Page 20 - All About History - Issue 34-16

THE

PICKETSIGNS Anatomy

A SIGN OF THE TIMES
Protesters used strong, powerful messages on of
their picket signs to take a stance against the
Vietnam War. Messages on signs ranged from
the peaceful ‘make love, not war’ to much more
AVIETNAMWAR
provocative and controversial ideas, such as
comparing President Nixon to Hitler.

HELMETS PROTESTER

TACKLING THE WAR HEAD ON
The iconic soldier’s helmet was
worn by actress Jane Fonda as she USA, 1955 75
visited troops in Vietnam. However,
the visit stirred controversy as she
sang anti-war songs with troops, but
later the Vietnam Veterans Against
War movement saw thousands of
BUTTONSANDBADGES
ex-soldiers uniting against the conflict.
PROTESTERS ENGAGED IN POLITICS
Young and open minded, many protesters
were politically engaged students. Badges
and buttons were the easiest way to show
BOXOFMATCHES their affiliation with movements, such as the
Resistance, Greenpeace and the Campaign for
DRAFT BEER, NOT BOYS Nuclear Disarmament.
Despite more than 50 per cent of Americans
opposing the war in Vietnam, the government
reintroduced conscription, known as the draft. FLOWERS
From 1964, students and protesters carried
match boxes with them for burning draft FLOWERS VERSUS GUNS
cards in response to the unfair and flawed
conscription for such an unpopular war. Taking a passive stance while protesting against
the conflict, demonstrators armed themselves
with flower power to fight the government’s
brutality. At marches, protesters would carry
flowers, placing them in soldiers’ gun barrels
DRUGS and wrapping themselves in daisy chains.

DROP ACID, NOT BOMBS
It wasn’t just a passion for politics that MUSICAL
protesters became associated with. Alongside
their anti-war stance, drugs were a big part of INSTRUMENTS
the hippie culture. Legal until the mid-1960s in
the USA, some protesters took LSD as a means MUSIC MAKES THE WORLD
of escaping the reality of war. GO ROUND
The 1960s and 1970s witnessed
an unprecedented music revival,
with the likes of The Beatles
and Bob Dylan advocating
pacifism. Protesters united over
BOOTS music, with anti-war folk singers
often performing at rallies. As
MARCHING FOR PEACE these sentiments grew, music
became more aggressive, and
Protesters spent plenty of time marching and parading rock took over from folk as the
against the conflict and its inequalities, so a sturdy pair music of protest.
of boots was essential. In fact, one of the largest anti-
war demonstrations was held on 15 November 1969 in
Washington, DC, with more than half a million protesters
campaigning against involvement in Vietnam.
© Kevin McGivern

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