Internet Exercise 1

President Nixon and the Antiwar Movement

First, read this excerpt of an October 17, 1969, Time magazine article about the antiwar moratorium held on October 15, 1969:

Then read President Richard Nixon's televised, November 3, 1969, "Silent Majority" speech:


1		According to the Time article, what did the moratorium's organizers and participants hope to accomplish through their actions?



2		Please list specific types of people who took part in the October moratorium.



3		How did the participants in the moratorium differ from those who took part in earlier demonstrations? What does this change suggest about popular attitudes toward the war?



4		What reasons did President Nixon give for rejecting recommendations that he end American participation in the Vietnam War through the rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops?



5		How did President Nixon characterize those who opposed the Vietnam War? According to Nixon, through what actions did those people hope to secure the end of American involvement in Vietnam? Did Nixon endorse that approach?



6		Into what groups did Nixon's use of the term "silent majority" divide the American people? Is this division consistent with the characterization of the moratorium supporters in the Time magazine article? Explain.



7		Whose characterization of the antiwar movement do you find more compelling, Nixon's or Time's?

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