Student protest posters at the UW, 1970. (Courtesy Museum of History & Industry and UW Digital Collections.)

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A copy of Fed Up, an antiwar underground newspaper circulated at Fort Lewis. Click the image to go to a special section on the antiwar movement among soldiers.

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Anti-ROTC protest at UW, March 6, 1969. (Copyright (c) Steve Ludwig.) Click the image to be taken to a page on student antiwar activism at the UW.

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Oral Histories

Click the image to watch streaming video interviews with antiwar activists from the Northwest, like Steve Ludwig, above.

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Demonstrators burning draft cards outside the Selective Service Office in Seattle, c. 1969. (Copyright (c) Fred Lonidier.) Click the image to go to a page devoted to draft resistance.

Vietnam War: special section

The Vietnam War sparked a mass antiwar movement in the United States, involving students on campuses, soldiers in the military, and civilians marching in the streets. Employing the civil disobedience tactics and grassroots mobilizations of the civil rights struggles, the early movement was also spurred by networks of student protest already formed during the Berkeley Free Speech Movement in 1964 and the founding of Students for a Democratic Society in 1960.

The Pacific Northwest, with its large array of military bases, universities, and history of radicalism, was a flashpoint for the Vietnam antiwar movement. Antiwar GIs at Fort Lewis and students at the University of Washington were some of the first in the country to organize collectively, and inspired activists in larger cities. Draft resistance organizations formed underground railroads to funnel AWOL soldiers and draft resisters to nearby Canada. Students in Seattle went on strike for Black Studies programs and again to protest the war.

This detailed section on the Vietnam War highlights both the often-told histories of student radicalism and draft resistance in the Northwest, and complements another special section devoted to the more hidden history of soldiers and veterans who organized against the war. Bringing together oral histories, movement biographies, and hundreds of photographs and documents, this section provides a vivid picture of the urgency and vibrancy of the anti-Vietnam War movement in the Northwest.

Tour the Vietnam War Special Section

• Student Activism:

  Click here to learn more about student antiwar and radical activity at the University of Washington, including documents, photos, and oral histories from the local Students for a Democratic Society, Student Mobilization Committee, and the May 1970 Student Strike, along with digitized copies of SDS News from the UW.

• Draft Resistance:

  Seattle has a long history of helping AWOL soldiers and draft evaders gain sanctuary in Canada, and has also been a strong base of support for soldiers and resisters put on trial. Click here for a page documenting the activities of Draft Resistance-Seattle, complete with photographs and documents.

• Photos & Documents:

  Hundreds of photographs and documents, grouped thematically, from Students for a Democratic Society at the UW, Draft Resistance-Seattle, the May 1970 Student Strike, and digitized copies of UW's SDS News.

• GI Movement Special Section:

  Click here to be taken to a special section devoted to antiwar GI and veteran organizing at Fort Lewis Army Base and McChord Air Force Base near Tacoma, complete with a timeline, oral histories, and digitized copies of GI antiwar newspapers.

Jessie Kindig is the coordinator for this special section.