Essay On California During The Vietnam War

America’s Involvement with Vietnam began in the World War II era when the US gave military help to them in order to defeat Japan. By the end of this war, California was the best state in America with a military- industrial complexes and aircraft providers in military bases throughout the land. California was known as the “exaggerated version of the American experience (Wollenberg 14),” due to the state’s location on the Pacific Ocean, that quote was especially true during the time of the Vietnam War. California was so greatly affected by the war because of it’s liberal tendencies such as grass- roots conservatism, counter-cultural activities, and politics. The Vietnam War shaped California in many different ways such as organizing many protests,

University of California- Berkeley students led many of the protests. One of the first major protests in the state happened there in 1965 and many more continued throughout the war, and they were not alone. Many other college campuses such as University of Santa Barbara and Stanford University also held protests that filled up California streets and successfully gained attention from the media. 1965 was the start of the antiwar movement after President Johnson demanded bombing in Vietnam with Operation Rolling Thunder. “The California response to Johnson was surprisingly swift” (Lustig 61). Organizations such as the Free Speech movement and the Peace Action Council organized many different movements across the state. The Vietnam Day Committee (VDC) also led many events that gathered people together to learn more about Vietnam history, international law, and foreign policy. They also gave tips about how to peacefully protest. These events did succeed in many ways by influencing cease- fires and helping others understand why the war was wrong. The VDC even organized an international day of protest and gathered hundreds of thousands of people from 60 different cities in the country to peacefully march and advocate for unity. California was the first state to establish this movement across