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93-611: The venue opened on November 30, 1934. It had been built for $ 1.5 million by the Stock Yard company and was principally built to host the International Livestock Exhibition. The arena replaced Dexter Park , a horse-racing track that had stood on the site for over 50 years until its destruction by fire on April 18, 1934. The completion of the Amphitheatre ushered in an era where Chicago reigned as

186-540: A one-man election for President in 1971. Covert counter-terror programs and semi-covert ones such as the Phoenix Program attempted, with the help of anthropologists, to isolate rural South Vietnamese villages and affect the loyalty of the residents. Despite the increasingly disheartening news of the war, many Americans continued to support President Johnson's efforts. Apart from the Domino Theory, there

279-416: A burgeoning draft resistance movement. The draft exhibited a disproportionate selection of young African American men and economically disadvantaged men of all races, resulting in higher enlistment rates compared to white, middle-class men. In 1967, although there were fewer draft-eligible black men (29% of all draft-eligible men) compared to white men (63%), a higher percentage of the eligible black men (64% of

372-533: A convention capital. In an era before air conditioning and space for the press and broadcast media were commonplace, the International Amphitheatre was among the first arenas to be equipped with these innovations. The Stock Yards closed in 1971, but the Amphitheatre remained open, hosting rock concerts, college basketball and IHSA playoff games, circuses, religious gatherings, and other events. The shift of many conventions and trade shows to

465-552: A game by the Loyola Ramblers college basketball team, who became tenants of the reopened Amphitheatre. Some repairs and improvements had been made to the facility. A greater $ 5 million renovation was planned at the time of its reopening, and it was intended that Loyola basketball would remain tenants of the venue for at least five years. However, for their 1989 season, Loyola had moved to the Rosemont Horizon after

558-666: A good deal of excitement for a game the next day against the Chicago champions, the Excelsior club. The Nationals proceeded to pummel the Excelsiors 49–4. Some Chicago fans, and local newspapers, accused the Nationals of being "blacklegs", i.e. of having lost to Forest City on purpose, to hype interest in the Excelsior match and the attendant wagering. The Nats complained, and the newspapers retracted their accusations. Dexter Park

651-603: A group of ringleaders, including Dr. Benjamin Spock and Yale chaplain William Sloane Coffin, Jr. , in Boston in 1968. By the late 1960s, one-quarter of all court cases dealt with the draft, including men accused of draft-dodging and men petitioning for the status of conscientious objector . Over 210,000 men were accused of draft-related offenses, 25,000 of whom were indicted. The concerns regarding equity prompted

744-720: A meaningful military solution in Vietnam. In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson began his re-election campaign. Eugene McCarthy ran against him for the Democratic nomination on an anti-war platform. McCarthy did not win the first primary election in New Hampshire , but he did surprisingly well against an incumbent. The resulting blow to the Johnson campaign, combined with other factors, led the President to announce that he

837-652: A mistake. This was echoed decades later by former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara . US military involvement in Vietnam began in 1950 with the support of French Indochina against communist Chinese forces . Military involvement and opposition escalated after the Congressional authorization of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in August 1964, with US ground troops arriving in Vietnam on March 8, 1965. Richard Nixon

930-447: A system of conscription that mainly drew from minorities and lower and middle-class whites, inspired much of the protest after 1965. Conscientious objectors played an active role despite their small numbers. Student and blue-collar American opposition to the military draft was compelled by a sentiment that the draft was unfairly administered. Opposition to the war arose during a time of unprecedented student activism , which included

1023-502: A vehicle for portraying their thoughts about the Vietnam War, often satirizing the role of America in the world and juxtaposing the horrific effects of war with normal scenes of life. Regardless of medium, anti-war artists ranged from pacifists to violent radicals, and caused Americans to think more critically about the war. Art as war opposition was quite popular in the early years of the war, but soon faded as political activism became

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1116-711: A well-known venue across the United States. In December 1981, Joe Frazier had his final boxing match at the Amphitheatre against Floyd Cummings , which resulted in a draw. The arena, which seated 9,000, was the first home of the Chicago Packers of the NBA during 1961–62 , before changing their name to the Chicago Zephyrs and moving to the Chicago Coliseum for their second season. It

