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The War in Vietnam

The Vietnam War was fought by the United States between 1965 to 1973.  It was the longest war the country had ever engaged in.  The Vietnam War was unique in one other regard: It gave rise to the largest and most successful antiwar movement in United States history.  In a sense, the war in Vietnam could be described as a two front war - a war in Vietnam with war being waged with tanks, guns and bullets - and a "war at home," fought on the streets and campuses throughout the nation.   

It was waged by millions of Americans who took to the streets in large and small groups, who held protests at college campuses to discuss the moralities of the war, and who demanded the United States to withdraw their troops from Vietnam.  

Deep-rooted in early Sixties’ student radicalism protesting political repression on college campuses, the Antiwar Movement is considered to be a direct outgrowth of the Free Speech Movement, led by the likes of Mario Savio at U.C. Berkeley. At the outbreak of the Vietnam War, student radicalism inspired by the Free Speech Movement later grew to represent a national voice protesting United States involvement in the war, as Americans started to question the relevance of U.S. presence in a conflict taking place halfway around the world.             

Picture: Photo courtesy of Archive Photos

 

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