Captured History: Death at Kent State

It did not seem possible. On May 4, 1970, four college students were shot dead by Ohio National Guardsmen during a protest against the Vietnam War at Kent State University. The shootings would shock the nation and spark a mass student strike across the country, the only one in U.S. history. A photojournalism student's photograph of a teenage girl crying in anguish over a victim's dead body would win the Pulitzer Prize and become a symbol of the anti-war movement.

The shootings at Kent State University were a tragic and pivotal moment in the history of the anti-war movement in the United States. The four students who were killed - Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer, and William Schroeder - were among a group of protesters who had gathered to demonstrate against the expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia. As the protest unfolded, the Ohio National Guard was called in to disperse the crowd, and in the ensuing chaos, the guardsmen opened fire, killing the four students and wounding nine others.

The impact of the Kent State shootings was immediate and profound. The news of the killings spread rapidly across the country, and within days, students at colleges and universities nationwide had launched a mass strike in protest. This student strike, the only one of its kind in U.S. history, saw millions of young people walk out of their classes and take to the streets to demand an end to the war.

The iconic image that would come to symbolize the anti-war movement was captured by student photojournalist John Filo. His photograph, which depicts a young woman named Mary Ann Vecchio kneeling and screaming in anguish over the body of one of the slain students, won the Pulitzer Prize for Photography and became an enduring symbol of the tragedy and outrage felt by a generation of Americans.

The Kent State shootings were a watershed moment in the history of the anti-war movement, and their impact continues to be felt to this day. The events of that fateful day not only galvanized public opposition to the Vietnam War but also highlighted the growing divide between the government and the youth of America. The killings, and the powerful images that emerged from them, served as a stark reminder of the high price that could be paid for dissent in a time of war, and they helped to fuel the growing calls for peace and social justice that would shape the political and cultural landscape of the 1970s and beyond.

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