1209-455: Is considered a milestone in King's critiques against imperialism and militarism. King, during the year of 1966, publicly declared that it was hypocritical for Black Americans to be fighting in Vietnam since they were being treated as second-class citizens back home. One of his arguments was that many white middle-class men avoided the draft by college deferments, but his greatest defense was that

1302-563: Is important to note that the Doves did not question the intentions of the US in intervening in Vietnam, nor did they question the morality or legality of the US intervention. Instead, they made pragmatic claims that the war was a mistake. Contrarily, the Hawks represented people who argued that the war was legitimate, winnable, and part of US foreign policy. The Hawks claimed that the one-sided criticism of

1395-399: Is noted for being the site of one of Elvis Presley ’s most notable concerts, on March 28, 1957, with the singer wearing his now legendary gold lamé suit for the first time. On September 5, 1964, and August 12, 1966, The Beatles performed at the Amphitheatre. The 1966 show was the first show of what proved to be their last tour . For eighteen years, the arena was the site of Chicago visits by

1488-855: The Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA) , the Bay Area Coalition Against the War (BAACAW), and the Asian Americans for Action (AAA) made opposition to the war their main focus. Of these organizations, the Bay Area Coalition Against the War was the biggest and most significant. BAACAW was "highly organized, holding biweekly ninety-minute meetings of the Coordinating Committee at which each regional would submit detailed reports and action plans." The driving force behind its formation

1581-671: The Chicago Auto Show for approximately 20 years beginning in the 1940s. Strangely enough, on December 30, 1962, and January 5, 1964, the Chicago Amphitheatre hosted The Southside WinterNationals INDOOR Drag Races. With the smooth concrete floors, Drivers reported it was like racing on ice. It was also reported that after the first races, cases of Coca-Cola syrup were brought in, poured on the floor and allowed to dry overnight. Drivers like Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick, and Mr. Norm from Grand Spaulding Dodge later admitted

1674-548: The Draft Board in each locality had broad discretion on whom to draft and whom to exempt in cases where there was no clear guideline for exemption. In late July 1965, Johnson doubled the number of young men to be drafted per month from 17,000 to 35,000, and on August 31, 1965, he signed the Draft Card Mutilation Act, making it a crime to knowingly destroy or mutilate a draft card. On October 15, 1965,

1767-649: The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus . In October 1978, English rock group UFO recorded parts of what would become Strangers in the Night at the International Amphitheatre. Dexter Park (Chicago) Dexter Park was a horse race track in Chicago built in the years following the Civil War . It was named for a gelding and trotter who had set world records for the mile and inspired

1860-729: The United Center . The Amphitheatre was also the primary home of the Chicago Cougars of the WHA from 1972 to 1975 . It was originally intended to be only a temporary home for the Cougars, but the permanent solution, the Rosemont Horizon, was not completed until 1980, five years after the team folded and a year after the WHA ceased operation. The International Amphitheatre was the home for Chicago's wrestling scene for years as well as

1953-452: The civil rights , feminist , and Chicano movements, as well as sectors of organized labor. Additional involvement came from many other groups, including educators, clergy, academics, journalists, lawyers, military veterans , physicians (notably Benjamin Spock ), and others. Anti-war demonstrations consisted mostly of peaceful, nonviolent protests. By 1967, an increasing number of Americans considered military involvement in Vietnam to be

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2046-503: The free speech movement and the civil rights movement . The military draft mobilized the baby-boomers , who were most at risk of being drafted, but the opposition grew to include a varied cross-section of Americans. The growing opposition to the Vietnam War was partly attributed to greater access to uncensored information through extensive television coverage on the ground in Vietnam. Anti-War protesters primarily made moral arguments against US involvement in Vietnam. In May 1954, preceding

2139-578: The 1960s began. By the middle of the decade, open condemnation of the war became more common, with figures like Malcolm X and Bob Moses speaking out. Champion boxer Muhammad Ali risked his career and a prison sentence to resist the draft in 1966. Soon, Martin Luther King Jr. , Coretta Scott King , and James Bevel of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) became prominent opponents of

2232-468: The 29%) were chosen for conscription to serve in the war, as opposed to only 31% of eligible white men. On October 16, 1967, draft card turn-ins were held across the country, yielding more than 1,000 draft cards, later returned to the Justice Department as an act of civil disobedience . Resisters expected to be prosecuted immediately, but Attorney General Ramsey Clark chose to prosecute

