tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86643217848166104232024-02-19T03:12:00.655-05:00caseclosed31casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08947016782319475211noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8664321784816610423.post-50511716207599897072012-05-04T10:00:00.000-04:002012-05-04T10:00:09.739-04:00Remembering May 4th, 1970 at Kent State University<br />
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<strong>THE MAY 4 SHOOTINGS AT <a href="" name="KENT">KENT</a> STATE
UNIVERSITY: THE SEARCH <br />FOR HISTORICAL ACCURACY </strong></div>
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<strong>BY </strong></div>
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<strong>JERRY M. LEWIS and THOMAS R. HENSLEY</strong></div>
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<strong>INTRODUCTION </strong><br />
<span>On May 4, l970 members of the Ohio National
Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four
and wounding nine Kent State students. The impact of the shootings was dramatic.
The event triggered a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of colleges
and universities to close. H. R. Haldeman, a top aide to President Richard
Nixon, suggests the shootings had a direct impact on national politics. In
<u>The Ends of Power</u>, Haldeman (1978) states that the shootings at Kent
State began the slide into Watergate, eventually destroying the Nixon
administration. Beyond the direct effects of the May 4th, the shootings have
certainly come to symbolize the deep political and social divisions that so
sharply divided the country during the Vietnam War era.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>In the nearly three decades since May 4,
l970, a voluminous literature has developed analyzing the events of May 4th and
their aftermath. Some books were published quickly, providing a fresh but
frequently superficial or inaccurate analysis of the shootings (e.g., Eszterhas
and Roberts, 1970; Warren, 1970; Casale and Paskoff, 1971; Michener, 1971;
Stone, 1971; Taylor <u>et al.</u>, 1971; and Tompkins and Anderson, 1971).
Numerous additional books have been published in subsequent years (e.g., Davies,
1973; Hare, 1973; Hensley and Lewis, 1978; Kelner and Munves, 1980; Hensley,
1981; Payne, 1981; Bills, 1988; and Gordon, 1997). These books have the
advantage of a broader historical perspective than the earlier books, but no
single book can be considered the definitive account of the events and aftermath
of May 4, l970 at Kent State University<a href="http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm#In">.<sup>(1)</sup></a></span><br />
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<span>Despite the substantial literature which
exists on the Kent State shootings, misinformation and misunderstanding continue
to surround the events of May 4. For example, a prominent college-level United
States history book by Mary Beth Norton <u>et al.</u> (1994), which is also used
in high school advanced placement courses<a href="http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm#Professor">,<sup>(2)</sup></a> contains a picture of the shootings of May
4 accompanied by the following summary of events: "In May 1970, at Kent State
University in Ohio, National Guardsmen confronted student antiwar protestors
with a tear gas barrage. Soon afterward, with no provocation, soldiers opened
fire into a group of fleeing students. Four young people were killed, shot in
the back, including two women who had been walking to class." (Norton <u>et
al.</u>, 1994, p. 732) Unfortunately, this short description contains four
factual errors: (1) some degree of provocation did exist; (2) the students were
not fleeing when the Guard initially opened fire; (3) only one of the four
students who died, William Schroeder, was shot in the back; and (4) one female
student, Sandy Schreuer, had been walking to class, but the other female,
Allison Krause, had been part of the demonstration.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>This article is an attempt to deal with the
historical inaccuracies that surround the May 4th shootings at Kent State
University by providing high school social studies teachers with a resource to
which they can turn if they wish to teach about the subject or to involve
students in research on the issue. Our approach is to raise and provide answers
to twelve of the most frequently asked questions about May 4 at Kent State. We
will also offer a list of the most important questions involving the shootings
which have not yet been answered satisfactorily. Finally, we will conclude with
a brief annotated bibliography for those wishing to explore the subject
further.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span><strong>WHY WAS THE OHIO NATIONAL GUARD
CALLED TO KENT?</strong></span><br />
<span>The decision to bring the Ohio National
Guard onto the Kent State University campus was directly related to decisions
regarding American involvement in the Vietnam War. Richard Nixon was elected
president of the United States in 1968 based in part on his promise to bring an
end to the war in Vietnam. During the first year of Nixon's presidency,
America's involvement in the war appeared to be winding down. In late April of
1970, however, the United States invaded Cambodia and widened the Vietnam War.
