Opposition to the Vietnam War

1. Opposition to the Vietnam War Protests and Moratoriums

2. Reasons for opposition to the War “It’s a civil war – not our business” “We can’t win this war” “War is immoral – innocent people are dying” “Conscription is wrong”

3. The Revolutionary 1960s • The 1960s were a time of social change. • The new generation was better educated and was questioning past ideas. • This generation became a strong opponent to the War, with slogans such as “Make Love, Not War”.

4. The First Television War • There was little censorship of the press during the War. • Viewers were shown all the horrors of war, including children burnt by napalm, street executions, and body bags containing Australian soldiers. • Many began to see the war as immoral.

5. Groups opposed to the War Vietnam Moratorium Movement Australian Labor Party Trade Unions Vietnam War Save Our Sons Student Organisations

6. The Australian Labor Party • Opposed to the War from the beginning. • 1965, Arthur Calwell, the leader of the Labor Opposition in Canberra responded strongly against the decision to send Australian troops to Vietnam. • By 1967, the Monash University Labor Club was collecting money for the North Vietnamese war effort. Arthur Calwell

7. Student Organisations • University students became vocal opponents of the War and formed organisations based on American student anti-war organisations. • They organised demonstrations and supported young men who refused to register for conscription. The American organisation, Students for a Democratic Society, on which Australian student organisations were based.

8. Sydney Morning Herald, May 1971 “In Canberra’s biggest-ever mass arrest, police today arrested 187 University students during a violent anti-war demonstration. Two policemen are in hospital. One, hit by a rock, has a fractured skull and another has concussion. A third policeman has suspected broken ribs as the result of a kick, and a fourth has a broken finger.”

9. Trade Unions • Trade unions, especially the left-wing unions strongly opposed Australian involvement in the War. • Example: Waterside Workers Federation Waterside Workers Federation. • Actions included calling black bans on ships supplying troops in Vietnam.

10. Save Our Sons • An organisation made up of mothers who objected to their sons being conscripted to fight in Vietnam. • Aim = prevent conscripts being sent to fight overseas. Source Analysis What does this photograph of a Save Our Sons protest indicate about the membership of the anti-war and anti-conscription groups on the 1960s?

11. Moratorium Movement Moratoriums = Protests in which people stopped work to protest and march for peace. • Demands: • Immediate withdrawal of Australian troops from Indochina Moratorium in Melbourne 1970 • The immediate abolition of conscription

12. Moratorium • The first moratorium was held in May 1970 , and 200,000 people across Australia participated. Jim Cairns, Melbourne 1970 “It is best for us and for the Vietnamese people if the war is stopped NOW” Chairman of the Moratorium Committee, Dr Jim Cairns, 1970

13. Was opposition successful? • By 1970, the United States was already pulling troops out of Vietnam. • By 1971, the majority of Australian troops had been withdrawn. • The Whitlam Labor government took power in December 1972. It withdrew all remaining Australians from Vietnam and ended conscription. Gough Whitlam