Kent State
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
-Most of the Guardsmen followed the students directly and soon found themselves somewhat trapped on the practice football field because it was surrounded by a fence. Yelling and rock throwing reached a peak as the Guard remained on the field for about ten minutes.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
-The Guard then began retracing their steps from the practice football field back up Blanket Hill. -As they arrived at the top of the hill, twenty-eight of the more than seventy Guardsmen turned suddenly and fired their rifles and pistols. Many guardsmen fired into the air or the ground. However, a small portion fired directly into the crowd. Altogether between 61 and 67 shots were fired in a 13 second period.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
-The protestors moved up a steep hill, known as Blanket Hill, and then down the other side of the hill onto the Prentice Hall parking lot as well as an adjoining practice football field.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
-This was met with angry shouting and rocks, and the jeep retreated. -Canterbury then ordered his men to load and lock their weapons, tear gas canisters were fired into the crowd around the Victory Bell, and the Guard began to march across the Commons to disperse the rally.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
A starkly different interpretation to that of the Guards' has been offered in numerous other studies of the shootings, with all of these analyses sharing the common viewpoint that primary responsibility for the shootings lies with the Guardsmen.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
At Kent State University, an anti-war rally was held at noon on the Commons, a large, grassy area in the middle of campus which had traditionally been the site for various types of rallies and demonstrations. Fiery speeches against the war and the Nixon administration were given, a copy of the Constitution was buried to symbolize the murder of the Constitution because Congress had never declared war, and another rally was called for noon on Monday, May 4
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
Conflicting evidence exists regarding who was responsible for the decision to ban the noon rally of May 4th.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
Controversy continues to exist regarding who was responsible for setting fire to the ROTC building, but radical protestors were assumed to be responsible because of their actions in interfering with the efforts of firemen to extinguish the fire as well as cheering the burning of the building. Confrontations between Guardsmen and demonstrators continued into the night, with tear gas filling the campus and numerous arrests being made.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
During the first year of Nixon's presidency, America's involvement in the war appeared to be winding down. In late April of 1970, however, the United States invaded Cambodia and widened the Vietnam War. This decision was announced on national television and radio on April 30, l970 by President Nixon, who stated that the invasion of Cambodia was designed to attack the headquarters of the Viet Cong, which had been using Cambodian territory as a sanctuary.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
Friday evening in downtown Kent began peacefully with the usual socializing in the bars, but events quickly escalated into a violent confrontation between protestors and local police. The exact causes of the disturbance are still the subject of debate, but bonfires were built in the streets of downtown Kent, cars were stopped, police cars were hit with bottles, and some store windows were broken.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
HOW MANY DEATHS AND INJURIES OCCURRED? -Four Kent State students died as a result of the firing by the Guard. -Jeffrey Miller, Allison Krause. William Schroeder , and Sandra Scheuer were killed
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
January 1979- an out-of-court settlement involving a statement as well as a monetary settlement, and the Guardsmen and their supporters view this as a final vindication of their position. The financial settlement provided $675,000 to the wounded students and the parents of the students who had been killed. -the statement signed by members of the Ohio National Guard was viewed by them to be a declaration of regret, not an apology or an admission of wrongdoing:
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
Members of the Ohio National Guard were already on duty in Northeast Ohio, and thus they were able to be mobilized quickly to move to Kent. As the Guard arrived in Kent at about 10 p.m., they encountered a tumultuous scene. The wooden ROTC building adjacent to the Commons was ablaze and would eventually burn to the ground that evening, with well over 1000 demonstrators surrounding the building.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
Much more importantly, federal criminal and civil trials have accepted the position of the Guardsmen. In a 1974 federal criminal trial, District Judge Frank Battisti dismissed the case against eight Guardsmen indicted by a federal grand jury, ruling at mid-trial that the government's case against the Guardsmen was so weak that the defense did not have to present its case. In the much longer and more complex federal civil trial of 1975, a jury voted 9-3 that none of the Guardsmen were legally responsible for the shootings.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
Nine Kent State students were wounded in the 13 second fusillade. Most of the students were in the Prentice Hall parking lot, but a few were on the Blanket Hill area.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
Ohio Governor James Rhodes flew to Kent on Sunday morning, and his mood was anything but calm. At a press conference, he issued a provocative statement calling campus protestors the worst type of people in America and stating that every force of law would be used to deal with them.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
