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What really happened at Kent State?

2009-05-25 | 🔗

After the Kent State shootings, colleges across the country closed. However, decades later, researchers still aren't sure what actually happened at Kent State. Tune in and learn more in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com.

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This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
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welcome to stuff. You missed in history class from Housetop works that come up and have high costs and entertained and clear joint. I started writing this hygiene today we have a topic that doesn't come from too far back in the annals of american history and its a pretty important topic to discuss, because it's a mystery, that's been unsolved for aids now and very controversial one at that. Do it definitely, and what so interesting about this is that there is new evidence that even emerged a couple of years ago. That threatens to change the course of how we conceive of this event and what I am referring to a rather mysteriously is really happened. Kent state can stay is actually a university in Ohio, I can't-
probably have heard a ring. The bell because of this tragedy that happened in nineteen, seventy and I haven't on May force and it had to do with an anti war protests. As you probably know, the Vietnam WAR was going on at this time and the Americans were involved in it and it was very, very controversial eyes in an incredibly unpopular war and why The reason that Richard Nixon had been elected to the presidency was because he'd me promise to get the american troops out of the war re. He promise Vienna musician, which was basically the idea that he was going to transfer the the battle. Do you the combat duty from american soldiers to the vietnamese themselves, and so there was one of the reasons why he was elected president. He was campaigning for this, but he's here seem to stab people back or order or go back on this promise when he announced on April. Thirty is nineteen. Seventy that he was sending you S, troops into Cambodia. This rule
the turk people by surprise. They didn't understand the motive behind it. Fish motor that Nixon gave when he made the announcement on National television and radio was that there were it con headquarters and Cambodia and by filtering headquarters that eventually be able to take down the Vietcong so by it is that a military and governmental perspective the maneuver made sense, but to the american people who felt they'd been duped It was a real slap in the face right. It seem like use escalating the war rather than on pulling out of it with people wanted to see especially college kids around the country, and they were one of the most active anti war protesters at this time, and so the today, which would have been frightened me. First US students in camps is all around country. Not just can't work. Staging anti protests very Sandra thing in very understandable because as happened, this is the day after the announcement and in Kent, the students
the protests in which they bury they symbolically very the. U S, constitution, and it is very standard. You know. Cat was not unlike many other campuses and another thing they did was planned to convene again on Monday may forth at noon for another rally and Friday night, as you can imagine the semester sort of winding down getting close to summer stew. Go out as usual to the bars and their intermingling with townspeople from can't and the same just escalates. Because anti worse than men as running high and he's got a little bit out of control yeah. These crowd start building bonfires in the streets in the, bottles are thrown at cop cars and just just sort of increasingly it's more tens and in reality, and coming from I went to University of Maryland, and this doesn't seem completely out of the ordinary. I mean we have we win the championship and made the kids builds bonfires. You know, but
it really made the officials of the town of Kent very nervous again outlay and protestors, we're having a verbal con flags and physical conflicts with the police, and so all the camp. These were out that night, please recalled in from surrounding towns and cities, although this, the county, Fischler came out to adjusting inertia, their faces and help call the crowds and even eventually help dispersed the car odds, and things really got out of control and mayhem really recluse. When the mayor of Kant closed all the bars the end, what of what a bad move and righteous facts, because people are being rowdy, but you came out and that there is still a good number of people inside the bars and having beers and carrying on as usual. But you closed the bars you move all of those people into the street, they evolve and drinking mayhem or year. I think he had good intentions because you can understand held in the presence of the bars made made them
because we're rowdy after they were drinking but to close them during the night just made things worse really dead, and so in a bit of desperation, he called James Roads and There is to widen, conspire quite yachts by them stay. They reach decision that older culminated in the tragic shootings. I can state that that night. Chrome is dispersed with tear gas, and things were were condoms, the calm before the storm dear the next day. Saturday may second we're talking about now sat round. The mayor was still nervous about what happened the night before, but also he was hearing rumours and supposedly threats against local businessmen in this maiden, even more nor risen, so he called the governor James Roads, as you mentioned, and it about five that evening Saturday, he He asked the governor to send the National Guard to Kent can be under your higher national guard, arrived and
they came into a rather dramatic seen on the Kent State Campus. Someone We do this day. Dont know who burning down the art he see building there. Yet whether there is a big crowd around the arts, Aren t see, building and and the crowd was sort of cheering on D the blaze, but you know we still have found out who exactly lidded some some students were wrongly accused of of starting the fire and so yeah. We still don't know, but we do know that many poke protesters actually cut fire whose is which actively prevented and firemen from from putting out the boys when they did arrive on the scene and sit at night. There were arrests made and more tear gas and just pandemonium for while the guards were able to disperse them when they arrive, but the place has already been said. The damage has already been done exactly so by Sunday May. Third, according to reports is a pretty nice day and can t hire the sun was out.