This decision was announced on national television and radio on April 30, l970
by President Nixon, who stated that the invasion of Cambodia was designed to
attack the headquarters of the Viet Cong, which had been using Cambodian
territory as a sanctuary.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>Protests occurred the next day, Friday, May
1, across United States college campuses where anti-war sentiment ran high. At
Kent State University, an anti-war rally was held at noon on the Commons, a
large, grassy area in the middle of campus which had traditionally been the site
for various types of rallies and demonstrations. Fiery speeches against the war
and the Nixon administration were given, a copy of the Constitution was buried
to symbolize the murder of the Constitution because Congress had never declared
war, and another rally was called for noon on Monday, May 4.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>Friday evening in downtown Kent began
peacefully with the usual socializing in the bars, but events quickly escalated
into a violent confrontation between protestors and local police. The exact
causes of the disturbance are still the subject of debate, but bonfires were
built in the streets of downtown Kent, cars were stopped, police cars were hit
with bottles, and some store windows were broken. The entire Kent police force
was called to duty as well as officers from the county and surrounding
communities. Kent Mayor Leroy Satrom declared a state of emergency, called
Governor James Rhodes' office to seek assistance, and ordered all of the bars
closed. The decision to close the bars early increased the size of the angry
crowd. Police eventually succeeded in using tear gas to disperse the crowd from
downtown, forcing them to move several blocks back to the campus. </span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>The next day, Saturday, May 2, Mayor Satrom
met with other city officials and a representative of the Ohio National Guard
who had been dispatched to Kent. Mayor Satrom then made the decision to ask
Governor Rhodes to send the Ohio National Guard to Kent. The mayor feared
further disturbances in Kent based upon the events of the previous evening, but
more disturbing to the mayor were threats that had been made to downtown
businesses and city officials as well as rumors that radical revolutionaries
were in Kent to destroy the city and the university. Satrom was fearful that
local forces would be inadequate to meet the potential disturbances, and thus
about 5 p.m. he called the Governor's office to make an official request for
assistance from the Ohio National Guard.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span><strong>WHAT HAPPENED ON THE KENT STATE
UNIVERSITY CAMPUS ON SATURDAY MAY 2 AND SUNDAY MAY 3 AFTER THE GUARDS ARRIVED ON
CAMPUS? </strong></span><br />
<span>Members of the Ohio National Guard were
already on duty in Northeast Ohio, and thus they were able to be mobilized
quickly to move to Kent. As the Guard arrived in Kent at about 10 p.m., they
encountered a tumultuous scene. The wooden ROTC building adjacent to the Commons
was ablaze and would eventually burn to the ground that evening, with well over
1000 demonstrators surrounding the building. Controversy continues to exist
regarding who was responsible for setting fire to the ROTC building, but radical
protestors were assumed to be responsible because of their actions in
interfering with the efforts of firemen to extinguish the fire as well as
cheering the burning of the building. Confrontations between Guardsmen and
demonstrators continued into the night, with tear gas filling the campus and
numerous arrests being made.</span><br />
<span>Sunday, May 3rd was a day filled with
contrasts. Nearly 1000 Ohio National Guardsmen occupied the campus, making it
appear like a military war zone. The day was warm and sunny, however, and
students frequently talked amicably with Guardsmen. Ohio Governor James Rhodes
flew to Kent on Sunday morning, and his mood was anything but calm. At a press
conference, he issued a provocative statement calling campus protestors the
worst type of people in America and stating that every force of law would be
used to deal with them. Rhodes also indicated that he would seek a court order
declaring a state of emergency. This was never done, but the widespread
assumption among both Guard and University officials was that a state of martial
law was being declared in which control of the campus resided with the Guard
rather than University leaders and all rallies were banned. Further
confrontations between protestors and guardsmen occurred Sunday evening, and
once again rocks, tear gas, and arrests characterized a tense campus.
