Trouble Continues on the

Home Front

By Jessica Reffitt and Michelle Bjornas

The Silent MajorityPresident Nixon wanted to win support for his war policies, so he appealed to the silent majority Moderate, mainstream

Americans who quietly supported the Vietnam War

My Lai MassacreLieutenant William Calley, Jr. was trying to locate Vietcong.When he didn’t find anything, he rounded up the villagers and shot them 200 women and children

were killedCalley was eventually

imprisoned for his actions.

Invasion of CambodiaOn April 30, 1970, Nixon announced that the U.S. had invaded Cambodia in an attempt to find Vietcong hideouts

Students Speak Out1.5 million college students protested the invasionDue to these demonstrations, about 1,200 campuses closed

Kent State University Riot

In response to the invasion, the students at KSU burned the ROTC buildingThe Mayor called in the National Guard, who opened fire on the students.Nine were wounded and killed 4, two of which were innocent bystanders.

Jackson State RiotsGuardsmen confronted bottle-wielding riotersThe Guards shot into the crowd, wounding 12 and killing two innocent bystanders

Popular Opinion and the Pentagon Papers

Polls indicated that the people generally supported the GuardsmenAround this time, the Pentagon papers emerged They were papers written for

Defense Secretary McNamara Proved that the Government had

planned to go to war even after Nixon had pledged to keep them out of war.