SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM (DRAFT) In 1964 the first draft since 1942 was implemented. Young men between the ages of 18-26 were eligible for the “lottery.”

SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM (DRAFT)

• In 1964 the first draft since 1942 was implemented.

• Young men between the ages of 18-26 were eligible for the “lottery.”

• 100,000 young men were drafted in 1964.

• 400,000 in 1966.

RESISTING THE DRAFT1) Fail the physical.2) Change residency.3) Join National Guard or

Coast Guard.4) Attend college (deferment):

white people with $5) Conscientious Objector

(CO)=don’t believe in fighting.

6) Flee to Canada (Draft Dodger).

Video Segment

American Stories: “Matters of Conscience”11 Minutes

AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE DRAFT• Dr. King called Vietnam “a

white man's war, a black man's fight.”

• WHY? 1) Blacks didn’t have the

money to go to college and receive a draft deferment.

2) Blacks made up just 10% of the U.S. population, but 20% of the combat deaths.

AFRICAN-AMERICANS DRAFTED DURING CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “We were taking the

young black men who had been crippled by our society and sending them 8,000 miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in Southwest Georgia and East Harlem…we have been repeatedly faced with the cruel irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same schools.

THE ROOTS OF OPPOSITION• The “New Left”=youth

movement (college age) in the 1960’s demanding changes in American society.

• Organizations like “Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)” were created to restore democracy and freedoms that have been taken away by government and big business.

THE ROOTS OF OPPOSITION• The “Free Speech

Movement (FSM)” became popular in 1964 at the University of Cal-Berkeley.

• FSM encouraged students to exercise their right to free speech by protesting against big business, government, and authority.

THE ROOTS OF OPPOSITION• College students across

the country joined FSM and SDS to protest against all authority figures and rules.

• Protested against dress codes, curfews, dorm regulations, ROTC programs, government laws and …the Vietnam War.

• Music:

PROTEST MOVEMENTS• Anti-War protests

erupted on college campuses nation wide.

• The U.S. government accused 200,000 men as draft dodgers and imprisoned 4,000 resisters.

• 15.4 million received legal exemptions or deferments.

• 10,000 Americans fled to Canada.

THE PENTAGON PROTEST• In October of 1967 an

anti-war demonstration in Washington D.C. drew 75,000 protesters.

• 30,000 of the protesters marched on the pentagon.

• Military police met the crowd with tear gas and clubs.

• 700 were arrested and 1,500 injured.

Protests Video Clips

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkASbgMA1FI&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

AMERICA: LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT?• 50% of Americans still

supported the war effort in January of 1967 even with the popularity and visibility of the war protesters.

• Can a U.S. citizen criticize the war effort and still be loyal?

• Music:

Pair Up to Find the Following Information: Pages 742-747

1) Why did Dr. King and other African American civil rights leaders oppose the war in Vietnam?

2) Complete the following diagram:

3) What reforms did the protesters accomplish?4) For what reasons did the protesters oppose the

war?

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

Free Speech Movement (FSM)

Shared Characteristics