But there was opposition to the War, even in the early Sixties. And the opposition grew it ended the Presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson. It was the draft and television that turned Americans against the War. It didn't help that the political leadership and the U.S. military lied to itself, and the American people, about the winning of the War. In the first half of the 1960s, the driving force in political life had been Civil Rights. In the second half, it was the opposition to end the Vietnam War. And though there were other movements such as social justice, feminism, gay rights, civil rights and environmentalism, it was the Vietnam War that affected every area of American life.
Sting Like a Bee: Muhammad Ali vs. the United States of America, 1966-1971 by As the Vietnam War grew longer and longer, opposition to it grew. Here are some of the reasons it grew:
1968 in America : music, politics, chaos, counterculture, and the shaping of a generation by By 1968, opposition to the Vietnam War had grown. At the beginning of the primary season, Sen. Eugene McCarthy ran in the Democratic Primary in New Hampshire. After a strong outcome, Robert F. Kennedy joined the race. Realizing he had lost the backing of his party, President Johnson announced that he would not run for a second term. In June, Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Vice President Hubert Humphrey became the nominee of the Democratic Party. He had not openly opposed Johnson on the War. Up to 15,000 protesters showed up in Chicago to protest the Democratic Convention in August and the Party's continued public support for the War. For the four days of the Convention, protesters clashed with a local police force that was ordered by Mayor Daley to use excessive force. 500 protesters, 100 civilians and 150 police officers were injured during the clashes. Eight people were put on trial. One, Bobby Seale, a member of the Black Panthers, was tried separately. He was found guilty of contempt. The others, known as the Chicago Seven, were tried before Judge Julius Hoffman. They were not found guilty of conspiracy, but five were found guilty of inciting a riot. All convictions were later overturned when appealed.
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Argentinian Che Guevara in his trademark olive-green military fatigues, June 2, 1959 Cuba.
Public Domain: Museo Che Guevara (Centro de Estudios Che Guevara en La Habana, Cuba)
Many of the New Left saw Che Guevara as an icon to be admired. Eventually this admiration would be turned into violence by such groups as the Weather Underground and the Palestinian Liberation Organization in the 1970s.
Farber, D. R., & Bailey, B. L. (2005). The Columbia guide to America in the 1960s. New York: Columbia University Press.
Murray, S. (2005). Dk Eyewitness Books: Vietnam War. New York: DK Publishing.
Strain, C. B. (2016). Long Sixties: America, 1954-1974. Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.
Ward, G. C., Burns, K., & Novick, L. (2017). The Vietnam War an intimate history. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
