THE CONTEXT OF MAY 4

2

Apr30_Nixon

APRIL 30,
1970

President Richard Nixon announces that the United States has invaded Cambodia, sparking a wave of angry protests across the nation.

May1_Constitution

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.

May2_ROTC

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.

May3_Rhodes

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.

1970_ShootingMap

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. 
1970_DraftLottery

VIETNAM
CASUALTIES

58,220

Americans Killed
American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics, 2019

153,303

Americans Wounded
American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics, 2019

2,000,000

Civilians on Both
Sides Killed
Vietnam Embassy in Pyongyang, 2019

250,000

South Vietnamese
Soldiers Killed
Vietnam Embassy in Pyongyang, 2019

1,100,000

North Vietnamese and
Viet Cong killed
Vietnam Embassy in Pyongyang, 2019

NEXT SECTION: THE FOUR KILLED