FEATURED ESSAYS 1. The Kent State University Tragedy 2. Kent State University Incident 3. King Lear: The Element Of Disguis... 4. Analyzing King Lears Tragic Fl 5. A Detailed Commentary On Act 3 6. What Really Happened At Roswell, ... 7. King Lear 8. King Lear 2 9. King Lear - Clear Vision In King ... 10. Kent State University: May 4th 1... 11. King Lear: Sequences Which Displa... 12. The Vietnam Era 13. Blindness In King Lear 14. Clear Vision In King Lear

Kent State University Incident

The End of the Innocence

 After a long period of fighting a defensive war in Vietnam, on April 29,
1970, President Richard Nixon launched a full scale attack in Cambodia,
which greatly accelerated America¹s involvment in this conflict. The
reaction from the American college student population was one that led
into great controversy and heated debates. When Nixon announced his
decision on the following day, many people were upset, and thousands of
people protested. The end result of one particular protest was bloody, and
a perfect example of what terrible shape our country was in during that
period of time (Guard Fired in Self Defense). Thoughtless mistakes such as
the ones made on that day will often have a snowball affect that lead into
problems for all persons envolved.
 On May 3, 1970 students of Kent State University rallied to protest Nixon¹
s announcement. There was violent protesting all through the night.
Windows were broken, cars were destroyed, and the ROTC building was burned
to the ground. When the firemen arrived, their hoses were taken by
students and used aganist them. At that point Governor James Rhodes called
for the National Guard to come in and protect the campus(Four Deaths at
Noon).
 The following day Kent State University was under the protection² of the
Ohio National Guard. Around noon on that day, students fromed in protest.
They were told to disperse, but refused.  The first action of the National
Guard was to release tear-gas grenades upon the masses of students  (Guard
Fired in Self Defense). These grenades were marginally successful, and
only caused a temporary retreat. The students then responded by throwing
concrerte, rocks, and everything else they could find. This was the first
of a group of poor decisions that led to the bloody disaster of May 4,
1972 and all of the other problems associated with the disaster (Kent
State Continued).
 From a distance of about sixty feet from the crowd of students, a member
of the National Guard believed that he heard sniper fire. In response to
these alleged shots, he opened fire on the students with his M1 .30-06
caliber rifle. He was immediately backed up by several of the men in his
squad, all of whome were shooting the same rifle except for one man who
shot a military issue Colt .45. When the smoke had cleared, ther had been
about thirty-five shots fired, and four of the students were dead. It is
unknown exactly how many others weere injured, but sources report from
eleven to fourteen students and onlookers.  These lives were shed due to
judgment. It is nothing more than that. However, had this incident been
handled in a better manner, there would have been much less of a shock
wave of emotions sweeping through the country. (Olson)
 The following day Governor Rhodes was accused by the campus senate of
bringing the troops in for political reasons, and the entire nation was
outraged about what had happened.  There were countless protests held
against the war and this incident. Also, memorial ceremonies were held all
over the country.  Nixon released a couple of statements that showed no
sorrow for the victims, but rather implied that that they got what was
coming to them. His basic argument was that violence would only end in
tragedy, and that people should demonstrate their feelings peacefully if
they felt it necessary to demonstrate them at all.
 After a lengthy investigation, there there were several inditements
handed out, but they were not given to the shooters. The people charged
with crimes were the  protesters. Eventually there was a hearing for the
shooters, but they were found not guilty. They argued that they had been
afraid for their lives and were left with no option. Again the nation was
outraged.  At this point a massive student strike was launched. At schools
all over the country students made violent protests against the
government, but there was nothing that could be done (Olson).
 Nixon had been warned in a letter signed by thirty-seven university and
college presidents of the potential danger of students when he launched
his attacks, but he was seeing the results now on full scale. He used the
actions of these students to boost his campaign among Republicans in
America. He called the protesters ³bums², and blamed them for many of the
problems in the country.  At this point one poorly delt with mistake had
turned into a major national issue and caused a great deal of low
patriotic morale (Four Deaths at Noon).
  The entire nation was in shambles, and the actions of the citizens
reflected these feelings. It is clear that the Kent State incident was a
horrible mistake on the part of  both the victims and on the shooters, but
with the way things had been going, it was predictable. It was a very bad
situation for the government,  because there was no solution to the
problem.  The most significant result of this entire incident was a new 
fear of danger in the protesters. As with all major incidents, it just
kind faded away with time. Now it is just another history lesson, but for
someone who looks closely, it could be much more.

Works Cited

1. ³Guard Fired in Self Defense²  U.S. News &  World Report 69:33-35 N

2.  ³Four Deaths at Noon²  Life 68:30-35 My 15 ^Ì70

3.  ³Kent State Continued: Justice Department Summary of FBI Investigation²
 Time 96:16 N 9 ³70

4. Olson, James. A Dictionary of the Vietnam War.  West Port,
Conn:Greenwood Press,1988

Word Count: 939