THE ANTI WAR MOVEMENT

The Vietnam War was fought by the United States between 1965 and 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.  At the outbreak of the Vietnam War, student radicalism inspired by the Free Speech Movement grew to represent a national voice protesting United States involvement in the war.

Following the death of President Kennedy in 1963, an outgrowth of protests, demonstrations against the Vietnam War started to arise throughout the nation. The years between 1964 and 1967 marked major escalation of U.S. troops in Vietnam. Antiwar protests being to take place throughout the campuses as many began to wonder why the United States is involved in this war.

Opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War began slowly and in small numbers in 1964 on various college campuses in the United States. The growing anti-war movement alarmed many in the US government.