After a long period of fighting a defensive war in Vietnam, on April 29, 1970, President Richard Nixon launched a full scale attack in Cambodia, which greatly accelerated America's involvement in this conflict. The reaction from the American college student population was one that led into great controversy and heated debates. "Nixon said, ‘not for the purpose of expanding the war into Cambodia, but for ending the war in Vietnam, and winning the just peace we all desire" (May 4, 2).When Nixon announced his decision on the following day, many people were upset, and thousands of people protested. The end result of one particular protest was bloody, and a perfect example of what terrible shape our country was in during that period of time. Thoughtless mistakes such as the ones made on that day would have a snowball affect that lead into problems for all persons involved.
On May 3, 1970, students of Kent State University rallied to protest Nixon's announcement. There was violent protesting all through the night. Windows were busted, cars were destroyed, and the ROTC building was burned to the ground(The Ethical Spectacle 1). When the firemen arrived, their hoses were taken by students and used against them. At that point, Governor
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Around noon on that day, students formed in protest. "Since all were wearing gas masks, it is impossible to identify them in pictures" (Spectacle 2). These lives were shed due to judgment. These grenades were marginally successful, and only caused a temporary retreat. Nixon released a couple of statements that showed no sorrow for the victims, but rather implied that they got what was coming to them. Now it is just another history lesson, but for someone who looks closely, it could be much more. After a lengthy investigation, there were several indictments handed out, but they were not given to the shooters. Eventually there was a hearing for the shooters, but they were found not guilty. The people charged with crimes were the protesters.
The following day Governor Rhodes was accused by the campus senate of bringing the troops in for political reasons, and the entire nation was outraged about what had happened. "White House tapes subsequently released show that Nixon thought (the) demonstrators were bums" ( Spectacle 2). It was a very bad situation for the government, because there was no solution to the problem. James Rhodes called for the National Guard to come in and protect the campus( 1). The most significant result of this entire incident was a new fear of danger in the protesters.
Approximate Word count =
918
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4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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