</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span><strong>WHAT TYPE OF RALLY WAS HELD AT NOON
ON MAY 4?</strong></span><br />
<span>At the conclusion of the anti-war rally on
Friday, May 1, student protest leaders had called for another rally to be held
on the Commons at noon on Monday, May 4. Although University officials had
attempted on the morning of May 4 to inform the campus that the rally was
prohibited, a crowd began to gather beginning as early as 11 a.m. By noon, the
entire Commons area contained approximately 3000 people. Although estimates are
inexact, probably about 500 core demonstrators were gathered around the Victory
Bell at one end of the Commons, another 1000 people were "cheerleaders"
supporting the active demonstrators, and an additional 1500 people were
spectators standing around the perimeter of the Commons. Across the Commons at
the burned-out ROTC building stood about 100 Ohio National Guardsmen carrying
lethal M-1 military rifles.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>Substantial consensus exists that the active
participants in the rally were primarily protesting the presence of the Guard on
campus, although a strong anti-war sentiment was also present. Little evidence
exists as to who were the leaders of the rally and what activities were planned,
but initially the rally was peaceful.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span><strong>WHO MADE THE DECISION TO BAN THE
RALLY OF MAY 4?</strong></span><br />
<span>Conflicting evidence exists regarding who
was responsible for the decision to ban the noon rally of May 4th. At the 1975
federal civil trial, General Robert Canterbury, the highest official of the
Guard, testified that widespread consensus existed that the rally should be
prohibited because of the tensions that existed and the possibility that
violence would again occur. Canterbury further testified that Kent State
President Robert White had explicitly told Canterbury that any demonstration
would be highly dangerous. In contrast, White testified that he could recall no
conversation with Canterbury regarding banning the rally.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>The decision to ban the rally can most
accurately be traced to Governor Rhodes' statements on Sunday, May 3 when he
stated that he would be seeking a state of emergency declaration from the
courts. Although he never did this, all officials -- Guard, University, Kent --
assumed that the Guard was now in charge of the campus and that all rallies were
illegal. Thus, University leaders printed and distributed on Monday morning
12,000 leaflets indicating that all rallies, including the May 4th rally
scheduled for noon, were prohibited as long as the Guard was in control of the
campus.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span><strong>WHAT EVENTS LED DIRECTLY TO THE
SHOOTINGS?</strong></span><br />
<span>Shortly before noon, General Canterbury made
the decision to order the demonstrators to disperse. A Kent State police officer
standing by the Guard made an announcement using a bullhorn. When this had no
effect, the officer was placed in a jeep along with several Guardsmen and driven
across the Commons to tell the protestors that the rally was banned and that
they must disperse. This was met with angry shouting and rocks, and the jeep
retreated. Canterbury then ordered his men to load and lock their weapons, tear
gas canisters were fired into the crowd around the Victory Bell, and the Guard
began to march across the Commons to disperse the rally. The protestors moved up
a steep hill, known as Blanket Hill, and then down the other side of the hill
onto the Prentice Hall parking lot as well as an adjoining practice football
field. Most of the Guardsmen followed the students directly and soon found
themselves somewhat trapped on the practice football field because it was
surrounded by a fence. Yelling and rock throwing reached a peak as the Guard
remained on the field for about ten minutes. Several Guardsmen could be seen
huddling together, and some Guardsmen knelt and pointed their guns, but no
weapons were shot at this time. The Guard then began retracing their steps from
the practice football field back up Blanket Hill. As they arrived at the top of
the hill, twenty-eight of the more than seventy Guardsmen turned suddenly and
fired their rifles and pistols. Many guardsmen fired into the air or the ground.
However, a small portion fired directly into the crowd. Altogether between 61
and 67 shots were fired in a 13 second period.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span><strong>HOW MANY DEATHS AND INJURIES
OCCURRED? </strong></span><br />
<span>Four Kent State students died as a result of
the firing by the Guard. The closest student was Jeffrey Miller, who was shot in
the mouth while standing in an access road leading into the Prentice Hall
parking lot, a distance of approximately 270 feet from the Guard. Allison Krause
was in the Prentice Hall parking lot; she was 330 feet from the Guardsmen and
was shot in the left side of her body. William Schroeder was 390 feet from the
Guard in the Prentice Hall parking lot when he was shot in the left side of his
back. Sandra Scheuer was also about 390 feet from the Guard in the Prentice Hall
parking lot when a bullet pierced the left front side of her neck.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>Nine Kent State students were wounded in the
13 second fusillade. Most of the students were in the Prentice Hall parking lot,
but a few were on the Blanket Hill area. Joseph Lewis was the student closest to
the Guard at a distance of about sixty feet; he was standing still with his
middle finger extended when bullets struck him in the right abdomen and left
lower leg. Thomas Grace was also approximately 60 feet from the Guardsmen and
was wounded in the left ankle. John Cleary was over 100 feet from the Guardsmen
when he was hit in the upper left chest. Alan Canfora was 225 feet from the
Guard and was struck in the right wrist. Dean Kahler was the most seriously
wounded of the nine students. He was struck in the small of his back from
approximately 300 feet and was permanently paralyzed from the waist down.