2325-511: The American embassy in Saigon as a sign of US military vulnerability. The military victories on the battlefields of Tet were overshadowed by shocking images of violence on television screens, extensive casualty lists, and a new perception among the American people that the military had been less than truthful about the success of earlier military operations, and, ultimately, the ability to achieve

2418-480: The American opposition to the war was the perception that US justification for intervention in Vietnam (i.e. the domino theory and the threat of communism ) was not legally justifiable. Some Americans believed that the communist threat was used to hide imperialistic intentions. Others argued that the American intervention in South Vietnam interfered with the self-determination of the country, expressing that

2511-521: The Amphitheatre proved to be an unsatisfactory home venue to the team. The team had faced attendance as low as 500 spectators while playing at the facility. The sprawling venue was difficult to maintain and struggled to attract enough large events to pay for its own upkeep. It was eventually sold to promoters Cardenas & Fernandez and then the City of Chicago, which had no more success at attracting events than its previous owner. In August 1999, demolition of

2604-548: The Berkeley Draft Board and forty students staged the first public Draft-card burning in the United States. Another 19 cards were burned on May 22, 1965, at a demonstration following the Berkeley teach-in . Draft card protests were primarily aimed at the immoral conduct of the war, rather than the draft itself. At that time, only a fraction of all men of draft-able age were actually being conscripted , but

2697-574: The Bombing of Asian People and Stop Killing Our Asian Brothers and Sisters." Its newsletter stated, "our goal is to build a solid, broad-based anti-imperialist movement of Asian people against the war in Vietnam." The anti-war sentiment of Asian Americans was fueled by the racial inequality that they faced in the United States. As historian Daryl Maeda notes, "the anti-war movement articulated Asian Americans' racial commonality with Vietnamese people in two distinctly gendered ways: identification based on

2790-792: The International Amphitheatre began. An Aramark Uniform Services plant is located on the site once occupied by the Amphitheatre. The original primary purpose of the arena was to host the North American International Livestock Exposition . This event would be held at the arena until several years after the Union Stock Yards closed in July 1971, when it left for Louisville , Kentucky . The Amphitheatre hosted several national American presidential nominating conventions, with an overall record of 1-4: The 1952 Republican National Convention had

2883-474: The Liberation of Vietnam . They intended to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupted the meeting, with 50 individuals being arrested. In February 1967, The New York Review of Books published " The Responsibility of Intellectuals ," an essay by Noam Chomsky , a leading intellectual opponent of the war. In the essay, Chomsky argued that much responsibility for

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2976-586: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) disallowed him. The "Beyond Vietnam" speech involved King in a debate with the diplomat Ralph Bunche who argued that it was folly to associate the civil rights movement with the anti-Vietnam war movement, maintaining that this would set back civil rights for African Americans. This speech also showed how bold King could be when he condemned US "aggression" in Vietnam, and this

3069-644: The Quaker protests but just after the defeat of the French at Dien Bien Phu , the Service Committee bought a page in The New York Times to protest what seemed to be the tendency of the US to step into Indochina as France was stepping out. The moral imperative argument against the war was especially popular among American college students, who were more likely than the general public to accuse

3162-724: The Region to advance to the Final Four played in Florida. The Loyola Ramblers basketball team were tenants of the venue during their 1987–88 and 1988–89 seasons, but faced poor attendance at the aging facility. Notable performers who held shows at the venue included Dale Evans and Roy Rogers , Evel Knievel , The Rolling Stones , Frank Sinatra , Led Zeppelin , The Who , Pink Floyd , AC/DC , Black Sabbath , Santana , Ike & Tina Turner , Grateful Dead , Van Halen , Aerosmith , UFO , Selena and The Jackson 5 . The Amphitheatre

3255-1016: The South Vietnamese government needed a solid base of popular support if it were to survive the insurgency. To pursue this goal of winning the " Hearts and Minds " of the Vietnamese people, units of the United States Army , referred to as " Civil Affairs " units, were used extensively for the first time since World War II . Civil Affairs units, while remaining armed and under direct military control, engaged in what came to be known as " nation-building ": constructing (or reconstructing) schools, public buildings, roads, and other infrastructure ; conducting medical programs for civilians who had no access to medical facilities; facilitating cooperation among local civilian leaders; conducting hygiene and other training for civilians; and engaging in similar activities. This policy of attempting to win

