Kent State
Akron, Ohio
May 4, 1970
This Pulitzer prize-winning photo is one of the most famous images of the
1960s. It was seen in newspapers across America (and around the world) and
appeared on the cover of Newsweek on May 18, 1970 with the title
"Nixon's Home Front."
President Nixon's April 30 announcement that the US military had invaded Cambodia
and 150,000 more troops would soon be drafted came at a time when many in the
United States believed the war was drawing to a close. While the Pentagon
quickly voiced its approval of the war's expansion, college students across the
country organized strikes and protests against what the army had dubbed
"Operation Total Victory."
Two thousand Princeton University students called a provisional strike. Berkeley and Stanford were the sites of multiple clashes between antiwar protesters and police. At Yale, what had been organized as a rally to protest the police harrassment of the Black Panthers found many decrying the invasion of Cambodia as well. Four thousand marines and US marshals were deployed.
The campus protest that most captured the public attention, however, occurred at
Kent State. Following two days of demonstrations and street parades in which
windows were broken and an old ROTC building was ignited, the nervous Akron
mayor called in the National Guard.
Around noon on May 4, troops squared off against a gathering crowd of protesters. When the students ignored orders to disperse, the guardsmen opened fire. Nine students were injured and four were killed, including some who had simply been passing by on their way to class.
As news and striking photographs of the fatal confrontation between young students and (in many cases, younger) guardsmen crossed the country, the demonstrations grew in number and intensity. One major rally was planned to take place on Wall Street on the morning of May 8.
"We must look to how we are raising our children. They are, for the most
part, the children of affluent, permissive, upper-middle-class parents who
learned their Dr. Spock and threw discipline out the window--when they should
have done the opposite. They are the children dropped off by their parents at
Sunday school to hear the 'modern' gospel from a 'progressive' preacher more
interested in fighting pollution than fighting evil--one of those pleasant
clergymen who lifts his weekly sermons out of old newsletters from a National
Council of Churches that has cast morality and theology aside as 'not relevant'
and set as its goal on earth the recognition of Red China and the preservation
of Florida alligator. 
Today,
by the thousands--without a cultural heritage, without a set of spiritual
values, and with a moral code summed up in that idealistic injunction 'Do your
own thing,' Junior--his pot and Portnoy secreted in his knapsack--arrives at
'the Old Main' and finds there a smiling and benign faculty even less demanding
than his parents. . ."
"The real pity is that many of the students of our universities really feel that the theatrical radicals are the architects of a brave, new compassionate world, spiced with 'rock' music, 'acid' and 'pot.' There is a . . . group of students committed to radical change through violent means. Some of these may be irretrievable; all will require very firm handling. this is the criminal left that belongs not in a dormitory, but in a penitentiary. The criminal left is not a problem to be solved by the department of philosophy or the department of English--it is a problem for the Department of Justice."
Chronology, May 1-4, 1970
May 1
On Friday, May 1, students organized a demonstration to protest the invasion of Cambodia. A copy of the Constitution was buried to symbolize its "murder." A second meeting was called for noon, Monday, May 4.
On Friday evening, warm weather, drinking and indignation over the invasion of Cambodia resulted in a crowd which moved toward the center of town breaking some windows. Police met and dispersed the crowd at the intersection of Main and Water streets. The Kent city mayor viewed the scene, heard rumors of a radical plot, declared a state of emergency and telephoned the governor in Columbus for assistance. A National Guard officer was immediately dispatched. Bars were closed by local authorities and hundreds of people were forced into the streets and herded toward the campus with tear gas from riot-geared police. The town was quiet by 2:30 a.m.
May 2
On Saturday, students assisted with the downtown cleanup. Rumors concerning radical activities were widespread and threats to merchants confirmed the fears of some townspeople. University officials obtained an injunction prohibiting damage to buildings on campus. Notice of this injunction appeared in leaflets distributed by the Office of Student Affairs.
Shortly after 8:00 p.m., over one thousand persons surrounded the barracks housing the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps on campus and a few managed to set the building afire. Firemen left the scene after hoses were punctured and cut open, unable to extinguish the blaze. By midnight, the National Guard cleared the campus, forcing students and non-students into dormitories, where many spent the night.
May 3
On Sunday there was a deceptively calm city and campus, occupied by National Guardsmen. Meetings produced a number of conflicting perceptions, resulting in misunderstandings among state, local and University officials. A deluge of sightseers added to the problems. Near dusk, a crowd gathered on the commons at the Victory Bell (a bell ordinarily rung after athletic victories). The crowd failed to disperse. At 9:00 p.m., the Ohio Riot Act was read and tear gas was fired.
The demonstrators reassembled at the intersection of East Main and Lincoln streets, blocking traffic. They believed that officials would speak to them, but no one arrived. The crowd became hostile and at 11:00 p.m. the Riot Act was read again, tear gas was used and a number of people -- guardsmen and demonstrators -- were injured in the confusion.
The confrontation of Sunday night caused antagonism and resentment among all parties. Classes resumed on Monday. Demonstrators were determined to hold the rally at noon, even if prohibited. The National Guard resolved to disperse any assembly.
May 4
By noon May 4, two thousand people had gathered in the vicinity of the commons. Many knew that the rally had been banned. Others, especially commuters, did not know of this prohibition. Chants, curses and rocks answered an order to disperse. Shortly after noon, tear gas canisters were fired. The gas, blowing in the wind, had little effect. The guard moved forward with fixed bayonets, forcing demonstrators to retreat. Reaching the crest of the hill by Taylor Hall, the guard moved the demonstrators even further to a nearby athletic practice field. Once on the practice field, the guard recognized that the crowd had not dispersed and, further, that the field was fenced on three sides. Tear gas was traded for more rocks and verbal abuse.
The guardsmen then retraced their line of march. Some demonstrators followed as close as 20 yards, but most were between 60 and 75 yards behind the guard. Near the crest of Blanket Hill, the guard turned and 28 guardsmen fired between 61 and 67 shots in 13 seconds toward the parking lot. Four persons lay dying and nine wounded. The closest casualty was 20 yards and the farthest was almost 250 yards away. All 13 were students at Kent State University. The four students who were killed were Jeffrey Miller, Allison Krause, William Schroeder and Sandra Scheuer. The nine wounded students were Joseph Lewis, John Cleary, Thomas Grace, Alan Canfora, Dean Kahler, Douglas Wrentmore, James Russell, Robert Stamps, and Donald MacKenzie. Dean Kahler was permanently paralyzed from his injury.
Disbelief, fright and attempts at first aid gave way quickly to anger. A group of two hundred to three hundred demonstrators gathered on a slope nearby and were ordered to move. Faculty members were able to convince the group to disperse.
A University ambulance moved through the campus making the following announcement over a public address system: "By order of President White, the University is closed. Students should pack their things and leave the campus as quickly as possible." Late that afternoon, the county prosecutor obtained an injunction closing the University indefinitely. Normal campus activities did not resume until the summer session.