Misplaced Pages

#786213

88-1234: Memorial Union may refer to: Coffman Memorial Union at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in Minneapolis, Minnesota Memorial Union (Oregon State University) at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon Memorial Union (University of Missouri) at University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri Indiana Memorial Union at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana Memorial Union (Iowa State University) at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa Iowa Memorial Union at University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa Memorial Union (University of Oklahoma) at University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma Memorial Union (University of Wisconsin–Madison) at

176-540: 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

264-416: 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

352-462: A day which lasted for a month. In May of 1972, the largest demonstrations at the university took place in response to President Richard Nixon's announcement that the United States would begin to blockade and mine North Vietnam's harbors. On May 10, over 6,000 protesters gathered at Coffman for a rally that included former United States Congressman Eugene McCarthy . From 1974 to 1976,

440-603: 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

528-577: A large statue of the university's mascot, Goldy Gopher , was unveiled in front of Coffman, which has since become a popular spot for students to take pictures at. On January 19, 2018, Coffman, along with the buildings lining Northrop Mall and a few in the surrounding area, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Northrop Mall Historic District . In 2019, after 16 months of study,

616-720: 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

704-652: 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

792-508: A new 1,900-car parking garage opened behind the building, with 400 short term parking spaces. When the building reopened, the Al-Madinah and American Indian cultural centers were also given space inside. In 2013, the second floor was renovated. The new design features the cultural centers' spaces surrounding an open section in the middle. It also includes conference rooms and several more open areas for students to utilize. That same year,

880-465: A new transit lounge, waiting area, and amenity space. The building hosts a variety of services including the University of Minnesota Bookstore, Minnesota Marketplace Food Court, US Postal Service , IT Student Lab, administration services, and student group services. While the main lounge and theater are located on the main floor of the building, the lower level offers access to the bookstore, Great Hall, and several dining options. The basement features

968-447: 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

SECTION 10

#1732772953787

1056-476: A theater/lecture hall was built in its place; and the doors between the front pillars were replaced with large, deep-cut apron windows containing angular green-house styled roofs, requiring students to use the side doors to enter the building. Additionally, the color scheme was changed to bright magenta, blue, yellow, orange, purple, and green. The new angled glass extended floor space in the Main Lounge, which

1144-602: A university task force recommended removing Lotus Coffman's name from the building due to his racist and anti-Semitic policies. According to the December 2021 update to the Twin Cities Campus Plan, approved by the Board of Regents, Coffman is set to receive a third major renovation to meet the current needs of the student population. The building's overall architecture and integrity is to be untouched, while at

1232-502: 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

1320-455: 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

1408-676: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Coffman Memorial Union Coffman Memorial Union was built between 1939 and 1940 as a new "center of social life" for the University of Minnesota campus, a role that had previously been filled by Shevlin Hall and Nicholson Hall in the Old Campus Historic District , for the women's and men's student unions, respectively. Designed by architect Clarence H. Johnston Jr,

1496-660: Is home to the University of Minnesota Student Unions & Activities office, the Minnesota Student Association (the undergraduate student government organization), and the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (the graduate student government organization). Other student groups located within the building include: Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War Opposition to United States involvement in

1584-563: 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

1672-855: 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

1760-548: 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,

1848-640: The Space Shuttle Challenger's launch and subsequent explosion . In the 1990s, several groups were given space within Coffman: the African, Asian-American, La Raza, Disabled Student, and Queer Students cultural centers. In 1999, the building began preparing for a second significant renovation. In 2001, the Board of Regents approved the $ 71.5 million budget and construction began the following month, lasting until 2003. Almost all traces of

SECTION 20

#1732772953787

1936-503: 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

2024-578: 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

2112-457: The 1976 renovation were removed, and the building's exterior was restored to its original appearance. While the interior's old terrazzo floors and light fixtures were brought back, it was also modernized, such as with the addition of air conditioning. The lower floors were greatly expanded to include the main University of Minnesota Bookstore, food vendors, offices, lounges, and the glass "Cube" which sits adjacent to Washington Avenue. Additionally,