3348-549: The United States of having imperialistic goals in Vietnam and to criticize the war as "immoral." Civilian deaths, which had been downplayed or omitted entirely by the Western media, became a subject of protest when photographic evidence of casualties emerged. The infamous photo of General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan shooting a Viet Cong captain in handcuffs during the Tet Offensive also provoked public outcry. Another element of

3441-559: The Vietnam War, and Bevel became the director of the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam . The Black Panther Party vehemently opposed US involvement in Vietnam. At the beginning of the war, some African Americans did not want to join the war opposition movement because of their loyalty to President Johnson for pushing the Civil Rights legislation, but soon the escalating violence of

3534-662: The War . In April 1971, thousands of these veterans converged on the White House in Washington, D.C., and hundreds threw their medals and decorations on the steps of the United States Capitol . By this time, it had also become commonplace for the most radical anti-war demonstrators to prominently display the flag of the Viet Cong "enemy," an act which alienated many who were otherwise morally opposed to

3627-540: The White Stockings joined the new league and relocated to the lakefront, at Union Base-Ball Grounds . That move proved ill-fated, as it put the team's home field in the path of the Great Chicago Fire ; the club did not field another professional team for two years while it nursed its financial position. Dexter Park was situated on the west side of Halsted Street, between 47th Street to the south and

3720-419: The anti-war movement and their creation of new opposition groups. Many artists during the 1960s and 1970s opposed the war and used their creativity and careers to oppose the war visibly. Writers and poets who were opposed to involvement in the war included Allen Ginsberg , Denise Levertov , Robert Duncan , and Robert Bly . Artists often incorporated imagery based on the tragic events of the war, as well as on

3813-486: The arms race and the Vietnam War were taking much-needed resources away from the civil rights movement and the War on Poverty . To combat these issues, King rallied the poor working class in hopes that the federal government would redirect resources toward fighting the War on Poverty. To emphasize his point, King would use the statistic that the US government had underestimated the cost of the 1967 war budget by $ 10 billion, which

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3906-446: The banner of "Self-determination for Black America and Vietnam," while whites marched under banners that said, "Support Our GIs, Bring Them Home Now!". Within these groups, however, many African American women were seen as subordinate members by black male leaders. Many African American women viewed the war in Vietnam as racially motivated and sympathized strongly with Vietnamese women. Such concerns often propelled their participation in

3999-467: The bordering countries would be sure to fall as well like dominoes. This theory was largely held due to the fall of Eastern Europe to communism and the Soviet sphere of influence following World War II. However, military critics of the war pointed out that the Vietnam War was political, and that the military mission lacked any clear idea of how to achieve its objectives. Civilian critics of the war argued that

4092-501: The demonstration of October 15, making it the largest protest in a single day at that point in history. A second round of "Moratorium" demonstrations was held on November 15 and attracted more people than the first. Over half a million people rallied in Washington, D.C., while about 250,000 rallied in San Francisco. The Washington demonstration was preceded by the "March against Death" on November 13 and 14. The US realized that

4185-480: The disparity between life in Vietnam and life in the United States. Visual artists such as Ronald Haeberle , Peter Saul , Leon Golub , Nancy Spero , among many others, created anti-war works. According to art historian Matthew Israel's book Kill for Peace: American Artists Against the Vietnam War , "significant examples of this politically engaged production...encompassed painting, sculpture, performance, installation, posters, short films, and comics—and... ranged from

4278-404: The distinction of being the first political convention broadcast live by television coast to coast, with special studio facilities provided for all the major networks. The 1968 Democratic National Convention was one of the most tumultuous political conventions in American history, noted by anti-war protests . Televised boxing and wrestling events were held at the venue for decades, making it

4371-471: The escalating role of the United States in the war . Over the next several years, these demonstrations grew into a social movement which was incorporated into the broader counterculture of the 1960s . Members of the peace movement within the United States at first consisted of many students, mothers, and anti-establishment youth. Opposition grew with the participation of leaders and activists of

