Historical+Background

= Historical Background = On May 4th, 1970, a shooting at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, occurred. This massive shooting was caused from a peaceful protest of the //Vietnam War//. It first was triggered by President Nixon’s announcement of the //troops invading Cambodia//, and not only was the war no longer ending, but expanded: 150,000 more men would be drafted into the army. When **Nixon** first became President, he promised an end to the Vietnam War. At the beginning of his term, he showed great effort to take troops out of Vietnam and began a "winding down"(Lewis 2) of war. However, this did not last. These students believed this war, or any for that matter, was “illegal and immoral” (Roberts 3). Students at Kent State University, along with other citizens of Ohio, appeared at the scene four days after Nixon’s announcement. The protesters blamed the Nixon Administration, and called for an end to the miserable war. They wanted peace on Earth, nothing else. Rallies the first two days of May showed possibly dangerous. Events lead to violent confrontation between some protestors and local police. There were bonfires in the streets, police cars were hit with bottles, and building windows were broken. These outbursts showed these were not peaceful hippies simply saying in what they believed, but actually fighting for what they believed was right. All University police were called to action to stop the madness. The Mayor of Kent, **Leroy Satrom**, “declared a state of emergency, and called Governor **James Rhodes’** office to seek assistance” (Lewis 2). Eventually, police had to use tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Though these events were not necessarily the cause of the occurrence the following Monday, because they were so violent and outrageous,Mayor Satrom decided something needed to be done to prevent future rallies. On May 2, 1970 Mayor Satrom – mayor of Kent, Ohio – met with other city officials and a member from the **Ohio National Guard**. After reviewing the previous rallies that recently occurred on campus, they were aware that something bigger might happen. The group consulted with Governor Rhodes on their decision to…

= = = Decision =