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The Vietnam war was a pivotal time for American politics. It awakened people up to the New Left, long term government corruption, and the power of large-scale protest. The radical politics of the Vietnam war inspired and altered the social change movements of the 60s and 70s. The movement exemplified how “the people” could truly make change by tapping into identity politics and creating solidarity between marginalized groups.

The civil rights movement did not take an official stance in the early years of the war in order to avoid being perceived as un American (Foner), but the war impacted African Americans disproportionately more than the rest of the country. A higher percentage of black men were drafted than were white men. This was because qualifications for deferment, such as being a college student, were harder in lower income communities. Unlike its predecessors World War 2 and Korea, Vietnam was fully integrated. Race relations were not terrible at the beginning of the war. Many white men were working alongside black men as peers for the first time in their lives and some black men found that the battlefield brought comradery and equality. Nonetheless, discrimination was still present. Black men made up 8.3% of soldiers, yet they made up only 2% of high-ranking officials and continuous complaints of racism from black soldiers were ignored (Goodwin). In 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. officially spoke out against the war and its effect on African Americans, saying, “We were taking the black young men who had been crippled by our society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in southwest Georgia and East Harlem.” A year later when King was assassinated, the racism at the front became even worse. White soldiers flew Confederate flags and holding cross burnings at camps. Those in command tried to ban the Confederate flag but upset, southern politicians blocked this (Goodwin). In response, black soldiers created advocacy groups for themselves to bring solidarity and protection. Racial riots and other episodes in Vietnam increased after the assassination (Goodwin). This unrest led to many black veterans coming home to join the black power movement and groups like the Black Panthers. These young, black men came back home disillusioned with the ideas of American exceptionalism, western imperialism, and a peaceful movement for equality (Foner).

Before the Vietnam war, the early gay rights movement’s major issue was the ability to join the military and be a civil servant (Hall). In World War 2, gay men were just as likely to be in the military as straight men, and lesbians were ten times more likely to serve (Suran). The gender segregated nature of the military lent itself to queer people finding each other. They served and fought like anyone else, yet their sacrifice was considered a federal crime. After the war, many queer veterans came home and sought comradery in their unique experience and a venue to advocate for their right to serve. Thus, the homophile groups of the 50s and early 60s were born. These groups sought to prove that homosexual people were respectable Americans (Suran). One such group, the Society for Individual Rights in San Francisco had the motto, “Responsible action by responsible people in responsible ways.” In an effort to appear as above board as possible, these groups rarely allowed membership to minors to prevent allegations of pedophilia. This exclusion only worked to create a rift between the traditional, nonpartisan homophile organizations, which were modeled after the civil rights movement, and the more radical, youth led gay liberationists with their close ties to the anti-war movement and the New Left (Suran). The criminality of gay men in the military helped to create this split. The draft’s physical examination required men to tell their doctor whether they experienced "homosexual tendencies.” Draft facilities were often locally staffed, and records were often leaked to expose draft dodgers. This meant that to avoid breaking federal law, one might have to “out” themselves to their whole community. Homophile organizations gave counseling and advice to young men struggling with how to deal with “the box” and how to serve without lying (Suran). The radical contingent wanted nothing to do with the war and were appalled by homophile organizations’ neutrality on the issue (Hall). The war was not just a dividing issue for the gay rights movement though, most gay people, regardless of age, personally opposed the war. In big queer hubs like New York and San Francisco, anti-war protests brought out large numbers of gay people who were exposed to their numbers for the first time (Suran). The connections made during anti-war action would later help in the larger fight for gay rights in the 70s and 80s 

Feminists have always been at the forefront of social change, but women’s rights have historically been considered a side issue to deal with after the truly pressing causes had their time. Though not eligible for the draft, women were just as involved in the anti-war movement. They were tired of playing the roles of helpless wives and mothers, waving the boys off to kill and be killed in the name America interests abroad. In a speech at the Burial of Traditional Womanhood, a feminist, anti-misogyny and war protest in Washington D.C., Kathy Amatniek spoke to this discontent, “You have refused to hanky-wave boys off to war with admonitions to- save the American Mom and Apple Pie. You have resisted your roles of supportive girlfriends and tearful widows, receivers of regretful telegrams and worthless medals of honor.” Their activism was met with misogyny and exploitation. Draft resisting men were often looked at as less masculine for not wanting to serve and were called “doves” by Vietnam war supporters. Men often found that the easiest way to reassert their manhood was to put down the women in their movement (Burgin). Women were given highly gendered tasks, mostly secretarial type work, and had a hard time finding traction as leaders in the movement (Burgin). Robin Morgan, a member of the feminist anti-war group New York Radical Women, said of women’s treatment within the movement, “Our brothers in that world wanted us to make coffee, not policy.” (quoted Heller) They were also sexually exploited by male activists and not given credit for their work and accomplishments (Burgin). This led to women founding their own organizations such as the New York Radical Women to fight for peace and women’s equality. These organizations would become integral to future fights for women’s rights. The Vietnam war brought many women into the New Left and their treatment within it drove them to fight for their own movement and rights.

The anti-Vietnam war movement helped to create the intersectional identity politics that we know today. It brought together and empowered different groups to make their voices heard on an issue that affected the entire country. It created a template as to how to force people to notice your movement and make change by making noise.

 Works Cited

Amatniek, Kathy. “Funeral Oration for the Burial of Traditional Womanhood.” Notes from the First Year, New York Radical Women, 1968, pp. 21.

Burgin, Say (2012). Understanding Antiwar Activism as a Gendering Activity: A Look at the U.S.’s Anti-Vietnam War Movement. Journal of International Women's Studies, 13(6), 18-31. Available at: https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol13/iss6/3

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: an American History. 5th ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2020.

Goodwin, Gerald F. “Black and White in Vietnam.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 July 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/07/18/opinion/racism-vietnam-war.html.

Hall, Simon. “The American Gay Rights Movement and Patriotic Protest.” Journal of the History of Sexuality, vol. 19, no. 3, 2010, pp. 536–562. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40986338. Accessed 5 May 2020.

Heller, K. (2018, May 23). The year women refused to stay silent, tossed their bras and redefined politics. Retrieved May 4, 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/the-year-women-refused-to-stay-silent-tossed-their-bras-and-redefined-politics/2018/05/23/bf37606e-495c-11e8-827e-190efaf1f1ee_story.html

King, Martin Luther Jr., "Beyond Vietnam." April 4, 1967

Suran, Justin David. “Coming out against the War: Antimilitarism and the Politicization of Homosexuality in the Era of Vietnam.” American Quarterly, vol. 53, no. 3, 2001, pp. 452–488. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30041901. Accessed 5 May 2020.