Along with the civil rights movement, the movement to protest American involvement in the war in Vietnam provided some of the defining cultural experiences of the 1960s. From their origins in student protest in the first years of the 1960s, through the nonviolent protests of 1965, and on to the violent disruptions at the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968 and the National Guard shooting of students at Kent State University in 1970, the antiwar movement helped to sway public opinion both for and against American participation in the Vietnam War (1954–75). With acts ranging from prayer vigils to noisy demonstrations in American cities, from mailing in draft registration cards to self-immolation (the act of burning oneself to death), anti-war protestors drew great public attention to their cause, forcing the nation to question the legitimacy of its military actions, the honesty of its elected officials, and the consistency...