4464-404: The establishment of a draft lottery in 1970, where a young man's birthday determined his relative risk of being drafted. For the year 1970, September 14 was the birthday at the top of the draft list, while the following year, July 9 held this distinction. Despite popular anti-war speculation that most American soldiers (especially those killed) were draftees, this was discredited in later years, as

4557-416: The experiences of male soldiers and identification by women." Asian American soldiers in the US military were many times classified as being like the enemy. They were referred to as gooks and their identity was racialized in comparison to their non-Asian counterparts. There was also the hyper sexualization of Vietnamese women, which in turn affected how Asian American women in the military were treated. "In

4650-431: The fact, claimed that Lém was captured near the site of a ditch holding as many as thirty-four bound and executed bodies of police and their relatives, including some who were the families of General Loan's deputy and close friend. The execution created an iconic image that influenced public opinion in the United States against the war. The events of Tet in early 1968 as a whole significantly altered public opinion regarding

4743-429: The facts." For the first time in American history, the media had the means to broadcast battlefield images. Graphic footage of casualties on the nightly news eliminated any myth of the glory of war. With no clear sign of victory in Vietnam, American military casualties helped stimulate opposition to the war by Americans. In their book Manufacturing Consent , Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky rejected this view of how

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4836-682: The first major civil rights group to issue a formal statement against the war. When SNCC-backed Georgia Representative Julian Bond acknowledged his agreement with the anti-war statement, he was refused his seat by the State of Georgia, an injustice which he successfully appealed up to the Supreme Court. SNCC had special significance as a nexus between the student movement and the black movement. At an SDS-organized conference at UC Berkeley in October 1966, SNCC Chair Stokely Carmichael challenged

4929-467: The government of South Vietnam lacked political legitimacy or that support for the war was completely immoral. The media also played a substantial role in the polarization of American opinion regarding the Vietnam War. In 1965, the majority of media attention was focused on military tactics with very little discussion about the necessity of a full-scale intervention in Southeast Asia. After 1965,

5022-462: The hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people, however, often was at odds with other aspects of the war, which sometimes served to antagonize many Vietnamese civilians and provided ammunition to the anti-war movement. These included the emphasis on " body count " as a way of measuring military success on the battlefield, civilian casualties during the bombing of villages (symbolized by journalist Peter Arnett 's famous quote, "it became necessary to destroy

5115-564: The imaginary line of 42nd Street to the north. This property was owned by, and adjacent to, the Union Stock Yards . The "bird's-eye view" of the stockyards, from ca. 1878, shows part of the race track at the left edge. The track had ceased to be a working race track by 1880. By then it had been cut through by several of the Stock Yards' local roads and railroad spurs.[Chicago Inter Ocean , May 22, 1880, p.7] Its main usage had become conventions and cattle auctions. The last "race" mentioned in

5208-498: The issue sold out, with many individuals being haunted by the photographs of the ordinary young Americans killed. On October 15, 1969, hundreds of thousands of people took part in National Moratorium anti-war demonstrations across the United States. The demonstrations prompted many workers to call in sick from their jobs and adolescents nationwide engaged in truancy from school. About 15 million Americans took part in

5301-645: The large majority of these soldiers were confirmed to be volunteers. On February 1, 1968, Nguyễn Văn Lém a Viet Cong officer suspected of participating in the murder of South Vietnamese government officials during the Tet Offensive , was summarily executed by General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan , the South Vietnamese National Police Chief. Loan shot Lém in the head on a public street in Saigon , despite being in front of journalists. South Vietnamese reports, provided as justification after

5394-440: The local newspapers came in December 1881, a 100 yard dash contested (for betting) by two Stock Yards employees "on the old Dexter Park race track".[Chicago Inter Ocean , December 5, 1881, p.6] Dexter Park Pavilion is first mentioned in local newspapers in 1884.[Chicago Inter Ocean , May 22, 1884, p.15] The Pavilion was the site of the famous wrestling bout contested between George Hackenschmidt and Frank Gotch in 1908, in what

5487-413: The media contributed to the decline of public support for the war and ultimately caused the US to lose the war. Conservative author William F. Buckley repeatedly wrote about his approval of the war and suggested, "[t]he United States has been timid, if not cowardly, in refusing to seek 'victory' in Vietnam." The Hawks claimed that liberal media was responsible for the growing popular disenchantment with