Douglas Wrentmore was wounded in the right knee from a distance of 330 feet.
James Russell was struck in the right thigh and right forehead at a distance of
375 feet. Robert Stamps was almost 500 feet from the line of fire when he was
wounded in the right buttock. Donald Mackenzie was the student the farthest from
the Guardsmen at a distance of almost 750 feet when he was hit in the
neck.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span><strong>WHY DID THE GUARDSMEN
FIRE?</strong></span><br />
<span>The most important question associated with
the events of May 4 is why did members of the Guard fire into a crowd of unarmed
students? Two quite different answers have been advanced to this question: (1)
the Guardsmen fired in self-defense, and the shootings were therefore justified
and (2) the Guardsmen were not in immediate danger, and therefore the shootings
were unjustified.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>The answer offered by the Guardsmen is that
they fired because they were in fear of their lives. Guardsmen testified before
numerous investigating commissions as well as in federal court that they felt
the demonstrators were advancing on them in such a way as to pose a serious and
immediate threat to the safety of the Guardsmen, and they therefore had to fire
in self-defense. Some authors (e.g., Michener, 1971 and Grant and Hill, 1974)
agree with this assessment. Much more importantly, federal criminal and civil
trials have accepted the position of the Guardsmen. In a 1974 federal criminal
trial, District Judge Frank Battisti dismissed the case against eight Guardsmen
indicted by a federal grand jury, ruling at mid-trial that the government's case
against the Guardsmen was so weak that the defense did not have to present its
case. In the much longer and more complex federal civil trial of 1975, a jury
voted 9-3 that none of the Guardsmen were legally responsible for the shootings.
This decision was appealed, however, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled that a new trial had to be held because of the improper handling of a
threat to a jury member.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>The legal aftermath of the May 4 shootings
ended in January of 19<span lang="en-us">79</span> with an out-of-court settlement
involving a statement signed by 28 defendants<a href="http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/lewihen.htm#addition"><sup>(3)</sup></a> as well as a monetary settlement, and the
Guardsmen and their supporters view this as a final vindication of their
position. The financial settlement provided $675,000 to the wounded students and
the parents of the students who had been killed. This money was paid by the
State of Ohio rather than by any Guardsmen, and the amount equaled what the
State estimated it would cost to go to trial again. Perhaps most importantly,
the statement signed by members of the Ohio National Guard was viewed by them to
be a declaration of regret, not an apology or an admission of
wrongdoing:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><i>In retrospect, the tragedy of May 4, 1970 should
not have occurred. The students may have believed that they were right in
continuing their mass protest in response to the Cambodian invasion, even though
this protest followed the posting and reading by the university of an order to
ban rallies and an order to disperse. These orders have since been determined by
the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to have been lawful.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><i>Some of the Guardsmen on Blanket Hill, fearful and
anxious from prior events, may have believed in their own minds that their lives
were in danger. Hindsight suggests that another method would have resolved the
confrontation. Better ways must be found to deal with such a
confrontation.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><i>We devoutly wish that a means had been found to
avoid the May 4th events culminating in the Guard shootings and the irreversible
deaths and injuries. We deeply regret those events and are profoundly saddened
by the deaths of four students and the wounding of nine others which resulted.
