THE CONTEXT OF MAY 4
2
APRIL 30,
1970
President Richard Nixon announces that the United States has invaded Cambodia, sparking a wave of angry protests across the nation.
MAY 1,
1970
Students protest Nixon’s expansion of the war by symbolically burying the Constitution. That evening, other protesters break a number of downtown business windows, incensing Kent citizens.
MAY 2,
1970
Kent’s mayor asks that the National Guard be put on standby. After the ROTC building burns, 850 Ohio National Guardsmen enter campus.
MAY 3,
1970
After touring the grounds, Governor Rhodes calls students “the worst type of people that we harbor in America.” He vows to use any means necessary to “eradicate the problem.” That night, Guard troops use tear gas and bayonets to disperse students from a sit-in at the front of campus.
MAY 4,
1970
The Ohio National Guard fires at student demonstrators during a protest, killing 4 students and wounding 9.
FIND YOUR
NUMBER
In a lottery version of the draft on December 1, 1969, young men of eligible age receive a draft number matched to their birthday. Those with number 195 or below are called to duty.
