A Nation Divided
Avoiding the War What were some ways that
young men used to avoid military service in Vietnam
Found doctors to give them medical deferments
Looked for lenient draft boards
Enrolled in college to receive a deferment
Joined the National Guard or Coast Guard
In what sense was the Vietnam War a “working class” war?
• Enrolling in college to get a deferment required having money
• So, 80% of U.S. troops came from lower economic levels.
New Left: (name given to the youth movement of the 1960s)
Students for a Democratic Society
The Free Speech Movement
College Students- Young people
Opposing the War: organizations and group
opposition
The war was draining U.S. strength
Belief that war is immoral Belief that the U.S. should
not try to police the world Belief that this was a civil
war between the North and South Vietnamese and was not really U.S. business
President Johnson had revoked college deferments for those not getting good grades.
Reasons that “doves” opposed the war
Ways that “doves” showed their
opposition• Held antiwar
demonstrations• Publicly burned
draft cards• Marched on
Washington• Fled to Canada
and Sweden to dodge the draft
Defending the WarBy 1967: Most Americanssupported U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War
Hawks criticize the Johnson administration's policies in Vietnam:
The “Hawks”( those that supported the war) felt that Johnson should escalate the war more quickly