We hope that the agreement to end the litigation will help to assuage the tragic
memories regarding that sad day.</i></span><br />
<br wp="BR1" /><span>A starkly different
interpretation to that of the Guards' has been offered in numerous other studies
of the shootings, with all of these analyses sharing the common viewpoint that
primary responsibility for the shootings lies with the Guardsmen. Some authors
(e.g., Stone, 1971; Davies, 1973; and Kelner and Munves, 1980) argue that the
Guardsmen's lives were not in danger. Instead, these authors argue that the
evidence shows that certain members of the Guard conspired on the practice
football field to fire when they reached the top of Blanket Hill. Other authors
(e.g., Best, 1981 and Payne, 1981) do not find sufficient evidence to accept the
conspiracy theory, but they also do not find the Guard self-defense theory to be
plausible. Experts who find the Guard primarily responsible find themselves in
agreement with the conclusion of the Scranton Commission (<u>Report </u>, 1970,
p. 87): "The indiscriminate firing of rifles into a crowd of students and the
deaths that followed were unnecessary, unwarranted, and inexcusable."</span>
<br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span><strong>WHAT HAPPENED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE
SHOOTINGS? </strong></span><br />
<span>While debate still remains about the extent
to which the Guardsmen's lives were in danger at the moment they opened fire,
little doubt can exist that their lives were indeed at stake in the immediate
aftermath of the shootings. The 13 second shooting that resulted in four deaths
and nine wounded could have been followed by an even more tragic and bloody
confrontation. The nervous and fearful Guardsmen retreated back to the Commons,
facing a large and hostile crowd which realized that the Guard had live
ammunition and had used it to kill and wound a large number of people. In their
intense anger, many demonstrators were willing to risk their own lives to attack
the Guardsmen, and there can be little doubt that the Guard would have opened
fire again, this time killing a much larger number of students.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>Further tragedy was prevented by the actions
of a number of Kent State University faculty marshals, who had organized hastily
when trouble began several days earlier. Led by Professor Glenn Frank, the
faculty members pleaded with National Guard leaders to allow them to talk with
the demonstrators, and then they begged the students not to risk their lives by
confronting the Guardsmen. After about twenty minutes of emotional pleading, the
marshals convinced the students to leave the Commons.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>Back at the site of the shootings,
ambulances had arrived and emergency medical attention had been given to the
students who had not died immediately. The ambulances formed a screaming
procession as they rushed the victims of the shootings to the local
hospital.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>The University was ordered closed
immediately, first by President Robert White and then indefinitely by Portage
County Prosecutor Ronald Kane under an injunction from Common Pleas Judge Albert
Caris. Classes did not resume until the Summer of 1970, and faculty members
engaged in a wide variety of activities through the mail and off-campus meetings
that enabled Kent State students to finish the semester.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span><strong>WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THE PULITZER PRIZE
WINNING PHOTO OF THE YOUNG WOMAN CRYING OUT IN HORROR OVER THE DYING BODY OF ONE
OF THE STUDENTS?</strong></span><br />
<span><strong><br /></strong></span><br />
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<span><strong><br /></strong></span></div>
<span>A photograph of Mary Vecchio, a fourteen year old
runaway, screaming over the body of Jeffery Miller appeared on the front pages
of newspapers and magazines throughout the country, and the photographer, John
Filo, was to win a Pulitzer Prize for the picture. The photo has taken on a life
and importance of its own. This analysis looks at the photo, the photographer,
and the impact of the photo.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>The Mary Vecchio picture shows her on one knee
screaming over Jeffrey Miller's body. Mary told one of us that she was calling
for help because she felt she could do nothing (Personal Interview, 4/4/94).
Miller is lying on the tarmac of the Prentice Hall parking lot. One student is
standing near the Miller body closer than Vecchio. Four students are seen in the
immediate background.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
John Filo, a Kent State photography major in 1970, continues to works as a
professional newspaper photographer and editor. He was near the Prentice Hall
parking lot when the Guard fired. He saw bullets hitting the ground, but he did
not take cover because he thought the bullets were blanks. Of course, blanks
cannot hit the ground. <br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<span><strong>WHAT WAS THE LONG-TERM FACULTY RESPONSE TO
THE SHOOTINGS?</strong></span><br />
<span>Three hours after
the shootings Kent State closed and was not to open for six weeks as a viable
university. When it resumed classes in the Summer of 1970, its faculty was
charged with three new responsibilities, their residues remaining today.
</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>
<span>First, we as a University faculty had to bring aid
and comfort to our own. This began earlier on with faculty trying to finish the
academic quarter with a reasonable amount of academic integrity. It had ended
about at mid-term examinations. However, the faculty voted before the week was
out to help students complete the quarter in any way possible. Students were
advised to study independently until they were contacted by individual
professors. Most of the professors organized their completion of courses around
papers, but many gave lectures in churches and in homes in the community of Kent
and surrounding communities. For example, Norman Duffy, an award winning
teacher, gave off-campus chemistry lectures and tutorial sessions in Kent and
Cleveland. His graduate students made films of laboratory sessions and mailed
them to students. </span><br />
<span>Beyond helping thousands of students finish their
courses, there were 1900 students as well who needed help with gradation.