Spring time and even though the guardsman were there, you know they didn't really damp and spirits done much. Students were actually having conversations with them. They were too king they were conversing things were going. Ok until governor roads showed up in Kent and the things he said just added fuel to a fire that had been in a burning out. He essentially threatened to get a court order, putting the state in a state of emergency and no one actually said the words, but it was assumed that martial law had been declared and understanding, falsely that martial law was in fact all rallies were were banned, including the one that have been planned for noon. The next day when they may forth and tensions spiked again and one important thing also that roads did on Sunday, was Durio conference. He actually called these violent protesters. The worst type of people that we harbour in America which,
very uncharitable remark, and not very diplomatic for the time, I'm sure ages added fuel to the fire. Exactly so, you know The officials try to get the word out to all the candidates, students junk the rally, please don't meet on the comments. Let's just scrap this whole idea, they went so far as to print about a couple health and twelve thousand, they thousand so a lot. I urge the irish telling students don't hold this rally and this year felt on the hall that it was their their rights. You know traditionally do have this rally and to speak. What was on their minds until by eleven a M thousand had already started congregated and then, by noon their worth. Thousand and there's ever pay, was put together by on Cuba. Failure of Kent State University and that Jerry, Louis and Thomas are heavily and they attempted down the numbers to give us a better idea of how many people
The crowd were actually protesters, demonstrators, agitators and spectators, and they estimate that of the three thousand. Five hundred were active demonstrators about why thousand were on the sidelines, cheering them on and then around the periphery. You heard about fifteen hundred more who are speculating and irish prison. So that that number includes people who were passing by on their way. Different sides around camp ass idea, as will see one of the victims, the shootings wise. Just a passer by right, so you have the situation where you about a thousand guardsmen and three thousand students who were gathered around some actively protesting some just watching. So you have won the generals in the night, Cardinal Robert Canterbury and he tried to disperse the crowd, he tried with bull horns, Ainly go home,
rallies are banned and finally got around use driven around and achieve around the commons trying to get people to leave. Finally, he ordered his men to load their weapons and start dispersing tear gas, and we should mention that their weapons were and one rifles and pray intimidating. Just from all accounts. Imagine you're a bystander you're one of the crowd of three thousand civilian looking on. To see man holding these weapons You know that their loaded, even us, are locked, but a scary thought, but, conversely, from the guardsmen, view. They were outnumbered by that to one seems like I am, and so that's why there's so much controversy today, as will see later in the debate, who was more frightened, yeah? Well, I think it's interesting to know it is a good point, but on the other hand, you if I were a spectator or
Rochester. I really wouldn't expect the guard to even think about shooting into the crowd. You know, and I think that we gave them a lot of the the over. The word is, but courage or just sort of you know the gall to to challenge the inverted, the National Guard and by challenge. We should be explicit and say that they were hurling insults. They were throwing rocks grave. They were not being complacent people on it, and please not mistake what I'm saying: I'm not trying to defend eaters here in presenting the facts, but you should know the people weren't standing by. They were actively engaging with the guardian of the guards had their weapons letter. They were dispersing the tear gas in the crowd is fighting back right and so the tear gas was disperse did is pushed protesters. Past
commons area end up an over hill and on the other side you have this practice football field and in a parking lot, and so the crowd was pushed back to that in that area and win the guardsmen got there. They sort of realise that they were kind of trapped yank, as the field was through, was enclosed by a fence right and at that point The guard started, traipsing back up blanket hell and when they go, at the top of the hill they turned around and out of the seventy plus Gorge present twenty eight fire. And we should also note that not all of these twenty eight who fired fired into the crowd, some are most of them, I should say actually just shut up in the air or shut down. The ground seems like they were trying to not harm anyone, but just warn the protesters, but that wasn't the case for all of the guard now suffer about thirteen. Second, they were between sixty one and sixty seven shots fired and, as a result, there were
ass, we have Jeffrey Miller who was shot from two hundred seventy feet away and he was hidden. The mouth Alison crowds was three hundred thirty feet away and she was on the left side, William Schroeder, three hundred ninety feet away, wish on the back and sandy sure who was a student just passing by on her with a cloth was shot Three hundred ninety feet away as well and she was shot in the neck, That's what makes them more tragic. I mean it would have been tragic anyway, but the fact that some of the kids who were shot or wounded we're not even involved, they didn't even want to engage in the protests and they were. They became a victim of it and nine wounded, included Dean Keller, who is permanently paralyzed from the shots I donno Mackenzie was the furthest away of any of the victims of the shootings at seven hundred fifty feet and another one of the students Joseph Louis, whose head he was actually and while he was flipping off the guard with as little feller young John Reading, so pay
