Antiwar Movement 1960s
Although the decade of the 1960s began on a positive note of idealism, the years to come were filled with distrust, anger, and opposition. The antiwar movement protesting the Vietnam War affected both the culture of the 1960s and the long-term public opinion of the American government. While the antiwar movement shaped public doubt of the Vietnam War in the 1960s, it also evoked distrust towards the government and led to a major split in American society, which is still apparent today. The antiwar movement protesting the Vietnam War rose from unrest among students and variations of protest slowly began to change public opinion regarding the war. American opposition to Vietnam differed from previous wars in that the majority of Americans were
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Due to the increased amount of males necessary for conscription, draft notices became more and more mandatory and in December of 1965, more than 40,000 men were forced to join the military. Draft card burnings during demonstrations became more frequent as the draft was a visual representation of the government’s power and war policy. Aside from protest, many draftees employed alternate ways of avoiding conscription through deferments, attending college, marriage, or applying for conscientious objector status. As media began to capture profound images of draft cards burning and mass demonstrations, the public began to truly comprehend more serious issues of the war portrayed by activists. American media in Vietnam also provided a verification of the actions of the US military. The war in Vietnam is considered the first televised war, as nearly every American household owned a television set by the early 1960s. Every night, Americans were faced with events in Vietnam that were occurring over 9,000 miles away broadcasted into their living rooms. Pictures of violence and horror depicted on television especially affected the young generation of Americans who had grown up in an era of prosperity. America’s youth began to question the reality of what was being portrayed by the media and the war symbolized all that was wrong with their
Due to the increased amount of males necessary for conscription, draft notices became more and more mandatory and in December of 1965, more than 40,000 men were forced to join the military. Draft card burnings during demonstrations became more frequent as the draft was a visual representation of the government’s power and war policy. Aside from protest, many draftees employed alternate ways of avoiding conscription through deferments, attending college, marriage, or applying for conscientious objector status. As media began to capture profound images of draft cards burning and mass demonstrations, the public began to truly comprehend more serious issues of the war portrayed by activists. American media in Vietnam also provided a verification of the actions of the US military. The war in Vietnam is considered the first televised war, as nearly every American household owned a television set by the early 1960s. Every night, Americans were faced with events in Vietnam that were occurring over 9,000 miles away broadcasted into their living rooms. Pictures of violence and horror depicted on television especially affected the young generation of Americans who had grown up in an era of prosperity. America’s youth began to question the reality of what was being portrayed by the media and the war symbolized all that was wrong with their