A Nation Divided
Avoiding the War
What were some ways that
young men used to avoid
military service in Vietnam
 Found doctors to give
them medical
deferments
 Looked for lenient
draft boards
 Enrolled in college to
receive a deferment
 Joined the National
Guard or Coast Guard
In what sense was the Vietnam
War a “working class” war?
• Enrolling in college to get a deferment
required having money
• So, 80% of U.S. troops came from lower
economic levels.
Opposing the War: organizations
and group opposition
New Left: (name given
to the youth
movement of the
1960s)
Students for a
Democratic Society
The Free Speech
Movement
College StudentsYoung people
Reasons that “doves” opposed
the war
 The war was draining U.S.
strength
 Belief that war is immoral
 Belief that the U.S. should
not try to police the world
 Belief that this was a civil
war between the North and
South Vietnamese and was
not really U.S. business
 President Johnson had
revoked college deferments
for those not getting good
grades.
Ways that “doves”
showed their opposition
• Held antiwar
demonstrations
• Publicly burned
draft cards
• Marched on
Washington
• Fled to Canada
and Sweden to
dodge the draft
Defending the War
By 1967:
Most Americans
supported U.S.
involvement in the
Vietnam War
Hawks criticize the
Johnson administration's
policies in Vietnam:
The “Hawks”( those that
supported the war) felt
that Johnson should
escalate the war more
quickly