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The Movement's Effect on the War 
While many believe that the movement contributed to the end of the war by exerting pressures directly on Johnson and Nixon, perhaps more significant was the indirect pressure manifested by the movement. Indirectly, the antiwar movement influenced the outcome of Vietnam by turning public opinion against the war.
Perhaps above everything else, the antiwar movement of the 1960s influenced the war by proving to be a force to be reckoned with on the national level. The movement affected even those at the highest ranks of the government and the media, putting pressure on government officials to end the war in order satisfy an angry American public. In this way, the antiwar movement was an extremely important event in our history, and evidence of the power of people united. Pictures: 1st photo courtesy of
Robert Altman,©1999
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It
is clear that the criticism of the Vietnam War instigated by the
antiwar movement had a significant impact on the American withdrawal
from Vietnam. Although at times the shockingly violent nature of
antiwar protest was actually seen as disruptive and un-American, the
movement was generally successful at eroding public support for
Presidents Johnson and Nixon. Through constant confrontation and
demonstration, the antiwar activists, the media, and the nation's
college students helped to turn public support away from the war and
those in Washington who managed it.