2200-468: 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

2288-511: 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

2376-480: 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

2464-548: 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

2552-574: 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

2640-474: 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

2728-586: 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

Memorial Union - Misplaced Pages Continue

2816-644: 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

2904-1016: 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

2992-549: 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

3080-841: The University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin Purdue Memorial Union at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana Memorial Union at University of California, Davis in Davis, California Memorial Union at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota Emporia State University Memorial Union at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas See also [ edit ] Memorial Union Building (disambiguation) Topics referred to by

3168-484: The Vietnam War began in 1965 with demonstrations against 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

3256-559: 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

3344-662: 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

3432-560: The Whole Music Club and an entertainment center called Goldy's Gameroom, featuring more food options, a bowling alley , foosball , and billiard tables . The building's upper floors are largely reserved for student and administration use, with student groups occupying much of the second floor. The fourth floor is home to the Campus Club, a member-based dining and event venue primarily used by faculty and alumni. The building

3520-419: 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

3608-486: 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

Memorial Union - Misplaced Pages Continue

3696-446: 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

3784-467: 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

3872-455: The building underwent a renovation that became widely criticized for its adverse effect on the building's exterior. Much of the original Streamline Moderne aspects were eliminated; a third of the back terrace was enclosed by angled glass; the main longue was reduced from two stories to one, in order to provide space for student organizations; the game and billiards lounge relocated to the basement, later becoming known as "Goldy's Gameroom", while

3960-501: 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

4048-480: 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

4136-404: 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

4224-416: 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

4312-431: 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

4400-429: 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

4488-682: 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

SECTION 50

#1732772953787

4576-467: 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,

4664-462: 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

4752-498: 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

4840-645: 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

4928-413: 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

5016-492: 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

5104-455: 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

5192-489: 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

5280-432: 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

5368-457: The new building opened in September 1940 and was dedicated on October 25 of the same year. It was named in memory of Lotus D. Coffman , President of the University of Minnesota between 1920 and 1938, who first imagined the campus having one, united student union. Although the new building separated the men's and women's lounges, most of the other spaces inside were open to both, equally. It was built to accommodate 14,000 students. By 1965, Coffman

SECTION 60

#1732772953787

5456-468: The number of students it could accommodate to 42,000, its design made it harder for large groups to assemble in the building, as a direct response to the protests. The renovation was considered "an architectural crime" by critics led by University Librarian Herbert Scherer. Throughout the 1980s, Coffman became well known as a place to watch television and catch up on the news. The building's tv brought students together during difficult times, such as during

5544-498: The participation of leaders and activists of 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

5632-557: 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

5720-437: 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,

5808-399: 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

5896-425: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Memorial Union . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Memorial_Union&oldid=1241723571 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

5984-428: The same time a more welcoming space for the many diverse uses the building has is meant to be created. Some recommended changes and additions include constructing an accessibility ramp on the building's east side in order to provide easier access from the front lawn to Delaware street, which runs behind the building; and connecting the bookstore directly to the transit stop on Washington Avenue, which also includes building

6072-515: 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

6160-534: 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

6248-409: 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

6336-622: 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

6424-487: 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

6512-409: 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

6600-521: 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

6688-406: 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

6776-585: 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

6864-469: 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

6952-572: 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

7040-459: 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

7128-569: 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

7216-528: 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

7304-626: 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

7392-648: 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

7480-587: 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,

7568-452: 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

7656-483: Was renamed the Ski-U-Mah lounge, but was found to trap heat during the summer and not retain any during the winter. Minnesota Daily cartoonist Steve Sack referred to the building as the "Coffman Memorial Microwave Oven" and stated, "the windows of dear Coffman were designed most of all, to waste energy during the winter and deep-fry us spring and fall". While the renovation added 25,000 feet of space overall and raised

7744-474: Was the most used building on campus. The furniture began to show wear and tear, due to its excessive use over the years and 20,000 students utilizing Coffman on any given day. That same year, students began staging protests in the building in response to the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War . On May 4, 1970, the same day as the Kent State shootings , protesters started occupying Coffman 24 hours

#786213