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The following people were important in South Vietnam:
The following people were important in North Vietnam:
HAWKS:
John F. Kennedy U.S. President, for his involvement prior to the declaration of war.
Robert S. McNamara Secretary of Defense during the Kennedy, and Johnson administrations.
Henry Kissinger for his work prior to becoming National Security Advisor.
Lyndon B. Johnson U.S. President, for his escalation of the war.
McGeorge Bundy a forceful advocate of expanding American involvement in the Vietnam War.
DOVES:
Ron Dellums for his election to U.S. Congress as an anti-war activist, and his war crimes exhibit.
Tim L. Carter Republican congressman from Kentucky who implored the US to withdraw troops, in 1967.
John Lennon for his activism including his "bed-ins for peace".
Martin Luther King, Jr. for his opposition to the war.
Jane Fonda for her activism.
Muhammad Ali - boxing authorities in America stripped him of his world heavyweight title and suspended his boxing licence after he had refused to be inducted into the United States Army.
The first protests to the Vietnam war started in October 1965 when the draft was increased. In February 1965, it had only been 3,000 a month but in October it was increased to 33,000 a month. Tearing up or burning your draft paper became a common occurrence and was seen to be the first of the protests. The protests against the war started to pick up when body bags started to return to America in increasing numbers.
In March 1966, 50,000 anti-war protesters took part in a rally in New York. In 1967, 100,000 took part in a protest rally and in 1971, 300,000 in Washington DC.