Editing Vietnam War (section)

==Opposition to U.S. involvement==
{{Main|Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|Protests of 1968}}
{{See also|Russell Tribunal|Fulbright hearings|Chicago Seven}}
[[File:vietnamdem.jpg|thumb|The [[March on the Pentagon]], 21 October 1967, an anti-war demonstration organized by the [[National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam]]]]
During the war a large segment of Americans became opposed to U.S. involvement. In January 1967, only 32% of Americans thought the US had made a mistake in sending troops.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 January 2018 |title=CBS News Poll: U.S. involvement in Vietnam |work=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-u-s-involvement-in-vietnam/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201070627/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-u-s-involvement-in-vietnam/|archive-date=February 1, 2023}}</ref> Public opinion steadily turned against the war following 1967 and by 1970 only a third believed the U.S. had not made a mistake by sending troops.<ref>Lunch, W. & Sperlich, P. (1979). The Western Political Quarterly. 32(1). pp. 21–44</ref><ref name="Hagopian">{{Cite book |last=Hagopain |first=Patrick |title=The Vietnam War in American Memory |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-55849-693-4 |pages=13–4}}</ref>

Early opposition to US involvement drew its inspiration from the Geneva Conference of 1954. American support of Diệm in refusing elections was seen as thwarting the democracy America claimed to support. Kennedy, while senator, opposed involvement.<ref name=Kahin/> Many young people protested because they were being [[Conscription in the United States|drafted]], others because the anti-war movement grew popular among the [[counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture]]. Some advocates within the peace movement advocated a [[unilateral]] withdrawal. Opposition to the war tended to unite groups opposed to U.S. anti-communism and [[American imperialism|imperialism]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zimmer |first=Louis B. |title=The Vietnam War Debate |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-7391-3769-7 |pages=54–5}}</ref> and for those involved with the [[New Left]]. Others, such as [[Stephen Spiro]], opposed the war based on the theory of [[Just War]]. Some wanted to show solidarity with the Vietnamese, such as [[Norman Morrison]] emulating [[Thích Quảng Đức]].

High-profile opposition increasingly turned to mass protests to shift public opinion. Riots broke out at the [[1968 Democratic National Convention]].<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|514}} After reports of American military abuses, such as the My Lai massacre, brought attention and support to the anti-war movement, some veterans joined [[Vietnam Veterans Against the War]]. In October 1969, the [[Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam|Vietnam Moratorium]] attracted millions of Americans.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/15/newsid_2533000/2533131.stm|title=BBC ON THIS DAY &#124; 15 &#124; 1969: Millions march in US Vietnam Moratorium|date=30 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330072002/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/15/newsid_2533000/2533131.stm |archive-date=30 March 2023 }}</ref> The fatal shooting of four students at Kent State University in 1970 led to nationwide university protests.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bob Fink |url=http://www.greenwych.ca/vietnam.htm |title=Vietnam – A View from the Walls: a History of the Vietnam Anti-War Movement |publisher=Greenwich Publishing |access-date=18 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111005135/http://www.greenwych.ca/vietnam.htm |archive-date=11 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Anti-war protests declined after the Paris Peace Accords and the [[Conscription in the United States#End of conscription|end of the draft]] in 1973, and the withdrawal of troops.