The Political Impacts Of The Anti-War Movement

The Vietnam Anti-War Movement is one of the most prominent eras in American History. Throughout the mid sixties and seventies, people across the U.S., young and old, publicly opposed the Vietnam war. Opposers of the war expressed their anti-war opinions by organizing protests and mass demonstrations. Multiple anti-vietnam war protests significantly effected North America. Despite being underestimated by the united states government and pro-war supporters, the Vietnam Anti-War Movement led to powerful and influential impacts. In the mid 1960’s the United States involvement in Vietnam stirred controversy amongst the Americans and politicians. Across the U.S., the american public became increasingly more opposed to the war. Throughout the

Anti-War protests ultimately played a role in the political policies of the Johnson and Nixon administration. The growing opinion against the Vietnam war ultimately forces the government to abandon unfavorable war. Pressures from the movement was so great, that Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, “couldn’t sleep at night.” The magnitude of the protests for peace brought the Johnson Administration to cease. President Johnson decided against running for re-election. Consequently, the presidential election went to Richard Nixon. However, the new presidency did not discontinue the peace protests. the anti-war movement pressures led to the “very fabric of the government… [fell] apart.” Thus, the Vietnam Anti-War Movement impacted the decisions of policy makers during the Johnson and Nixon Administration. During the sixties and seventies, young men moved to Canada to escape the possibility of being drafted. Some americans migrated to Canada to show rejection of the United States political policies. The anti-war movement motivated approximately 50,000 American draft resisters and 200,000 others to move to Canada between 1966 and 1976. In this time period, the Canadian population doubled due to the migration. The resisters’ migration influenced Canadian politics to become more left. The vietnam anti-war movement slighty transformed politics in