Kent State Massacre
The anti-war protests of the counterculture through
out the week leading up to May 4th , 1970 pushed
the government to their breaking point resulting in
the Ohio National Guard firing upon unarmed
college students at Kent State University
Kent State Massacre

Occured on May 4th,
1970. At Kent State
University in Kent, Ohio
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Also known as the May
4th Massacre and the
Kent State Shootings
What was the Kent State Massacre?

The shooting of
unarmed college
students by the
Ohio National
Guard in
response to a
protest against
the invasion of
Cambodia during
the Vietnam War
How Many Students Died Or Were
Wounded?

Four students died: Allison
Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra
Scheuer, William Schroeder.

Nine students were injured,
one of whom was parayzed
The Specifics Of the Shootings

Shootings lasted
13 seconds
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67 shots were
fired
Leading Up to the Shootings…
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On April 30th President
Nixon announced that the
military would invade
Cambodia
The reaction of the students
at Kent State was much like
that of other students around
the country
Students held a protest on
May 1, 1970 at the Victory
Bell on the campus of Kent
State
Started of as a peaceful
demonstration
Leading Up to the Shootings…
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Progressed later that night into an anti-war rally
in downtown Kent as students left the bars
Students set a bonfire in the street, threw bottles
at police and broke windows
The mayor of Kent, Leroy Satron, declared a
state of emergency
Police used tear gas and batons to get the
students back to campus
Saturday, May 2nd
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The mayor instituted a dusk to dawn curfew and
students were restricted to campus
There were rumors that the ROTC Building was
going to be a target of militant students (in the
first 2 weeks of May, 30 ROTC Buildings were
burned on campuses across the nation)
The mayor alerted the Ohio National Guard but
did not tell the Kent State officials
Saturday, May 2nd
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An anti-war march began
around 8 p.m.
2000 students marched to the
ROTC Building
Windows were broken and
someone set fire to the
building
Firemen were called but
students attacked the
firemen/hoses
Police surrounded the building
and used tear gas to disperse
the students
Sunday, May 3rd
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Kent State was fully occupied by the Ohio
National Guard
The governor of Ohio, James Rhodes, gave a
speech on campus saying that they would use
whatever force needed to drive the protesters
out of Kent
The National Guard was told they could shoot
if it was necessary
Sunday, May 3rd
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Again at 8 p.m. a crowd gathered around the
Victory Bell
The National Guard issued a new curfew and
ordered the crowd to disperse
The crowd refused
Tear gas was fired from helicopters
Students moved and staged a sit-in
Students wanted an explanation from the mayor
on why the Ohio National Guard was there
Sunday, May 3rd
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The mayor agreed to meet with students only if
they went back to campus
When they returned to campus the National
Guard again shot tear gas from helicopters at
the students
They were then beaten with bayonets and some
were stabbed as they were herded back into their
dorms
Monday, May 4th
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The Ohio National Guard was
not allowing any mass
gatherings of students on
campus
Around noon a group of about
1500 students gathered on the
commons to protest the
invasion of Cambodia and the
presence of the National
Guard
Students were told to disperse
When they wouldn’t the
general ordered the guardsmen
to disperse them
Monday, May 4th
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Knowing that students had been injured during
the skirmish the night before the students began
to flee the attacking guardsmen
The guardsmen followed firing tear gas
Some students threw the tear gas back
Students reached a parking lot where they began
throwing stones at the guards who had stopped
their advancement at the football field.
The guards began to throw the stones back
Monday, May 4th
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General Canterbury
ordered the guard back
because the crowd had
been dispersed
As Troop G was
retreating about a dozen
or so soldiers turned and
fired their guns into the
crowd in the parking lot
67 shots in 13 seconds; 9
injured and four dead
The Aftermath
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Hundreds of universities,
colleges, and high schools
shut down due to a nation
wide strike of students
The shootings have become a
symbol of the Vietnam War
protests
Crosby, Stills, Nash &Young
wrote “Ohio” which was a
response to the Kent State
Massacre
Legal Aftermath
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In court the case against eight guardsmen was
dismissed because it was ruled that there was not
enough evidence to prove they didn’t act in selfdefense
The Ohio National Guard never released an
apology, however they issued a statement that
said the shootings should not have happened
but because of prior events the guardsmen felt
their lives were in danger
Conflicting Views

General says they were
fired upon by a sniper
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Students say the crowd
had dispersed
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Guardsmen say they
fired in self-defense and
they were in fear of their
lives
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They were going back to
their dorms and classes
They posed no threat
Guardsmen conspired to
shoot before they
reached the top of the
hill
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Works Cited
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Brewster, Todd, and Peter Jennings. The Century for Young People. New York, New
York: Random House, Inc., 1999.
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Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (1970). Ohio [Recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash &
Young]. On CSNY [CD]. Los Angeles, California: Broken Arrow Music.

Ferrell, R. H. (Ed.). (1984). The Twentieth Century An Almanac. New York, New
York: World Almanac Publications.
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Hensley, T. R., & Lewis, J. M. (n.d.). The May 4th Shootings At Kent State
University: The Search for Historical Accuracy. Retrieved May 25, 2009,
from Sociology Department of Kent State Web site:
http://dept.kent.edu/
sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm
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Kent State 1970: Description of Events May 1 through May 4. (n.d.). Kent May 4
Center. Retrieved May 25, 2009, from http://www.may4.org/?q=node/5