5580-442: The media covered the dissent and domestic controversy that existed within the United States, but mostly excluded the expressed views of dissidents and resisters. The media established a sphere of public discourse around the Hawk versus Dove debate. The Doves were people who had liberal views and were critics of the war. Doves claimed that the war was well-intended, but a disastrous mistake in an otherwise benign foreign policy. It

5673-455: The media influenced the war, on the basis that in their view that the media instead censored the more brutal images of the fighting and the death of millions of innocent people. If America's soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read "Vietnam." The US became polarized over the war. Many supporters of US involvement argued for what was known as the domino theory , a theory that stated that if one country fell to communism , then

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5766-436: The more common and most visible way of opposing the war. Many Asian Americans were strongly opposed to the Vietnam War. They saw the war as being a significant action of US imperialism and "connected the oppression of the Asians in the United States to the prosecution of the war in Vietnam." Unlike many Americans in the anti-war movement, they viewed the war "not just as imperialist but specifically as anti-Asian." Groups like

5859-509: The more modern and more conveniently located lakefront McCormick Place convention center, during the 1960s and 1970s, began the International Amphitheatre's decline, which continued with the opening of other convention and concert venues in the suburbs drawing more events away. By the 1980s, the venue was struggling due to competition from large facilities such as the Chicago Stadium , Rosemont Horizon , Arie Crown Theater , Alpine Valley Music Theatre , Holiday Star Theatre , UIC Pavilion , and

5952-432: The most 'representational' to the most 'abstract' forms of expression." Filmmakers such as Lenny Lipton , Jerry Abrams, Peter Gessner, and David Ringo created documentary-style movies featuring footage from the anti-war marches to raise awareness about the war and the diverse opposition movement. Playwrights like Frank O'Hara , Sam Shepard , Robert Lowell , Megan Terry , Grant Duay, and Kenneth Bernard used theater as

6045-425: The naming of several new towns including Dexter, Missouri , and Dexter, Texas (a village about an hour north of Dallas). The track's formal opening was held in July 1867. Early baseball games at Dexter Park that July included a series staged for the touring Washington Nationals . The Nationals had been undefeated until they played the Forest City (Rockford) club, which defeated the Nationals 29–23. This generated

6138-557: The population. As a result, black enlisted men protested and began the resistance movement among veterans . After taking measures to reduce the fatalities, apparently in response to widespread protest, the military brought the proportion of blacks down to 12.6 percent of casualties. African Americans involved in the anti-war movement often formed their own groups, such as Black Women Enraged, National Black Anti-War Anti-Draft Union, and National Black Draft Counselors. Some differences in these groups included how Black Americans rallied behind

6231-437: The race on March 16 and ran for the nomination on an anti-war platform. Johnson's vice president, Hubert Humphrey , also ran for the nomination, promising to continue to support the South Vietnamese government. In May 1969, Life magazine published photographs of the faces of the roughly 250 or so American servicemen who had been killed in Vietnam during a "routine week" of war in the spring of 1969. Contrary to expectations,

6324-414: The renovated Chicago Theatre . In the late 1970s, developer Harry Chaddick proposed replacing the arena with a large shopping center , but these plans were killed after Mayor Michael Bilandic revoked his support for the project after residents and politicians of the Canaryville and Bridgeport neighborhoods complained that such a development would attract both intense vehicular traffic and draw over

6417-411: The residents from nearby Chicago Housing Authority projects. After an automobile swap show in March 1983, the venue closed its doors. This was widely seen as an end for the venue. It was sold to new ownership for a mere $ 250,000 and sat dormant for three years. During plans were floated to convert the venue into a sound stage . However, on November 28, 1987, the International Amphitheatre reopened with

6510-399: The same in front of United Nations Headquarters in New York City . Both protests were conscious imitations of earlier (and ongoing) Buddhist protests in South Vietnam. The growing anti-war movement alarmed many in the US government. On August 16, 1966, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) began investigations of Americans who were suspected of aiding the National Front for

