UNIT 10 THE 1960 S TIMELINE 1966 Veterans

UNIT 10: THE 1960 S

TIMELINE 1966 • Veterans protesting the war • Thousands march in D. C. & college campuses • Poll: 41% approve of war, 37% don’t • Muhammad Ali declares himself a conscientious objector and refused to go to war 1967 • MLK leads 5, 000 in march against war in Chicago • Thousands march in D. C. , New York & college campuses • Poll: 52% disapprove of LBJ’s handling of war

TIMELINE 1968 • January: Robert Kennedy runs for President as anti-war candidate • March: My Lai Massacre

MY LAI MASSACRE • March 16, 1968 • US soldiers (Company C, aka Charlie Company) invaded a village (My Lai – pronounced me-lie) & murdered everyone, including women & children • 500+ were murdered • Raises Qs about • Ethics of war • US military leadership in Vietnam • Difficulties of fighting insurgents My Lai needs to be remembered & studied

TIMELINE 1968 • January: Robert Kennedy runs for President as anti-war candidate • March: My Lai Massacre • April: MLK Jr assassinated • June: Robert Kennedy assassinated • August: DNC Convention – 10, 000 protestors, 23, 000 police/national guard – “police riot”

TIMELINE 1969 • Nixon becomes President • Protests continue to escalate

DRAFT • Starts in 1969 • Men born between Jan 1, 1944 - Dec 31, 1950 eligible • Got lottery numbers • If their number was called, they would have to serve* Rep. Alexander Pirnie of House Armed Services Committee draws the first capsule draft lottery for the Vietnam War

THE DRAFT Exemptions & Deferments: • Could be exempt (safe) or defer (put off) if: • Medically unfit • Religious beliefs • College/graduate student o Poor & working class resented this • Automatic student deferments ended Draft VERY unpopular • Tens of thousands of young men migrate to Canada which did not support the war 1973: Draft ended

MARCH ON WASHINGTON Vietnam Moratorium – 1969 • 700, 000 marchers in D. C. • Largest anti-war march in American history