Kent State Massacre
On Thursday April 30th 1970 President Nixon gave a speech to the country. At the end of his speech he asked for the support of the nation for the soldiers over in Vietnam. "I ask for your support for our brave men fighting tonight halfway around the world, not for territory, not for glory, but so that their younger brothers and their sons and your sons can have a chance to grow up in a world of peace and freedom, and justice" (Payne). Also contained in that speech he told the nation that our military would be bombing and invading the nation of Cambodia, which proclaimed its neutrality. It was believed that the North Vietnamese had moved into Cambodia. Nixon believed that the move into Cambodia was crucial to end the war as quickly as possible. The nation was already divided over the war as a whole, the invasion into Cambodia would further that division. Protests were a constant site all across the United States. Students at many Universities and colleges across the country held peaceful protests against the decision the Nixon had made. The protests never got really large or out of control and occasionally would be seen on the news. Kent State University in Ohio was an exception. Protests began on Friday night and co
Kent State University is a public university located outside of Akron, Ohio. The local police tried to contain the crowd, but were unsuccessful. When this was said the Ohio National Guard was under assumption that martial law was now in effect and any protests from that moment on were illegal. Rhodes said, "We're going to use every weapon possible to eradicate the problem" (Payne). The National Guard still thought that martial law was in effect and that the protest would have to b broken up. The term given to the group was "hippies", they were seen as lazy, druggies and draft dodgers. The National Guard stopped the march and a sit down protest began. On Saturday evening a few angry protestors set fire to the ROTC building at Kent State on fire. Late Friday and into Saturday morning students began to rally on campus. As the group of protestors got larger the situation became more chaotic and the Ohio National Guard was called in to control the situation. They voiced their opinion loudly, capitalizing on their right to free speech. The new announcement would likely delay the troops being pulled out, and prolong the involvement in that part of the world. They all had similar a belief which was the United States had no right to be in Vietnam. Leroy Satrom was the Mayor of Kent at the time grew fearful about the safety of the people and the destruction of property.
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