Talking to students about courses allowed the faculty to do some counseling
about the shootings, which helped the faculty as much in healing as it did
students. </span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>Second, the University faculty was called upon to
conduct research about May 4 communicating the results of this research through
teaching and traditional writing about the tragedy. Many responded and created a
solid body of scholarship as well as an extremely useful archive contributing to
a wide range of activities in Summer of 1970 including press interviews and the
Scranton Commission. </span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>Third, many saw as one of the faculty's challenges
to develop alternative forms of protest and conflict resolution to help prevent
tragedies such as the May 4 shootings and the killings at Jackson State ten days
after Kent State. </span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span><strong>WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT UNANSWERED
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MAY 4 SHOOTINGS?</strong></span><br />
<span>Although we have attempted in this article to answer
many of the most important and frequently asked questions about the May 4th
shootings, our responses have sometimes been tentative because many important
questions remain unanswered. It thus seems important to ask what are the most
significant questions which yet remain unanswered about the May 4th events.
These questions could serve as the basis for research projects by students who
are interested in studying the shootings in greater detail.</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>(1) Who was responsible for the violence in downtown
Kent and on the Kent State campus in the three days prior to May 4th? As an
important part of this question, were "outside agitators" primarily responsible?
Who was responsible for setting fire to the ROTC building?</span><br />
<span>(2) Should the Guard have been called to Kent and
Kent State University? Could local law enforcement personnel have handled any
situations? Were the Guard properly trained for this type of
assignment?</span><br />
<span>(3) Did the Kent State University administration
respond appropriately in their reactions to the demonstrations and with Ohio
political officials and Guard officials?</span><br />
<span>(4) Would the shootings have been avoided if the
rally had not been banned? Did the banning of the rally violate First Amendment
rights?</span><br />
<span>(5) Did the Guardsmen conspire to shoot students
when they huddled on the practice football field? If not, why did they fire?
Were they justified in firing?</span><br />
<span>(6) Who was ultimately responsible for the events of
May 4, l970?</span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span><strong>WHY SHOULD WE STILL BE CONCERNED ABOUT MAY
4, 1970 AT KENT STATE?</strong></span><br />
<span>In Robert McNamara's (1995) book, "In Retrospect:The
Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam" is a way to begin is an illustration of the this
process. In it he says that United States policy towards Vietnam was "...
terribly wrong and we owe it to future generations to explain why." </span><br />
<span><br /></span><br />
<span>The May 4 shootings at Kent State need to be
remembered for several reasons. First, the shootings have come to symbolize a
great American tragedy which occurred at the height of the Vietnam War era, a
period in which the nation found itself deeply divided both politically and
culturally. The poignant picture of Mary Vecchio kneeling in agony over Jeffrey
Miller's body, for example, will remain forever as a reminder of the day when
the Vietnam War came home to America. If the Kent State shootings will continue
to be such a powerful symbol, then it is certainly important that Americans have
a realistic view of the facts associated with this<strong> </strong>event.
Second, May 4 at Kent State and the Vietnam War era remain controversial even
today, and the need for healing continues to exist. Healing will not occur if
events are either forgotten or distorted, and hence it is important to continue
to search for the truth behind the events of May 4th at Kent State. Third, and
most importantly, May 4th at Kent State should be remembered in order that we
can learn from the mistakes of the past. The Guardsmen in their signed statement
at the end of the civil trials recognized that better ways have to be found to
deal with these types of confrontations. This has probably already occurred in
numerous situations where law enforcement officials have issued a caution to
their troops to be careful because "we don't want another Kent State." Insofar
as this has happened, lessons have been learned, and the deaths of four young
Kent State students have not been in vain.</span><br />
<span><br /></span></span>
<span><strong>ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY</strong></span><br />
<span>
Bills, Scott. (1988). <em>Kent State/May 4: Echoes Through a Decade</em>.
