MASARYK UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF EDUCATION Department of English language and literature Changing attitudes: Depiction of Protests against Vietnam War through generations Master’s thesis Brno 2017 Supervisor: Written by: Michael George M.A. Bc. Michaela Ciprysová Prohlášení: Prohlašuji, že jsem diplomovou práci vypracovala samostatně, a že jsem použila pouze uvedené zdroje. Souhlasím s uložení mé práce na Masarykově univerzitě v Brně v knihovně pedagogické fakulty a s jejím zpřístupněním ke studijním účelům. Brno, 25. března 2017 Michaela Ciprysová Declaration: I declare that I have worked on my thesis independently and that I have used only listed sources. I agree with the deposition of my thesis at Masaryk University, Brno, at the library of Faculty of Education and with making it accessible for study purposes. Brno, 25th March 2017 Michaela Ciprysová 1 Acknowledgments I would like to thank my supervisor Mr. Michael George for his kind, patient and valuable advice and the guidance that he provided during my work on the thesis. 2 Abstract This master‟s thesis analyses changes in attitudes of American citizens, traditional media and government towards the anti-war protests against the Vietnam War through six decades. The first part of the thesis focuses on the description of the anti- war movement, counterculture movement and other protest groups which disagreed with the government‟s war policies in Vietnam. There are also referenced the most significant protests events such as demonstrations, marches, sit-ins or illegal conducts in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The chapters of the second part of the thesis evaluate the changes in the attitudes of the citizens, the traditional media and the government in each decade starting with 1960s and ending in 21st century. Key words Vietnam War, protest, demonstration, students, attitude, media, anti-war movement, 1960s, 1970s Anotace Tato diplomová práce analyzuje změny v postoji amerických občanů, tradičních médií a vlády k protiválečným protestům proti válce ve Vietnamu během šesti desetiletí. První část této práce se soustředí na popis protiválečného hnutí, kontrakulturní hnutí a dalších protestních skupin, které nesouhlasily s vládní válečnou politikou ve Vietnamu. Jsou zde také popsány nejdůležitější protestní akce jako demonstrace, protestní pochody, sit-in a nelegální činy na konci 60. let a začátku 70. let. Kapitoly druhé části práce hodnotí změny v postojích občanů, tradičních médií a vlády v desetiletích počínaje 60. lety a konče 21. stoletím. Klíčová slova Válka ve Vietnamu, protest, demonstrace, studenti, postoj, média, protiválečné hnutí, 60. léta, 70. léta 3 Table of contents 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 6 2. Protests against the Vietnam War .................................................................................... 8 2.1. Early days of the war ............................................................................................... 8 2.2. Situations at universities ........................................................................................ 11 2.3. Demonstrations ...................................................................................................... 13 2.4. Illegal activities ...................................................................................................... 20 2.4.1. Illegal activities by conscripted men and soldiers .......................................... 20 2.4.2. Illegal activities by civilians .......................................................................... 27 2.5. Veterans ................................................................................................................. 31 2.5.1. Vietnam Veterans Against the War................................................................ 31 2.5.2. America‟s fighting men ................................................................................. 32 3. Reactions and attitudes in 1960s .................................................................................... 34 3.1. Attitudes of civilians .............................................................................................. 34 3.2. Attitudes of media .................................................................................................. 35 3.2.1. Television ....................................................................................................... 35 3.2.2. Newspapers .................................................................................................... 36 3.3. Attitudes of government......................................................................................... 44 4. Reactions and attitudes in 1970s .................................................................................... 47 4.1. Attitudes of civilians .............................................................................................. 47 4.2. Attitudes of media .................................................................................................. 48 4.2.1. Television ....................................................................................................... 48 4.2.2. Newspapers .................................................................................................... 49 4.3. Attitudes of government......................................................................................... 52 5. Reactions and attitudes in 1980s .................................................................................... 55 5.1. Attitudes of civilians .............................................................................................. 55 5.2. Attitudes of media .................................................................................................. 55 5.3. Attitudes of government......................................................................................... 56 6. Reactions and attitudes in 1990s .................................................................................... 58 6.1. Attitudes of civilians .............................................................................................. 58 6.2. Attitudes of media .................................................................................................. 59 6.3. Attitudes of government......................................................................................... 60 4 7. Reactions and attitudes in 21st century ........................................................................... 62 7.1. Attitudes of civilians .............................................................................................. 62 7.2. Attitudes of media .................................................................................................. 63 7.3. Attitudes of government......................................................................................... 64 8. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 66 9. References ...................................................................................................................... 68 9.1. Printed sources ....................................................................................................... 68 9.2. Online sources ........................................................................................................ 70 Appendices ............................................................................................................................. 77 5 1. Introduction The aim of the thesis is to describe the ramifications of the protests against the Vietnam War on the American culture and society. The portrayals and opinions on the protests by the media of that time strongly influenced the citizens in this era and the responses of the citizens brought consequences for the future generations. It is thus important to understand how these ramifications influence every generation of the Americans. The protests against the war were one of the first expressions of disagreement with the government by the vast number of the citizens since the Civil War. Before this time it would not had occurred to a majority of people to disagree with the official stand of the government. However the World War II and the War in Korea removed many restraints which had halted the citizens in expressing their opinion. The idea that people could publicly disagree with the government was novel and disconcerting for many people. As is the case with every revolutionary idea the artists reacted to the situation in their works and the media offered their comments. This thesis attempts to provide synoptic account of the matter of the protests and public reactions through generations and their influence on the society. Among the main materials which will be thoroughly studied and compared will be history books related to the topic, newspaper and magazine articles depicting the events, or television reports informing on the matter. A significant number of materials is offered by various libraries in Brno and more importantly by the libraries at Masaryk University. Some of the materials are available in online archives of some American universities, magazines and newspapers. Contributions of many historians or sociologists may be found in online periodicals. The main method used in the creation of this thesis will be a study of the materials regarding this topic and era, drawing comparisons