Vietnam War protests

The Vietnam War protests started in 1945 when US marine merchants condemned the U.S. government for the use of U.S. merchant ships to transport troops to "subjugate the native population" of Vietnam. 1966 - The chicano Moratorium: 25,000 Mexican-Americans participated in the largest antiwar demonstration in LA. Police attacked with clubs and guns. Three people were killed. Ruben Salazar, TV news director and LA Times reporter was killed.

1966 - Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) refuses to go to war. The governor of Illinois calls Ali "disgusting". The governor of Maine says that Ali "should be held in utter contempt by every patriotic American." In 1967 Ali is sentenced to 5 yr. in prison, but released on appeal.

1967 - On June 1 Vietnam Veterans Against the War was born. Jan Barry Crumb participated in a protest (April 7, 1967) called "Fifth Avenie Peace Parade" in NYC. On May 30 Crumb and ten like-minded men attended a peace demonstration in Washington D.C.

Protests escalated during the late 1960s and early 1970s, particularly among college students, during the height of America's participation in the Vietnam War. Urban areas, particularly college campuses, were the scene of many riots and peace rallies, some of which turned violent.