physically ensued. You know like I can't imagine how would feel in though them the seconds the moments after the shots were fired by people believe it like you mention Louis and hence Lee right about this, and they were a great source from for my research on this day. They believe that things would have gotten worse. Well is definitely well If you listen to eyewitness accounts from, can state that day they say everyone just hit the ground. No shots were fired, you hit the ground again and then people pies and stood back up and you don't realize at first who's been shot then they start seeing people who aren't getting out local who are covered in blood and especially in the parking lot. It became very obvious. Your blood pulling out of victims lying on the asphalt Jeffrey Miller, one in particular yeah and so these. After this there was thought about even broken regards further and if it were
four Glenn Frank who is a professor there and he happened to be acting as a family Marshall Dickie the peace during the protests. He started it pleading with the crown just to just you know, disperse end and let it go and dont provoke the bahraini anymore, and then you cannot be unhurt clips of what he sat or people recounting has words, and this is certainly paraphrasing, but he was very and passionately saying things like you ve never listened to any directions and your life at all. You know, for Heaven's sake, listen to this Yeah, but don't worry, I wrenching and thank goodness he was there to say that it does. People, credit him for savings and lives. That day, this news hit the national scene, and everyone was basically in shock A lot of people were disappointed with the response. From the Nixon administration. Nixon himself said that merely window
turns to violence. It invites tragedy. Struck la people is cold when he said that he later remarked that those few days after can't were among the darkest of my presidency. Can guess. So if you're sharing says a lukewarm sentiments as what you come and dna- yes interesting, actually member reading an account of how one of the most bizarre things of Nixon's presidencies in the days following can't. She actually left at the White House very early. In the We hours of the morning with no security or maybe just very little security, and he engaged in conversation with some protestors who are sitting on the steps of a monument or some such and told them like. I know you probably hate me, you think I'm a jerk creep. He used to Baltimore vulgar language, the night it by he tried to sort of engage within a generation. We can see the disconnect between the younger college generation at this time in an Nixon generation, the sort of eight they they didn't know how to connect with each other. Definitely nine and
I can imagine that that sort of generational gap would it made it incredibly to understand the sentiments of the crowd and Zile those with the duty of the nest. Guard, and that became a here to debate and trying to settle case in court was a nightmare and it wasn't saddled really until January. Nineteen, seventy nine and eventually the settled with six hundred seventy five thousand dollars to the wounded the families of the killed students the end. The National Guard never even issued an appalling They only made a statement of regrets yeah they wanted to clarify. I think that the that it was not an apology because they didn't do because that would make it look like they were to blame, which they didn't wanna make all day. They they testified in these trials that they shot because they that, their lives are in danger, and while people disagree with that, they think that they made up this excuse and You know there are some even conspiracy theories that the troops when they originally
came down past the hill into the football field. They than these. These troops who fired her. Conspired to plan two heads or of a premeditated murder situation where they, they said hey when we get back up to that hill, we're gonna turn round and fire which would in that they weren't they didn't. Their lives are in danger so much as they just wanted to say. You know they wanted to end this israeli right and other eyewitness accounts that they were very angry. I mean they were obvious, caught in the middle of a student protest that arguably they weren't prepared to hand on the National Guard is obviously prepared for certain types the duration, but a student protests may have been one that they weren't train to to handle, or at least efficiently are properly year in. What's what I find most interesting, a bell. The gorge themselves is that a lot of sources bring up the fact that the Gary's word
most of them not much older than the college is that they were. They were shooting into. You, know the, and that would explain that come Rotterdam on Sunday, that about the true and also the fact that many of these many, these kids in the guard they had entered the guard because they wanted to dodge the draft himself. So you can see them. Maybe they had similar sentiments as though protesters, as as draft dodgers After all, the eye. The shootings essentially I stopped on the university and closed like many universities around the country. I can say closed for six weeks, and I didn't reopen until the summer button to ensure normal c and their proper closure of the semester. Professors in students completed their course work through email and they would have meetings in town, and I believe in the eye Jerry Louisen, Thomas handling report? They describe ones,
who was in the science you hot make. Videos are different experiments in laboratories and mail them out to his his fellow students are. People were obviously trying to make this work here and and emphasis reclose around the country to a partly had to do with with students and strikes which more than the clothes and also just they had closer they felt it was. It was the right thing to do and I was talking to my dad about it and he was actually attending Georgetown at this time and he remembers win Georgetown Campus shut down for the rest of the year, but I mean there wasn't a whole lot left the semester, and I get you mention six weeks, or so I mean we're thinking. May he laid the semester, but it did disrupt the entire country in that way, a really dead, and It's interesting, I alluded earlier and the parties to the fact that there is evidence now that, threatens to shake up the verdict of the case as we know it and I'm not quite sure what became of thus buy back in May if two thousand seven eyes broke on
