"We Won't Go!"

The war in Vietnam dominated America throughout the 1960s. Disagreement about the war polarized not just politicians but also families, who watched the grim images of war nightly on television. In 1965, the war had escalated when President Johnson greatly increased the number of U.S. combat troops in Vietnam. He also approved the bombing of North Vietnam. In January of 1968, Americans were shocked by the Tet Offensive, a North Vietnamese–led attack that resulted in a high death toll for both sides. As it became increasingly clear that the conflict would not soon be over, resistance to the war grew.

The escalation of the war stirred passions at home and abroad. Advocates of military intervention defended U.S. involvement as necessary to contain Communism and protect our ally, South Vietnam; antiwar protestors condemned the war as illegal and unjustified. Many Vietnam vets returned home to be met with public indifference or even hostility. Some joined the antiwar movement, while others insisted the war was necessary and their service was patriotic. Senator Eugene McCarthy, running on an antiwar platform, challenged the once-popular President Johnson for the Democratic nomination. Even Walter Cronkite, a well-respected mainstream journalist, declared that the war would end in a “stalemate” rather than a U.S. victory and called for negotiations instead of an increase in military intervention.

Opposition to the draft—which required all men ages 18–26 to register for military service and potentially be sent to fight in Vietnam—also helped to energize and solidify resistance to the war. In April, antiwar issues and charges of racial discrimination led to a student protest at New York’s Columbia University. What began as a peaceful sit-in ended in a violent clash with police and the arrest of 700 students. Similar events, with students shouting the antiwar slogan “Hell no, we won’t go!” began to occur on campuses around the country. These protests led to increased student activism on a wide variety of issues.