Primary Sources: Vietnam War

Opposition to the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War began with demonstrations in 1964 against the escalating role of the United States in the Vietnam War and grew into a broad social movement over the ensuing several years. This movement informed and helped shape the vigorous and polarizing debate, primarily in the United States, during the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s on how to end the war.

Many in the peace movement within the United States were children, mothers, or anti-establishment youth. Opposition grew with participation by the African-American civil rights, second-wave feminist movements, Chicano Movements, and sectors of organized labor. Additional involvement came from many other groups, including educators, clergy, academics, journalists, lawyers, physicians – such as Benjamin Spock – and military veterans.

Their actions consisted mainly of peaceful, nonviolent events; few events were deliberately provocative and violent. In some cases, police used violent tactics against peaceful demonstrators. By 1967, according to Gallup polls, an increasing majority of Americans considered military involvement in Vietnam to be a mistake, echoed decades later by the then-head of American war planning, former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Wikipedia

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"Antiwar demonstrators protest in Central Park, march to UN building, included students and hippies and priests and nuns, burn draft cards, shouted confrontations with anti-antiwar marchers, prowar signs, Martin Luther King leads procession; another march in downtown San Francisco down Market Street to stadium, sponsored by loose coalition of left-wing anti-war groups, "President Johnson meanwhile let it be known that the FBI is closely watching all anti-war activity."- violence in Rome in night demonstration near US embassy, water jets used (partial newsreel)"