pr that the wounded victims. Alan can Fora had new evidence that he wanted to see investigated and The day of the rally there was, given who had a microphone perched on the window, sill of his dorm room, and he recorded everything that happened on a real type and not until recently, with em technology standards and audio anyone able to convert that ensure a better sounding club, that had been stored in the archives at Yale for many many years since then, and can for. I gave an eye witness account that he heard someone coming The can sort of in May this case very different right people say we dont know why the guard Szabo, someone told them to shoot. There's no yeah the evidence right there and, if you, then very carefully to the tape and you can, if you do a search for it online, you can hear it you can. A sort of make out the words right here, get sat point
fire, but its very faint, so quite sure. If this is maybe wanting to hear something: that's not really there. Maybe maybe you do do they know that it would have been an official who said that, maybe we just gotta use points. Yahoo Canterbury was officer of highest rank among the National Guard, but is their evidence to point to the fact that he would have said that he would have given the order- and I remember, reading that one of the officials after the shootings one of the affair came running across a stop firing stuff fiery, and it could be that maybe an order, God handed down incorrectly to a small portion of the number of guard, and that would have explain why only twenty something out of seventy something even shot. It's true. So it's something that I don't really know a lot about, except for the story and I'm not sure if the cases and reopen for investigation by only one thing that, like me, when I began doing research on Kent State was the fact that it sounded really similar to another historical situation that happen centuries beforehand. Have you do with the
and massacre, and it really struck a chord with me that there was this situation where you have armed troops and angry citizens. Hunting each other, and there is a sort of panic in confusion going on in in somehow fires shot was fired and edges escalated after that and I actually found a scholarly article about it that describes the similarities and the differences in literally fascinating, so interesting to think about these situations and how there is so much better ways to handle them and how we know we need to avoid the real such episode exactly, and it really is our right of citizens to speak out against things in a way we have that granted to us by the constitution. We have freedom of speech,
hand, protests through and obviously there are peaceful ways to do it more radical ways to do it. Anyone is complicated by the fact that it needs to be peaceful protests and were the boon on potentially being peaceful. Well, you know we could argue well with the burning of the authority, see building on clay, maybe night alone, the question that in the report from losing handling they raise, they these were to leave their summary of of the state shootings with a whole list of questions, and some of the ones that really stood out to me were how of This action was a sort of brought on by outside agitators. Non Kent state students, what are the townspeople doing together? Crowds were in the confusion of the martial law is well exactly. Was martial law declared? Wasn't nine, you actually banned the rally. Didn't anyone had a right to ban the rally and in research to the outside agitators coming in one of the most famous
images from candidate shootings, a photograph taken by if he student John File that day young Mary, Vecchio leaning. The body of Jeffrey MEL Irish. Her hands are you know at her side and her face it. Just contorted, an anguish, admin, Thank you. Wasn't a candidate student. She was a fourteen year old, runaway really. Who just happened to be there? images so iconic ended really, I think how many of us remember: Kent State yeah. I just had a moaning em in the very memorable schreider wrenching, exactly in. If you haven't seen it again, do a search for it, but Mary Vecchio later said the she'd suffered, because the photo and that's a direct course. She said that she had suffered because of it, and not quite sure what that means? Yeah, I don't know Maybe maybe would indicate that she got a lot attention because of it- and you know, is she was always attached with these with this tragedy, I guess that's a good point. The ideas, if you
it is an event like that, of course, is always going to be with. You is always going to be something you remember, but eventually you overcome tragedy by coping with certain ways- and if your face is so strongly attached to this moment, you can't really ever get over it. Can you the mighty hard? and that's why it so important to remember Kent State and remember it not from the perspective, As of now, actual events that occurred, but from the perspective of history, as you mentioned, Jane, bring into context with other events. Where were more behaviour tat in culminated in tragedy when you have someone Nothing against a about can say not improper bet that will be against what you deem injustices in the world. And, as you mentioned, you, no news is still sort of mulligan and coming out about this. This tragedy, with the with the release of the audio, so there's any anything. The news about can say you can bet that will be
he about it. On our blog stuff, you missing history class on the website, how else of works, that common standards and I write on spying every day and give you up to date on things that are happening things their interest. Us we can go interests to do and, as always is you have any comments are feedback for, as you can hear now, history high cast at how support start com and if you want to read more about Kent State, be sure to check out, as article announced upward for more on this and thousands of other topics that has suffered stock com. What is no, what you think send an email to pipe cast at how stuff works, dot com-
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Transcript generated on 2020-02-07.