Vietnam War

==Opposition to U.S. involvement==
{{Main|Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|Protests of 1968}}
{{See also|Russell Tribunal|Fulbright Hearings|Chicago Seven}}
[[File:vietnamdem.jpg|thumb|The [[March on the Pentagon]], 21 October 1967, an anti-war demonstration organized by the [[National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam]]]]

During the course of the Vietnam War a large segment of the American population came to be opposed to U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia. In January 1967, only 32% of Americans thought the U.S. had made a mistake in sending troops to Vietnam.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 January 2018 |title=CBS News Poll: U.S. involvement in Vietnam |work=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-u-s-involvement-in-vietnam/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201070627/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-u-s-involvement-in-vietnam/|archive-date=February 1, 2023}}</ref> Public opinion steadily turned against the war following 1967 and by 1970 only a third of Americans believed that the U.S. had not made a mistake by sending troops to fight in Vietnam.<ref>Lunch, W. & Sperlich, P. (1979). The Western Political Quarterly. 32(1). pp. 21–44</ref><ref name="Hagopian">{{Cite book |last=Hagopain |first=Patrick |title=The Vietnam War in American Memory |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-55849-693-4 |pages=13–4}}</ref>

Early opposition to U.S. involvement in Vietnam drew its inspiration from the Geneva Conference of 1954. American support of Diệm in refusing elections was seen as thwarting the democracy America claimed to support. John F. Kennedy, while senator, opposed involvement in Vietnam.<ref name=Kahin/> Nonetheless, it is possible to specify certain groups who led the anti-war movement at its peak in the late 1960s and the reasons why. Many young people protested because they were the ones being [[Conscription in the United States|drafted]], while others were against the war because the anti-war movement grew increasingly popular among the [[counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture]]. Some advocates within the peace movement advocated a [[unilateral]] withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam. Opposition to the Vietnam War tended to unite groups opposed to U.S. anti-communism and [[American imperialism|imperialism]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zimmer |first=Louis B. |title=The Vietnam War Debate |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-7391-3769-7 |pages=54–5}}</ref> and for those involved with the [[New Left]], such as the [[Catholic Worker Movement]]. Others, such as [[Stephen Spiro]], opposed the war based on the theory of [[Just War]]. Some wanted to show solidarity with the people of Vietnam, such as [[Norman Morrison]] emulating the [[self-immolation]] of [[Thích Quảng Đức]].

High-profile opposition to the Vietnam War increasingly turned to mass protests in an effort to shift U.S. public opinion. Riots broke out at the [[1968 Democratic National Convention]] during protests against the war.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|514}} After news reports of American military abuses, such as the 1968 My Lai Massacre, brought new attention and support to the anti-war movement, some veterans joined [[Vietnam Veterans Against the War]]. On 15 October 1969, the [[Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam|Vietnam Moratorium]] attracted millions of Americans.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20230330072002/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/15/newsid_2533000/2533131.stm 1969: Millions march in US Vietnam Moratorium]. BBC On This Day.</ref> The fatal shooting of four students at Kent State University in 1970 led to nationwide university protests.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bob Fink |url=http://www.greenwych.ca/vietnam.htm |title=Vietnam – A View from the Walls: a History of the Vietnam Anti-War Movement |publisher=Greenwich Publishing |access-date=18 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111005135/http://www.greenwych.ca/vietnam.htm |archive-date=11 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Anti-war protests declined after the signing of the Paris Peace Accords and the [[Conscription in the United States#End of conscription|end of the draft]] in January 1973, and the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam in the months following.