Anti-Vietnam War
Movement at Grinnell College
Grinnell College students played a highly active role in the Anti-Vietnam movement, reflecting the broader wave of campus activism seen across the United States during the 1960s and early 1970s. Grinnell students not only joined national actions-such as participating in the March on Washington-but also organized impactful local events, including candlelight parades and a campus-wide Moratorium against the war. Activists at Grinnell used a variety of strategies to make their voices heard: Ann-Janine (AJ) Morey ’73, for example, wrote letters to newspapers and politicians, while others marched from Grinnell to Des Moines to protest Vice President Agnew’s visit. To challenge stereotypes and connect with the local community, some students cut their hair and engaged in community service, aiming to show they were more than just “long-haired, out-of-touch hippies.” However, not all actions were universally accepted; the incident in which students took down and inverted the central campus flag as a sign of distress over the war provoked strong reactions from faculty, with one professor even standing guard over the flag. The intensity of activism peaked after the Kent State massacre, when Grinnell students, like their peers nationwide, occupied the ROTC building in protest, and the college ultimately closed early in response to the turmoil.
Movement in the USA
The Anti-Vietnam movement in the United States was one of the most significant and widespread protest movements in American history, emerging in the mid-1960s as opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War escalated. Initially sparked by the increased bombing of North Vietnam and the deployment of American combat troops, the movement quickly grew to encompass a broad coalition of students, civil rights activists, religious groups, labor unions, and ordinary citizens. Major cities such as San Francisco, New York, and Washington, D.C. became hubs of protest activity, with demonstrations ranging from peaceful marches and teach-ins to acts of civil disobedience and, at times, violent confrontations. Iconic events included the 1965 March on Washington, the 1967 Pentagon protest, and the massive Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam in 1969, which drew millions nationwide. The movement’s tactics varied from nonviolent resistance and draft card burnings to guerrilla theater and campus strikes, reflecting both the diversity and radicalization of the era’s counterculture. As reports of civilian casualties, mounting American deaths, and government deception became public, antiwar sentiment intensified, ultimately pressuring policymakers and contributing to the gradual withdrawal of U.S. forces and the end of the draft by 1973.