The Impact of the Civil Rights Movement and Its Effect on Student Protests of the Cold War

During this time, the U.S. government faced a lot of resistance from its people. Very few citizens believed that the United States was involved in the Vietnam War for the right reasons and withdrawal was the only way out. Most did not see anything that could happen in South Vietnam as a threat to the United States. John Kerry, a decorated navy lieutenant who served in Vietnam (1968-1969), saw that the U.S. government had failed to acknowledge the historical heritage in Vietnam and continuing to be involved would only lead to more deaths of Americans and the resentment of the Vietnamese. However, Nixon was concerned with the image of the United States to the outside world. He believed that it would be humiliating and collapse its confidence. Kerry was not alone in his statement. The President’s ideology enraged millions of Americans and turned them against him. If President Nixon would not believe that withdrawal was the only option, then the people would make him.

Inspired by the black freedom movement, students who had participated in the civil rights movement went back to their college campuses with a mission of their own. The young adults of America formed the New Left. This New Left ideal committed themselves to leftist activity and became more radicalized by the Vietnam War. Returning home, these students sought to end racism within their cities, however, they also wanted to stop a war that might lead to their deaths. Although its political goals never quite got off the ground, the New Left revolutionized the American culture and pushed Americans to change some deep-root ideas and beliefs about themselves and their society. Prominent student protests at the University of Wisconsin, the University of Washington, and Kent State University continue in the history books today and forever leave a lasting impression on what it meant to be a student in the Cold War era.

Students, along with left-leaning faculty members, began protesting in the streets and on their college campuses. Many times these protests were for more student rights on campus and more involvement of students in policymaking. However, as the United States became more entrenched in the Vietnam War, many, if not all, New Left members began fighting against it. Male students protested the draft, where men are called to war in a lottery based on their birthdays. These students would protest on their campuses and go as far as to even burn their draft cards, accepting the possible risk of federal punishment in doing so. Although they knew the consequences, the male students often did this as a symbol to their government: that they would not stand by while the U.S. continued to get further involved in a war that was not supported by the American people. Along with them, other students participated in anti-Vietnam War marches. Students by the thousands gathered on their campus lawns and marched through, holding banners and signs that often read “Make Nixon Sign” or “Come home now!”. Students also conducted sit-ins, sitting for hours in school buildings or outside. Some even went as far as bombing education buildings in protest of universities’ research connections with the U.S. military during the war. Standing throughout, students would also have other signing petitions to end university involvement and the war itself.

These protests created many problems for universities. Although faculty members risked losing their jobs if they participated in the protests, they often helped students in secret and since the number of students that were involved was too high, the school had no one to ever take responsibility. While the university tried to contain the issue themselves, they often brought in ROTC members from campus, and some even led to the involvement of the state National Guard. As you will see later, this did not always end well for the students and even caused more trouble for universities.