Kent, OH: Kent State University Press. This book provides town and gown
reactions to May 4th. It has the best annotated bibliography available on the
literature on the shootings and is the basis for<br />
for the annotations that follow.<br />
<br />
Casale, Ottavio M. & Paskoff, Louis (Eds.) (1971). <em>The Kent Affair:
Documents and Interpretations </em>. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. This is an early,
useful volume which reproduces local and national newspaper articles on the
shootings as well as radio and television broadcasts.<br />
<br />
Davies, Peter. (1973). <em>The Truth About Kent State: A Challenge to the
American Conscience</em>. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. This is a
detailed narrative and analysis of the events of May 4 and their aftermath. He
argues that the Guard conspired to fire upon the students. 74 photographs are
included.<br />
Eszterhas, Joe & Roberts, Michael D. (1970). <em>Thirteen Seconds:
Confrontation at Kent State</em>. New York: Dodd, Mead. A very quick publication
by two Cleveland journalists who use interviews of students, faculty, and
Guardsmen to provide a background and narrative of May 1970 events.<br />
<br />
Grant, Edward J. & Hill, Michael (1974). <em>I Was There: What Really
Went on at Kent State</em> . Lima, OH: C.S.S. Publishing Co. The only book
written by members of the Ohio National Guard, the authors provide a view of the
hostile environment in which the Guardsmen found themselves.<br />
<br />
Hare, A. Paul (Ed.) (l973). <em>Kent State: The Nonviolent Response</em>.
Haverford, PA: Center for Nonviolent Conflict Resolution. A series of articles
by noted peace activist Paul Hare as well as many Kent State faculty members.
The common theme is the search for nonviolent approaches to conflictual
situations.<br />
Hensley, Thomas R. (1981). <em>The Kent State Incident: Impact of Judicial
Process on Public Attitudes</em>. Westport, CONN: Greenwood Press. This is a
detailed examination of the legal aftermath of the shootings, focusing upon the
impact of various legal proceedings on public attitudes about the shootings.<br />
Hensley, Thomas R. and Lewis, Jerry M. (1978). <em>Kent State and May 4th: A
Social Science Perspective</em>. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt. This collection
brings together a number of previous articles on May 4 that were published in
social science journals, but articles covering the Kent State litigation and the
1977 gymnasium controversy were written specifically for this volume. This book
also contains the excellent analysis of the events of May 4 written by James
Best.<br />
<br />
Kelner, Joseph and Munves, James. (1980).<em> The Kent State Coverup</em> .
New York: Harper and Row. Kelner was the chief legal counsel for the students
and parents in the 1975 federal civil trial. He presents a harsh analysis of the
handling of the trial by Judge Donald Young. The book has a strong bias, but it
provides the only detailed analysis of this long and important trial. <br />
Michener, James. (1971). <em>Kent State: What Happened and Why</em> . New
York: Random House and Reader's Digest Books. This is undoubtedly the most
widely read book on May 4th because of Michener's reputation and the wide
publicity it received. The book suffers from being produced so quickly, however,
containing numerous factual errors.<br />
<br />
Payne, J. Gregory (1981). <em>Mayday: Kent State</em>. Dubuque, IA:
Kendall/Hunt. The book provides a rather sketchy overview of the May 4 events,
presents excerpts from letters written by participants in the events, and
discusses the made-for-TV movie on May 4 to which Payne served as a
consultant.<br />
<em>Report of the President's Commission on Campus Unrest</em>. (1970)
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. Reprint edition by Arno
Press. This remains the best single source for understanding the events of May
4. The report examines not only the shootings at Kent State but also the student
movement of the sixties and the shootings at Jackson State University. Excellent
photographs are included.<br />
Stone, I. F. (1971). <em>The Killings at Kent State: How Murder Went
Unpunished</em>. New York: Review Book. This is a rather sketchy book written
with a strongly held viewpoint that the Guardsmen committed murder.<br />
<br />
Taylor, Stuart; Shuntlich, Richard; McGovern, Patrick; & Genther, Robert.
(1971). <em>Violence at Kent State, May 1 to 4, l970: The Student's
Perspective</em>. New York: College Notes and Texts, 1971. A study of the
perceptions, feelings, attitudes, and reactions of Kent State students based
upon a questionnaire sent to all Kent State students shortly after the
shootings. Seven thousand students responded, and although this is not a random
sample, it has the best data available about the views of Kent State students
about May 4.<br />
Tompkins, Phillip K. and Anderson, Elaine Vanden Bout. (l971).
