Vanderbilt and The Vietnam Crisis

Abstract

This research examines the reaction of students at Vanderbilt University to the Vietnam War during Lyndon B. Johnson's presidency. Vanderbilt's student-run newspaper The Vanderbilt Hustler provides insight into the opinions of individual students and the details of both anti- and pro-war movements on campus. From the evidence, it is argued that although more Vanderbilt students supported the war than opposed it, those students in favor of the cause remained relatively silent. The small demonstrations and acts by the vocal war opposition outnumbered those of war supporters, and in the end, the majority of students remained apolitical, focusing instead on on-campus activities.