6603-515: The student-run National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam in New York staged the first draft card burning, resulting in an arrest under the new law. Gruesome images of two anti-war activists who set themselves on fire in November 1965 demonstrated how strongly some people felt that the war was immoral. On November 2, 32-year-old Quaker Norman Morrison set himself on fire in front of The Pentagon . On November 9, 22-year-old Catholic Worker Movement member Roger Allen LaPorte did

6696-713: The syrup did little to help traction. Staging was outside in the Chicago - January cold. Drivers did as many as 5 "burnouts" just to heat the rear tires. The shutdown area involved a sharp turn and wall that claimed more than a few of the entries. On March 13–14, 1976, the Midwest Regional of the North American Soccer League 's 1976 Indoor tournament was hosted by the Chicago Sting at the Amphitheater. The Rochester Lancers won

6789-586: The town to save it"), and the killing of civilians in such incidents as the My Lai massacre . In 1974, the documentary Hearts and Minds sought to portray the devastation the war was causing to the South Vietnamese people and won an Academy Award for Best Documentary amid considerable controversy. The South Vietnamese government also antagonized many of its citizens with the suppression of political opposition through such measures as holding large numbers of political prisoners, torturing political opponents, and holding

6882-579: The war and blamed Western media for losing the war in Southeast Asia. Early organized opposition was led by American Quakers in the 1950s, and in November 1960, 1,100 Quakers undertook a silent protest vigil. The group "ringed the Pentagon for parts of two days". Protests began bringing attention to the draft on May 5, 1965. Student activists at the University of California, Berkeley marched on

6975-622: The war and the perceived social injustice of the draft propelled involvement in antiwar groups. In March 1965, King first criticized the war during the Selma March when he told a journalist that "millions of dollars can be spent every day to hold troops in South Vietnam and our country cannot protect the rights of Negroes in Selma". In 1965, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) became

7068-487: The war had turned out to be "harder, longer, more complicated" than expected. Donovan ended his editorial by writing that the war was "not worth winning," as South Vietnam was "not absolutely imperative" to maintain American interests in Asia, which made it impossible "to ask young Americans to die for." In 1967, the continued operation of the draft system, then calling for as many as 40,000 men for induction each month, fueled

7161-409: The war in Vietnam was a civil war that ought to have determined the fate of the country. Media coverage of the war also shook citizens at home as the television, which had become common in American homes in the 1950s, brought images of the wartime conflict to viewers in their homes. Newscasters, like NBC's Frank McGee, stated that the war was all but lost as a "conclusion to be drawn inescapably from

7254-521: The war lay with liberal intellectuals and technical experts who were providing, what he saw as, pseudo scientific justification for the policies of the US government. The Time Inc. magazines Time and Life maintained a very pro-war editorial stance until October 1967, when the editor-in-chief Hedley Donovan came out against the war. Donovan wrote in an editorial in Life that the United States had gone into Vietnam for "honorable and sensible purposes", but

7347-406: The war on moral grounds, appalled by the devastation and violence of the war. Others claimed the conflict was a war against Vietnamese independence or an intervention in a foreign civil war ; others opposed it because they felt it lacked clear objectives and appeared to be unwinnable. Many anti-war activists themselves were Vietnam veterans , as evidenced by the organization Vietnam Veterans Against

7440-585: The war. As the Vietnam War continued to escalate, public disenchantment grew, and a variety of different groups were formed or became involved in the movement. African-American leaders of earlier decades, like W. E. B. Du Bois , were often anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist. Paul Robeson weighed in on the Vietnamese struggle in 1954, calling Ho Chi Minh "the modern day Toussaint Louverture , leading his people to freedom." These figures were driven from public life by McCarthyism, however, and black leaders were more cautious about criticizing US foreign policy as

7533-469: The war. US military officials had previously reported successful prosecution of counter-insurgency in South Vietnam. While the Tet Offensive resulted in a significant victory for the US and allied militaries by bringing the Viet Cong into open battle and dismantling them as a fighting force, the American media, including respected figures like Walter Cronkite , interpreted events such as the attack on

7626-572: The wealthy, and the secure, while we create a hell for the poor". King's speech attracted much controversy at the time, with many feeling that it was ungrateful for him to attack the president who had done the most for civil rights for African Americans since Abraham Lincoln had abolished slavery a century before. Liberal newspapers such as the Washington Post and the New York Times condemned King for his "Beyond Vietnam" speech, while

