Kent State Massacre essays

Kent State Massacre essays 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 continued into the weekend and into the following week. As the group of protestors got larger the situation became more chaotic and the Ohio National Guard was called in to control the situation. On May 4th 1970 the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of students and protestors. Sixty-one rounds of ammunition were unloaded into the crowd in thirteen seconds. The bullets killed four people and wounded nine. People are still unsure as to why the National Guard fired their guns into the crowd. The students had the right to be protesting the war, but shots were fired anyway and innocent people were killed or wounded. The National Guardsman claim that they were being attacked by rock throwing f...