Campus Scene, Kent State University (OH)
5/4/1970
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In the midst of Vietnam War, President Nixon had decided to initiate the Cambodian campaign. This apparent expansion of the Vietnam War detonated an explosion of antiwar activity that escalated to a national crisis when four students were shot at a protest at Kent State University in Ohio.
Students had been protesting for days when the town mayor declared a state of emergency and called in the National Guard to help reestablish order. There were over 1,300 armed troops, armored personnel carriers, mortar launchers, and helicopters on the Kent State University campus on May 4, 1970.
Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on unarmed students. In a period of 13 seconds, 67 shots were fired, wounding nine—one paralyzed for life—and killing four students. Two of the slain victims were not protesters; they were walking to class. One was a member of the ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps) who was planning to go into the military.
News of the shootings rocked the nation. Many were outraged, but according to a Gallup Poll, 58 percent of Americans blamed the students for the violence at Kent State. Dean Kahler, who was shot and paralyzed during the attack, opened a letter when he came out of an induced coma. It began, “Dear communist hippie radical, I hope by the time you read this, you are dead.”
In response to the shootings President Nixon said, “When dissent turns to violence, it invites tragedy.” Others were horrified and erupted in protest. An estimated four million striking students shut down 800 campuses nationwide.
President Nixon created the President’s Commission on Campus Unrest to investigate protest at schools across the country. It concluded that “the indiscriminate firing of rifles into a crowd of students and the deaths that followed were unnecessary, unwarranted and inexcusable.” A federal grand jury indicted eight guardsmen, but found they were not subject to criminal prosecution because they acted in self defense.
Students had been protesting for days when the town mayor declared a state of emergency and called in the National Guard to help reestablish order. There were over 1,300 armed troops, armored personnel carriers, mortar launchers, and helicopters on the Kent State University campus on May 4, 1970.
Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on unarmed students. In a period of 13 seconds, 67 shots were fired, wounding nine—one paralyzed for life—and killing four students. Two of the slain victims were not protesters; they were walking to class. One was a member of the ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps) who was planning to go into the military.
News of the shootings rocked the nation. Many were outraged, but according to a Gallup Poll, 58 percent of Americans blamed the students for the violence at Kent State. Dean Kahler, who was shot and paralyzed during the attack, opened a letter when he came out of an induced coma. It began, “Dear communist hippie radical, I hope by the time you read this, you are dead.”
In response to the shootings President Nixon said, “When dissent turns to violence, it invites tragedy.” Others were horrified and erupted in protest. An estimated four million striking students shut down 800 campuses nationwide.
President Nixon created the President’s Commission on Campus Unrest to investigate protest at schools across the country. It concluded that “the indiscriminate firing of rifles into a crowd of students and the deaths that followed were unnecessary, unwarranted and inexcusable.” A federal grand jury indicted eight guardsmen, but found they were not subject to criminal prosecution because they acted in self defense.
This primary source comes from the Records of U.S. Attorneys.
National Archives Identifier: 18542766
Full Citation: Campus Scene, Kent State University (OH); 5/4/1970; The United States of America v. Lawrence Shafer, James Pierce, William Perkins, James McGee, Barry Morris, Ralph Zoller, Matthew McManus, Leon Smith (Fire Bombing and Shooting at Kent State); Case Files, 1918 - 1974; Records of U.S. Attorneys, Record Group 118; National Archives at Chicago, Chicago, IL. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/campus-scene-kent-state, December 13, 2024]Activities that use this document
- Analyzing U.S. Involvement in the Vietnam War
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