30.3

During the first several years of the war, which group accounted for more than 20 percent of combat deaths despite being only about 10 percent of the population?

African Americans

Draft

Also known as Selective Service System, a system in which all males had to register at the age of 18 to be potentially called up (drafted) into the armed forces. All registrants were screened and unless they were excluded for medical reasons they would be called to fight. In the event of a war, all males 18-26 would be drafted into military service

What problems surrounded the draft system during Vietnam and how did this system create a "working class" war? In particular, how were African Americans impacted?

One problem with the draft system was that for some people, it was easier to avoid getting drafted, which created many inequalities in the army that had to go fight. People could avoid the draft by getting a medical exemption, moving, or going to college, although this was mostly wealthy white men. This created a "working class" war because most of the men who ended up serving in Vietnam were those of the working class who could not afford college or to move. This also impacted African Americans who served in disproportionate numbers in the war. They had to fight in a war for "freedom" abroad, when they didn't even have freedom at home in the United States.

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

Founded in 1962, the SDS was a popular college student organization that protested shortcomings in American life, notably racial injustice and the Vietnam War. It led thousands of campus protests before it split apart at the end of the 1960s.

What were two common slogans used by Americans who supported the government's Vietnam policy?

"Support our Men in Vietnam" and "America - love it or leave it"

Explain the reasons many young people had for opposing the Vietnam War.

Young people opposed the Vietnam War for many reasons. The most typical one was that the students saw the fighting in Vietnam to be more of a civil war and that the U.S. should not be involved in another country's war. Other young people thought that the South Vietnamese regime was no better than the communist regime it was fighting against. Another reason is that the U.S. should not be able to police the world, and another was simply the idea that war is morally unjust.

Under the draft, who was eligible to be called into military service?

Men between the ages of 18 and 26

Free Speech Movement (FSM)

Movement protesting policies instituted by the University of California at Berkeley that restricted free speech. In 1964 students at Berkeley conducted sit-ins and held rallies against these policies.

African Americans in Vietnam

-African Americans served in disproportionate numbers as ground combat troops - 10% of total US population, but 20% of deaths in Vietnam - Faced racial tensions in racially integrated platoons -Defense department took steps to correct the imbalance by instituting a draft lottery system -MLK refrained from speaking against the war until he lashed out against the "cruel irony" of American blacks dying for a country and still treated them like second class citizens

Protest movements of 60's & 70's

-Vietnam war -Women's equality -Civil rights movement - Emerged in 1965 through teach-ins and sit-ins on college campuses throughout the country and accelerated rapidly throughout the late 60s - University of Michigan and California at Berkeley were two major sources of the early protest movement

Doves

Americans who opposed the Vietnam War.

Hawks

Americans who supported the Vietnam War.

Deferment

An act of delaying. Many tried to get their draft status deferred if they were called up during the Vietnam War. They could do this by finding sympathetic doctors who might exaggerate or lie about their medical issues, and others changed residences to be in an area with a more lenient draft board. One could also avoid the draft if they were enrolled in college, in which case they would receive a college deferment.

Draft resisters

Citizens who refused to join the Army to fight in the Vietnam War when the draft was in place. These people could be punished severely by the government, including being sent to jail

What was the term for Americans who felt that the Johnson Administration was not doing enough to escalate and win the war?

Hawks

Women in Vietnam

Served as nurses, Red Cross or USO volunteers, and in non-combat positions, about 10,000 served in total

What were the origins of the "New Left"? Explain the significance of either the Students for a Democratic Society or the Berkeley Free Speech Movement.

The "New Left" came about from the "old left". The old left preached socialism and communism, but the new left focused more on making big changes in American society. It began in the 1960s and was mainly made up of young people and college students. One of the new left organizations called Students for a Democratic Society, claimed that corporations and government institutions had taken over the U.S.. They wanted a participatory democracy and more individual freedoms. This was significant because these students saw the inequality in America and even though they were young, they made a big impact on American politics and society.

Describe how the protest movement intensified over time, in response to government indifference to their concerns.

The protests against the war intensified over time and more and more people started joining. While at first it was mostly college students and young people, eventually returning veterans began to protest and even famous singers. The protests grew in numbers, with over half a million people protesting in Central Park in 1967. The government tried to stop the protests by requiring college students to be in good academic standing to avoid the draft, but this only made them protest more. Over 200,000 men were imprisoned for trying to avoid the draft.

What was a common reason that many young Americans opposed the Vietnam War?

They believed that the conflict was basically a civil war and the US military should not be involved