The Purpose Of The Vietnam War Protest

The Vietnam War has been one of the most terrifying wars United States was ever a part of. It included bloodshed like any other war but gave rise to a revolution. College students were attracted to this and started organizing marches and other protests. These protests, like the one that was organized by the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), attracted a lot of support from around the country “Vietnam War Protest”. The students would have concerts to spread their message of love and peace by music, as it was easy to sell (The Counterculture and Music of 1960s). American Government believed that Communism was threatening democracy throughout the world (The Antiwar Movement). The youth had a huge part in beginning the movement. They realized
the cruelty American Military was facing in Vietnam, they realized that young troops were sent to Vietnam and were often sacrificed in the war. The revolution primarily began in college campuses; it started in 1965 after president Lyndon B. Johnson ordered the bombing of military targets in North Vietnam in 1964 (Vietnam War Protest). During the war people had two perspectives: the majority of people believed in the administration policies and supported the idea of entering the war while a fraction of the population resisted the idea and started the revolution. “Many Americans believed that defending South Vietnam from communist aggression was in the national interest” (The Antiwar Movement). Many soldiers tried to resist being drafted for the war one of which was the heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, years later Ali declared himself a “conscientious objector” for which he earned a three-year ban from boxing

(Vietnam War Protest).
The purpose of the revolution was to force the authorities to withdraw complete American involvement. The movement went on for eight years with America leaving Vietnam in 1972.
Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of the biggest names in the history of public speakers. People would follow him blindly simply because they believed in him. Martin Luther King was America’s most influential speaker in the 1960’s during the Vietnam War. King always fought for peace and justice. “During his years in school, king developed a great belief in the power of nonviolent protest as a tool to bring about change in American society” (Sixties Counterculture). Then later in 1954 he led a protest at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, he had become convinced that nonviolent protests are a more elegant way to deliver a message (Hillstrom and Hillstrom). Since childhood Martin Luther King Jr. supported nonviolence, as a child he had many incidents of racial discrimination but he never reacted with violence. He supported Gandhi’s non-violent protests and was a follower of his methods. He took the Anti-War movement to a different level. People would simply follow the revolution because he supports it. He lead various marches throughout the country like the ones in Birmingham and Washington D.C. (Hillstrom and Hillstrom). He joined the Vietnam War in 1965 when he saw the war as a potential threat to the
country.
King delivered his speech “Beyond Vietnam” on April 4th, 1967 in New York. He chose a place that would give him maximum audience, people from all races, religion, gender gathered to his support. King was assassinated on the same day a year later April 4th, 1968. He death caused a huge setback to the movement as people stopped believing in the protest. The movement needed maximum support to influence the US government so King delivered his speech accordingly. He made points to relate to every single person. Whether it’s a man or women, a black or white person anyone could relate to his speech. New York in 1967 was the populated city in USA. He chose the most popular church in New York, The Riverside Church. The location gave him a huge audience and his speech spoke to everyone (Lind). Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech entitled ‘Beyond Vietnam – A Time To Break Silence’ is exceptional as it helped him to connect to every one present through emotions and his speech had a unique diction that motivated everyone to unite and support the movement; his words inspired them to be leaders.
Martin Luther King Jr. uses a lot of emotional references to support his point.
“It was sending their sons and their brothers and their husbands to fight and die in extraordinarily high proportions relative to the rest of the population” He uses this quote to emotionally influence the women and gain their support against war.” He tries to influence the women against wars. He tells them to that their sons and husbands are being sacrificed for something they never volunteered for and their death’s are far crueler than they deserve.
“For the nine following years 1945 we denied the people of Vietnam the right of independence. For nine years we vigorously supported the French in their abortive effort to recolonize Vietnam. Before the end of the war we were meeting eighty percent of the French war costs.” He makes the audience feel guilty for the rebel in Vietnam. He coveys the message that it is American’s who have denied the Vietnamese of their rights and started the war. In addition he also says that the Vietnamese require medical support and other basic needs more than a war. It is easier to convince someone with statistics that support the point, which he gives through out the speech.
While giving his speech Martin Luther King Jr. uses a unique tone and inspires people and motivates them to lead or support the movement. He maintain this tone throughout the speech some examples are “America, the richest and most powerful nation in the world, we can lead the way in this revolution of values.” He encourages people to start a revolution against the continuous on going wars in Vietnam.
His enlightens people of what they are capable of. He encourages the people to lead a revolution by stating ordinary things. He gives his audience a position, a status and makes them believe that every person has an important role in this movement. “Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism.” His uses other incidents like Racism and Poverty that divided the world. He asks the people to stand up once again with the same spirit they had when they revolted against Racism or when they started responding to the decreasing economy of the
country.
The Anti-war movement was one of the biggest revolutions ever witnessed and has been going on ever since. America has been at war ever since the movement stopped but there have always been people to believe in peace and non-violence. People still have the two perspectives military support and peace. The Anti-war movement had a lot of support from many of the better speakers. It also witnessed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. though his speech is still one of the most inspirational pieces of text. It doesn’t matter how old someone is, or how he or she got separated over time it still speaks to everyone and conveys the same message. Non-violence and peace are the best ways to convey a message.