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Heck No, They Won't Go!: Opposition by Two State Legislatures to U.S. Policy in Vietnam

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2009, Master of Arts in History, Youngstown State University, Department of Humanities.

In April 1970 Massachusetts Governor Francis W. Sargent signed a law that forbade the federal government from drafting citizens of Massachusetts and sending them to Vietnam. One year later, Minnesota Governor Wendell Anderson signed a similar bill into law. The language of each law sought to have the U.S. Supreme Court determine whether the U.S. war in Vietnam was unconstitutional because undeclared. State authority in relation to foreign and military policy is not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. Central to this paper is the question of the rights of individual states in relation to the federal government. This paper examines four areas to determine what factors may have influenced legislators in Massachusetts and Minnesota to use state law in their attempt to challenge federal policy.

The first area to be examined is presidential use of military power without congressional declaration of war. Also examined are federal court cases, such as Talbot v. Seeman (1801) in which the courts validated the actions of presidents during undeclared war. The Twentieth Century has seen almost continuous involvement by U.S. forces in congressionally authorized yet undeclared conflict. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution, used by Lyndon Johnson to justify the massive commitment of American troops to Vietnam, offered congressional authorization for war without explicit declaration of war.

The second area to be examined is the growth and impact of the antiwar movement during the U.S. war in Vietnam. The Vietnam antiwar movement had antecedents in citizen opposition to the draft during the First World War. The structure of the antiwar movement was very complex. There was no overall national organization, nor was there a single command group. After more than two decades of governmental information regarding the need to fight communism all antiwar and anti-draft groups faced the daunting task of re-educating the public.

Elected officials, including state legislators, must determine which actions will maximize voter satisfaction. During America's war in Vietnam the opinion of a significant portion of the voting public turned against the war. Elected officials within Massachusetts and Minnesota reacted to the growing unpopularity of the war. The third area to be examined is the effect on elected officials of growing public dissatisfaction with U.S. policy in Vietnam. This paper argues that although public opinion against the war had no direct effect on federal policy, legislators in both states felt compelled to introduce legislation to end the war.

The fourth area to be examined is federal court cases regarding the constitutionality of America's war in Vietnam. Throughout the war federal courts heard cases regarding individuals opposing the war. No individuals were successful in having the courts question presidential authority to wage congressionally authorized war. The Supreme Court heard arguments concerning the Massachusetts law. In that case the court ruled that questions concerning congressionally authorized presidential wars were political questions, and beyond the scope of judicial review. As part of the attempt to enforce the Minnesota law the state attorney general filed a case in the federal court in Minneapolis. That court ruled that the question of presidential war making was a political question. The federal appeals court concurred with that ruling. The Solicitor General of Minnesota failed in his effort to have the U.S. Supreme Court hear the case. Neither law was successful in having courts decide the question of the constitutionality of the war.

William Jenkins, PhD (Advisor)
Anne York, PhD (Committee Member)
Ronald Slipski (Committee Member)
123 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Shepherd, M. A. (2009). Heck No, They Won't Go!: Opposition by Two State Legislatures to U.S. Policy in Vietnam [Master's thesis, Youngstown State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1251386951

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Shepherd, M.. Heck No, They Won't Go!: Opposition by Two State Legislatures to U.S. Policy in Vietnam. 2009. Youngstown State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1251386951.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Shepherd, M.. "Heck No, They Won't Go!: Opposition by Two State Legislatures to U.S. Policy in Vietnam." Master's thesis, Youngstown State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1251386951

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)