7719-459: The white left to escalate their resistance to the military draft in a manner similar to the black movement. Some participants in ghetto rebellions of the era had already associated their actions with opposition to the Vietnam War, and SNCC first disrupted an Atlanta draft board in August 1966. According to historians Joshua Bloom and Waldo Martin, SDS's first Stop the Draft Week of October 1967

7812-569: Was pulling out of the race on March 31 in a televised speech. He also announced the initiation of the Paris Peace Negotiations with Vietnam in that speech. On August 4, 1969, US representative Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Xuan Thuy initiated secret peace negotiations at the apartment of French intermediary Jean Sainteny in Paris. After breaking with Johnson's pro-war stance, Robert F. Kennedy entered

7905-528: Was "inspired by Black Power [and] emboldened by the ghetto rebellions." SNCC appears to have originated the popular anti-draft slogan: "Hell no! We won't go!" On April 4, 1967, King gave a much-publicized speech entitled " Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence " at the Riverside Church in New York, attacking President Johnson for "deadly Western arrogance," declaring that "we are on the side of

7998-626: Was a sense that the objective of preventing a communist takeover of a pro-Western government in South Vietnam was a noble goal. Many Americans were also concerned about maintaining dignity in the event of disengaging from the war or, as President Richard M. Nixon later described it, "achieving Peace with Honor." Additionally, instances of Viet Cong atrocities were widely reported, most notably in an article that appeared in Reader's Digest in 1968 titled The Blood-Red Hands of Ho Chi Minh . However, anti-war feelings also began to rise. Many Americans opposed

8091-631: Was also the home of the Chicago Bulls during their inaugural season of 1966–67 ; they also played only one game in the Chicago Coliseum, a playoff game in their first season, as no other arena was available for a game versus the St. Louis Hawks . Afterwards, the Bulls then moved permanently to Chicago Stadium, where they remained until 1994 , when they moved to their current home court at

8184-648: Was anger at "the bombing of Hanoi and the mining of Haiphong Harbor ." The organization supported the Japanese Community Youth Center, members of the Asian Community Center, student leaders of Asian American student unions, and others. The BAACAW members consisted of many Asian Americans, and they were involved in anti-war efforts like marches, study groups, fundraisers, teach-ins , and demonstrations. During marches, Asian American activists carried banners that read "Stop

8277-610: Was considered professional wrestling's first true world championship bout. By 1909, the Pavilion had been renamed the International Amphitheater (I), but the two names were used synonymously in local papers. A marathon was staged between Olympic runners Dorando Pietri and Albert Corey .[Chicago Tribune , January 22, 1909, p.6] The Pavilion / Amphitheater was used for various exhibitions until May 19, 1934,[Chicago Tribune , May 20, 1934, pp.1&5] when it

8370-607: Was destroyed by fire. A new arena, the International Amphitheater (II) was built on its site. The racetrack was commemorated by a road to the west of the arena, called Dexter Park Avenue. 41°48′36″N 87°38′47″W  /  41.81000°N 87.64639°W  / 41.81000; -87.64639 Opposition to the Vietnam War Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War began in 1965 with demonstrations against

8463-587: Was elected President of the United States in 1968 on the platform of ending the Vietnam War and the draft . Nixon began the drawdown of US troops in April 1969. Protests spiked after the announcement of the expansion of the war into Cambodia in April 1970. The Pentagon Papers were published in June 1971. The last draftees reported in late 1972, and the last US combat troops withdrew from Vietnam in March 1973. The draft,

8556-452: Was five times the poverty budget. Black anti-war groups opposed the war for similar reasons as white groups but often protested in separate events and sometimes did not cooperate with the ideas of white anti-war leadership. They harshly criticized the draft because poor and minority men were usually most affected by conscription. In 1965 and 1966, African Americans accounted for 25 percent of combat deaths, more than twice their proportion of

8649-665: Was the first home of the Chicago White Stockings , one of the oldest professional baseball clubs in operation. Chicago's sporting businessmen formed the White Stockings in 1870 to represent Chicago as the Red Stockings had done for Cincinnati in 1869. The ball field was established inside the track's oval and had its own small set of bleachers encircling the field. When the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players formed in 1871,

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