Draft Resistance in the Vietnam Era

Introduction

In this paper I will look at the men who resisted the draft during the Vietnam war years, and compare various aspects of their collective experience with draft resistance during other U.S. wars of the 20th century. I will examine the number of men who resisted, the types of evasion, and the reasons they gave for resisting. From this research I will answer the question "Was the draft resistance of the Vietnam era different from the resistance of prior wars?"

In these three sections, I will examine how the quantity of protesters varied over the years, delineate what constitutes a "just" war, and discuss some of the ingenious ways desperate young men tried to avoid the draft.


This is an experimental hypertext version of a term paper. (c) 1994 Paul W. Shaffer,