<em>Communication Crisis at Kent State: A Case Study</em>. New York: Gordon
& Breach. This book presents a harsh analysis of the communications problems
that permeated the University during May 1970.<br />
<br />
Warren, Bill (Ed.) (1970). <em>The Middle of the Country: The Events of May
4th As Seen by</em> <em>Students & Faculty at Kent State University</em> . A
hastily compiled set of essays put together by a Kent State University sophomore
containing various reactions to the shootings by Kent State students and faculty
members.<br />
<br wp="BR1" /><br />
<strong>ADDITIONAL REFERENCES</strong><br />
Best, James J. (1978). "Kent State: Answers and Questions" in Thomas R.
Hensley and Jerry M. Lewis .) <em>Kent State and May 4th: A Social Science
Perspective</em> . Dubuque, IA: <br />
Kendall/Hunt.<br />
Haldeman, H.R. (1978).<em> The Ends of Power</em>. New York: Times Books.<br />
McNamara, Robert. (1995). <em>In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of
Vietnam</em>. New York: Times Books.<br />
Norton, Mary Beth; Katzman, David M.; Escott, Paul D.; Chudacoff, Howard P.;
Paterson, Thomas G.; & Tuttle, William M. (1994). <em>A People and a Nation:
A History of the United </em><br />
<em>States</em>. Fourth Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.<br />
<br />
<span><strong>NOTES</strong></span><br />
<span>1.</span><a href="" name="In">In</a> addition to the
many books on the Kent State shootings, numerous reports, book chapters, and
articles have been written. The most comprehensive and accurate commission
investigation is <u>The Report of the President's Commission on Campus
Unrest</u> (1970) chaired by William W. Scranton. An excellent book chapter on
the shootings is by James J. Best (1978). The most comprehensive bibliography on
the shootings is in Bills (1988).<br />
<br />
2. <a href="" name="Professor">Professor</a> Hensley, the co-author of this article,
became aware of this reference to the Kent State shootings because his daughter,
Sarah, was taking Advanced Placement United States History at Kent Roosevelt
High School with Mr. Bruce Dzeda. We thank Mr. Dzeda for reading this article
and offering his reactions, although he bears no responsibility for the ideas
expressed in this article.<br />
<br />
<span>3. </span>In <a href="" name="addition">addition</a>
to Guard officers and enlisted men, Governor James Rhodes was also a defendant
in the civil trial and signed the statement.<br />
<br />
</span><div align="center">
PUBLISHED IN REVISED FORM BY <strong>THE
OHIO COUNCIL FOR THE SOCIAL STUDIES REVIEW</strong>, VOL 34, NUMBER 1 (SUMMER,
1998) PP. 9-21<strong> </strong></div>casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08947016782319475211noreply@blogger.com0138-188 Midway Dr, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44243, USA41.1492537637362 -81.342430114746141.1432757637362 -81.3523006147461 41.1552317637362 -81.332559614746089tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8664321784816610423.post-44738198779221884172012-01-27T21:15:00.000-05:002012-01-27T23:34:20.123-05:00Score: @StoicTom 11, Pacific Ocean 0<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU99F4aug1hn7JEkm-J0v3V95QVqpuVKYY8-JJCEAElTG9hyphenhyphenRqYmz5iVmuUBANBywYuxQGBKVrhmGfXtbQFTtEyulkfETRFuiPzALKb2jV7QWu6VyVFB3v27jsOYrbJLLoIAYKv-RAWmCf/s1600/fish.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU99F4aug1hn7JEkm-J0v3V95QVqpuVKYY8-JJCEAElTG9hyphenhyphenRqYmz5iVmuUBANBywYuxQGBKVrhmGfXtbQFTtEyulkfETRFuiPzALKb2jV7QWu6VyVFB3v27jsOYrbJLLoIAYKv-RAWmCf/s320/fish.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
My Dad, Tom Case (@StoicTom), is known for his relentless, persistent catch-and-release fishing back in Ohio. But when he goes three time zones away, all Hell breaks loose. While out in San Diego visiting my sister and her husband, he went out on the boat today. While only casting eleven times, with no re-baits, he successfully snagged eleven fish, which happen to be a mix of mackerel, perch, and croaker. Also, this was all done in less than 30 minutes.<br />
<br />
He will continue his domination of the Pacific Ocean again tomorrow.<br />
<br />
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<br />casehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08947016782319475211noreply@blogger.com0San Diego, CA, USA32.7153292 -117.157255132.5015767 -117.4731121 32.9290817 -116.8413981