Alternative+Outcome

Left: Picture of a protes in New York that reflects the feelings of protestors towards the National Guard

  On May 4, 1970 the National Guard opened fire upon thousands of students at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, killing four and wounding six. Tension was tightened as students protested the war by waving flags and throwing rocks toward the armed guardsmen. The guards to try and calm the angered students tossed canisters of tear gas. When the guards were ordered to fire, 67 shots were fired in a thirteen second period. **Taylor** fired the first shot. Due to The Kent State shootings there was a huge wave of opposition for the war in Vietnam and //Cambodia// in the aftermath of the killings. Across the country there were numerous rallies stirring up sentiment for those killed and some places there were other violent protests, such as the one held at the University of New Mexico, where 11 students suffered bayonet wounds by The National Guard. Over 420 college campuses were closed with violent and non-violent protests of the shootings. **Governor Rhodes** comments were poorly reflected in the public eyes, and his comments were seen a cruel. The **mayor of Kent** ordered the closing of campus, and Rhodes closed the rest of the universities across the state of Ohio. Five days later, over 100,000 people demonstrated in Washington, D.C., protesting the war and the useless killing of the students at KSU. The Kent State shootings gave large countrywide disapproval for the war. All the pressure from the citizens eventually led to the United States to pull out of the war in Vietnam. The war in Vietnam gave the U.S. the disgrace of its first loss in a war in its history. The soldiers who fought in the war in Vietnam had to withstand some of the worst weather conditions imaginable. Rain that lasting for what seemed like years. These veterans were treated awfully by the public that they fought for. **President Nixon** had to pull at of the war leaving the nation upset and angry. The people of the U.S blamed Nixon and the soldiers for the war.

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