wanted by the police by the end of 1969?

A

34,000

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9
Q

How many young men had avoided conscription by the end of 1969?

A

250,000

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10
Q

Why were the general public opposed to the Vietnam War?

A
  • Increasing numbers of casualties and image of war presented in the media
  • Public were outraged and din’t trust the government
  • The cost of the war undermined President Johnson’s Great Society programme
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11
Q

How many troops were killed in one week in May 1968?

A

562

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12
Q

What was the Great Society program?

A

Anti-poverty program

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13
Q

How much was the war costing the USA?

A

$20billion

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14
Q

How many protested in Chicago at the Democratic Party convention in August 1968?

A

10,000

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15
Q

Why were Vietnam veterans opposed to the war?

A

Argued that the war was not worth the casualties

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16
Q

When was Vietnam Veterans Against the War formed?

A

1967

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17
Q

How much did casualties increase from 1965 to 1968?

A

From 2000 to 14,000

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18
Q

How many veterans took part in a protest rally in Washington DC in 1967?

A

100,000

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19
Q

How many veterans took part in an anti-war demonstration in Washington DC 1971?

A

300,000

20
Q

What impact did veterans protesting against the war have?

A
  • Their public rejection of the war, eg. throwing their medals on the steps of Congress, shocked the public
  • This undermined the government’s claims that the war was right and necessary
21
Q

Why did African Americans oppose the Vietnam War?

A
  • Black men were more likely to be conscripted and made up a disproportionate number of casualties
  • The Great Society program cuts particularly affected African Americans
  • Believed civil rights and the anti-poverty program were more important than the war
22
Q

What percentage of the US population were African Americans?

A

10%

23
Q

What percentage of casualties were African American?

A

35%

24
Q

When did Martin Luther King Jr. join the protest movement?

A

1967

25
Q

How did women protest against the Vietnam War?

A
  • Women from all backgrounds were a part of the protest movement
  • Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom were one of the first groups to protest
  • This stimulated the feminist movement which was emerging in the late 1960s
26
Q

How many demonstrators attended Coretta King and Benjamin Spock’s speeches against the war at the White House on the 27th of November 1965?

A

35,000

27
Q

Who were some celebrities who were opposed to the Vietnam War?

A
  • Bob Dylan wrote songs that became anthems of the anti-war movement
  • Muhammah Ali refused to fight in Vietnam and was stripped of his title as Heavyweight Boxing Champion
  • Jane Fonda made speehes, attended rallies and visited Vietnam in 1972
28
Q

What percentage of people surveyed agreed that “the US made a mistake sending troops to fight in Vietnam” in 1969?

A

52%

29
Q

What percentage of Americans supported government policy in the war in 1964?

A

85%

30
Q

What percentage of people supported the invasion of Cambodia in 1970?

A

50%

31
Q

Why did LBJ not seek re-election in 1968?

A

Thought that he would lose due to the unpopularity of the war

32
Q

What impact did protests and demostrations have?

A
  • They were broadcast internationally so inspired further worldwide opposition to the war
  • Nixon won the 1968 election largely because he promised to “end the war and win the peace”
33
Q

When did Nixon begin gradually withdrawing troops from Vietnam?

A

1969

34
Q

What percentage of Newsweek viewers in 1967 said that footage of the war made them feel like “backing the boys in Vietnam”?

A

64%

35
Q

Why were supporters of the war given the nickname “hard hats”?

A

In 1970 over 200 hard-hat construction workers were cheered for attacking a peaceful crowd of anti-war protestors

36
Q

Why did some people support the war?

A
  • Concerned about the spread of Commmunism
  • Nixon said they were supporting “freedom and patriotism”
37
Q

On what date did the Kent State University protests occur?

A

2nd of May 1970

38
Q

How many students protested at Kent State?

A

800

39
Q

What happened at the Kent State University protests?

A
  • Students protested more violently than before, a university building was burnt to the ground
  • National Guardsmen fired tear gas cannisters but retreated when the tear gas ran out
  • The guardsmen then fired at the demonstrators
40
Q

How many were killed and injured at the Kent State University protests?

A

4 were killed and 9 wounded

41
Q

How did the events at Kent State impact the Vietnam War?

A
  • Images of the demonstration and shootings were broadcast widely so led to further protests across the US
  • The disregard for human life and stifling of the right to protest proved the students’ views that the government were out of touch were right and fuelled protests throughout the world
  • Put pressure on the government to end the war peacefully because it couldn’t be won with so much opposition at home, especially from young people who were expected to do the fighting
  • Some claimed the students were being unpatriotic, others said the war would have ended anyway because they weren’t the only ones protesting
42
Q

How many people gave evidence at the Fulbright Hearings?

A

22

43
Q

In what year did the Fulbright Hearings take place?

A

1971

44
Q

What groups gave evidence at the Fulbright Hearings?

A
  • Some who supported war
  • Representatives of groups against the war
  • John Kerry, representing Vietnam Veterans Against the War
45
Q

Who gave the most damming evidence?

A

John Kerry

46
Q

Why was the “Winter Soldier investigation” significant?

A
  • Gave information about atrocities and war crimes committed in Vietnam
  • Had full knowledge and approval of officers
  • Showed that brutal incidents like My Lai weren’t isolated and rare, but were part of American official war policy
47
Q

Why were the Fulbright Hearings significant overall?

A
  • Groups of veterans, represented by JohnKerry, questioned why the USA was fighting in Vietnam
  • This protest was more “official” than previous demonstrations had been; it was part of the US public record of Vietnam
  • Made it even more apparent that the USA would have to seek peace and end the Vietnam War