Social Issues Kent State Massacre May 4, 1970 - Vietnam War Demonstrations
During an antiwar demonstration that spotlighted young Americans' disapproval of expanded participation in the Vietnam War, four students were killed and nine wounded in what became known as the Kent State Massacre, on May 4, 1970. Previous to the shooting, large demonstrations were staged over four days that culminated in a confrontation between protesters and National Guard troops at Kent State University in Ohio. Tensions had risen after Kent State's ROTC* building was torched, and demonstrators vandalized property, smashed store windows and looted shops in town riots. Reacting to their entrapment on an athletic field, 70 National Guard troops wearing gas masks and provided with minimal riot-control training, advanced over the crest of Blanket Hill and fired between 61 and 67 shots at unarmed students.
*Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
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