On May 4, l970 members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
Protests occurred the next day, Friday, May 1, across United States college campuses where anti-war sentiment ran high.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
Several Guardsmen could be seen huddling together, and some Guardsmen knelt and pointed their guns, but no weapons were shot at this time.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
Sunday, May 3rd was a day filled with contrasts. Nearly 1000 Ohio National Guardsmen occupied the campus, making it appear like a military war zone. The day was warm and sunny, however, and students frequently talked amicably with Guardsmen
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
The decision to ban the rally can most accurately be traced to Governor Rhodes' statements on Sunday, May 3 when he stated that he would be seeking a state of emergency declaration from the courts. Although he never did this, all officials -- Guard, University, Kent -- assumed that the Guard was now in charge of the campus and that all rallies were illegal. Thus, University leaders printed and distributed on Monday morning 12,000 leaflets indicating that all rallies, including the May 4th rally scheduled for noon, were prohibited as long as the Guard was in control of the campus
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
The decision to bring the Ohio National Guard onto the Kent State University campus was directly related to decisions regarding American involvement in the Vietnam War. Richard Nixon was elected president of the United States in 1968 based in part on his promise to bring an end to the war in Vietnam.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
The entire Kent police force was called to duty as well as officers from the county and surrounding communities. Kent Mayor Leroy Satrom declared a state of emergency, called Governor James Rhodes' office to seek assistance, and ordered all of the bars closed. The decision to close the bars early increased the size of the angry crowd. Police eventually succeeded in using tear gas to disperse the crowd from downtown, forcing them to move several blocks back to the campus.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
The event triggered a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of colleges and universities to close.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
The next day, Saturday, May 2, Mayor Satrom met with other city officials and a representative of the Ohio National Guard who had been dispatched to Kent. Mayor Satrom then made the decision to ask Governor Rhodes to send the Ohio National Guard to Kent.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
This decision was appealed, however, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a new trial had to be held because of the improper handling of a threat to a jury member.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
the shootings have certainly come to symbolize the deep political and social divisions that so sharply divided the country during the Vietnam War era
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
the widespread assumption among both Guard and University officials was that a state of martial law was being declared in which control of the campus resided with the Guard rather than University leaders and all rallies were banned. Further confrontations between protestors and guardsmen occurred Sunday evening, and once again rocks, tear gas, and arrests characterized a tense campus.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
WHAT EVENTS LED DIRECTLY TO THE SHOOTINGS? -Shortly before noon, General Canterbury made the decision to order the demonstrators to disperse. -A Kent State police officer standing by the Guard made an announcement using a bullhorn -When this had no effect, the officer was placed in a jeep along with several Guardsmen and driven across the Commons to tell the protestors that the rally was banned and that they must disperse.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
WHAT HAPPENED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SHOOTINGS? -The University was ordered closed immediately, first by President Robert White. Classes did not resume until the Summer of 1970, and faculty members engaged in a wide variety of activities through the mail and off-campus meetings that enabled Kent State students to finish the semester.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
WHAT WAS THE LONG-TERM FACULTY RESPONSE TO THE SHOOTINGS? -First, we as a University faculty had to bring aid and comfort to our own. -Second, the University faculty was called upon to conduct research about May 4 -Third, many saw as one of the faculty's challenges to develop alternative forms of protest and conflict resolution to help prevent tragedies
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
WHY DID THE GUARDSMEN FIRE? - The answer offered by the Guardsmen is that they fired because they were in fear of their lives. Guardsmen testified before numerous investigating commissions as well as in federal court that they felt the demonstrators were advancing on them in such a way as to pose a serious and immediate threat to the safety of the Guardsmen, and they therefore had to fire in self-defense.
http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
WHY SHOULD WE STILL BE CONCERNED ABOUT MAY 4, 1970 AT KENT STATE? - First, the shootings have come to symbolize a great American tragedy which occurred at the height of the Vietnam War era, a period in which the nation found itself deeply divided both politically and culturally. -Second, May 4 at Kent State and the Vietnam War era remain controversial even today, and the need for healing continues to exist. Healing will not occur if events are either forgotten or distorted, and hence it is important to continue to search for the truth behind the events of May 4th at Kent State. -
