The Vietnam Anti-war Movement

“Four Killed at Kent State Over Antiwar Protests”

by Peter Thompson

 

On Monday, May 4, 1970, four Kent State students were killed by the Ohio National Guard. Nine students were also wounded. These deaths were originally caused by anti-war protests regarding the invasion into neutral Cambodia from the United States forces. Protests began at the campus on Friday, May 1. At this protest students had evoked anti-war sentiments, burning a copy of the Constitution and giving numerous antiwar speeches. Eventually the Ohio National Guard was sent to the area to monitor and control the protests.

 

When the Guard arrived on Saturday, they arrived to a warlike scene. The ROTC building was eventually burned down, and the area was reminiscent of a war zone. The next day, Ohio governor James Rhodes arrived on campus and gave a speech encouraging the ban of these riots. His speech gave the idea that America’s silent majority was heavily against the loud-mouthed protesters. The next day the mood was just as serious. The rally scheduled for noon on Monday, May 4 had been banned, however over 3,000 people still showed up to protest the war. Despite the Guard’s efforts to calm the protesters, they never left. This led to the Guard firing 61 to 67 shots into the crowd, leading to the deaths of four people.

 

But, why would the guardsmen fire? Nobody in the crowd was armed, but the protests had been violent. While the guardsmen claimed that they were defending themselves, the protesters were completely unarmed. In 1975, a civil court case gave the verdict that the guardsmen were legally responsible for their shootings. The most dangerous threats to the lives of the guardsmen occurred after the shooting, when large amounts of anger among the protesters surfaced due to the realization that people had been killed over this protest. Overall, this incident is a monumental event in the antiwar movement.