PRESIDENT NIXON AND STUDENT PROTESTS AGAINST THE WAR IN VIETNAM, 1969-1970 (Prezydent Richard Nixon wobec protestow mlodziezy akademickiej przeciw wojnie wietnamskiej 1969-1970)

• Authors: Batog Wlodzimierz
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The presidential election won in 1969 by Richard Nixon signified that he would be compelled to resolve one of the most prominent problems left behind by his predecessor, Lyndon Johnson - subsiding the domestic situation and ending the Vietnam War. Nixon claimed that both issues were mutually dependent, that a determined domestic policy would reinforce his international position, and that the election victory would provide him with a mandate to pursue radical, albeit at times unpopular moves. The most important question was the pacification of the anti-war movement, particularly strong at the university campuses where it gained greatest impact in 1969. At the same time, since this was the first year in office, the President, on the one hand, relegated the question to the margin in an attempt at producing the impression that the peace movement did not exert a great influence upon his decisions; on the other hand, he sought a way to reduce its impact among the students. This policy inspired the initiation of work on a reform of army conscription and lowering the age of the right to vote from 21 to 18. Foreign policy and a honourable resolution of the situation in Vietnam still continued to be regarded as priorities. The appearance of American troops in Cambodia in May 1970 proved to be a breakthrough. The spontaneous but sometimes radical reaction of the anti-war movement and, first and foremost, the events at Kent State University forced the Nixon Administration to embark upon concrete activity involving the establishment of suitable committees examining the reasons for student unrest and the acceleration of legislation work on earlier proposed motions. Nixon, however, treated them instrumentally, perceiving them as a measure for strengthening his position and not as a solution for the urgent problem. The Nixon policy, examined within the context of the end of the Vietnam War, was politically justified, but produced the impression that the President did not understand and outright ignored public opinion, remained peremptory and pessimistic. They rendered indelible assorted negative opinions about the President as a stubborn politician incapable of reaching a compromise.

Keywords

EN

NIXON & STUDENT PROTESTS AGAINST VIETNAM WAR; NIXON RICHARD & VIETNAM WAR

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Historii im. Tadeusza Manteuffla PAN w Warszawie
• Journal: Dzieje Najnowsze
• Year: 2010
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 121-134
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Batog Wlodzimierz

• Wlodzimierz Batog, Uniwersytet Humanistyczno-Przyrodniczy im. Jana Kochanowskiego w Kielcach, Instytut Historii, ul. Zeromskiego 5, 26-369 Kielce, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

10PLAAAA082434