Confronting the War Machine: Draft Resistance during the Vietnam War

by Michael S. Foley

Shedding light on a misunderstood form of opposition to the Vietnam War, Michael Foley tells the story of draft resistance, the cutting edge of the antiwar movement at the height of the war's escalation. Unlike so-called draft dodgers, who left the country or manipulated deferments, draft resisters openly defied draft laws by burning or turning in their draft cards. Like civil rights activists before them, draft resisters invited prosecution and imprisonment.

Focusing on Boston, one of the movement's most prominent centers, Foley reveals the crucial role of draft resisters in shifting antiwar sentiment from the margins of society to the center of American politics. Their actions inspired other draft-age men opposed to the war--especially college students--to reconsider their place of privilege in a draft system that offered them protections and sent disproportionate numbers of working-class and minority men to Vietnam. This recognition sparked the change of tactics from legal protest to mass civil disobedience, drawing the Johnson administration into a confrontation with activists who were largely suburban, liberal, young, and middle class--the core of Johnson's Democratic constituency.

Examining the day-to-day struggle of antiwar organizing carried out by ordinary Americans at the local level, Foley argues for a more complex view of citizenship and patriotism during a time of war.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, Politics

456 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 2003

Reviews

[Tim Null · Rating 5 out of 5]

On my mother's side of my family, l have numerous kinfolk who fought in the Revolutionary War and were at Valley Forge. On my father's side, there's David Low Dodge, a respected theologian who was a pacifist and antiwar activist. Born in 1774 in Connecticut, he was part of the generation that grew up during America's War for Independence.

I'm grateful that my ancestors didn't personally kill native Americans, but although they were never part of the first wave of settlers into a new territory, they were always part of the second and third wave. I sadly acknowledge that my ancestors took advantage of the opportunities that arose after native Americans were driven out of a territory, and they eagerly took advantage of the genocide of native Americans.

Personally, I was part of the generation that was expected to fight in America's ill-advised war in Vietnam.

My father and I had very little in common, but we both managed to dodge the draft. Fortunately for me, draft dodging didn't have the stigma in my time that it did during my dad's time. I have great respect for people who serve in the United States military. I also have great respect for people who refuse to serve. That's a family tradition.

Michael S. Foley's Confronting the War Machine book is a well written and readable book about Draft Resistance During the Vietnam War. It's the quality of a book one might read in a college level history or sociology class. The book is mainly historical, but it also covers the major sociological implications of the draft resistant movement.

The book is focused on the resistance to the draft and not the antiwar movement that was inspired by the Vietnam War. The Draft Lottery of 1969 was intended to undercut the resistance to the draft and protests against the war. In that regard, it was largely successful.

USA military involvement in Vietnam began at the end of WWII and gradually increased (see Wikipedia).

Playlist honoring Vietnam War Vets, draft dodgers, and evaders:
Where Have All The Flowers Gone, written by Pete Seeger in 1955 and released as a single in 1964
Masters of War by Bob Dylan 1963
Lyndon Johnson Told The Nation by Tom Paxton 1965
Draft Dodger Rag by Phil Ochs 1965
I Ain't Marching Any More by Phil Ochs 1965
The Unknown Soldier by The Doors 1965
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and sung by The Animals 1965
Eve of Destruction by Barry McGuire 1965
Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys 1966
I Feel Like I'm Fixing to Die by Country Joe and The Fish 1967
(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding 1968
Peace Brother Peace by Bill Medley 1969
Give Peace a Chance by John Lennon 1969
For What It's Worth written by Stephen Stills and sung by Buffalo Springfield 1969
Fortunate Son written by John Fogarty and sung by Creedence Clearwater Revival 1969
War by Edwin Starr 1970
War Pigs Black Sabbath 1970
Imagine by John Lennon 1971
Wintry Feeling by Jesse Winchester 1978
I Saw It On T.V. John Fogarty 1985

Nixon ended the USA draft on September 28, 1971, but it didn't totally end until January 27, 1973. The Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975
"The conflict resulted in 58,279 U.S. military personnel deaths before the official end of the U.S. combat operations in 1973" (see Wikipedia).

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A readable yet data-driven history of a truly inspiring civil resistance movement.

[Craig Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful monograph that makes an important distinction between Draft Resistance and various forms of Draft Evasion (or "dodging"). Foley focuses fairly tightly on Boston and New England, which was a very important, if not entirely typical, center. The atypicality results from the deep historical links between religion and social resistance (abolition, etc.) in the area. At times I wanted a bit more sense of the national Resistance, but that wasn't what he set out to do. Useful sociological data that contributes to undercutting the image of protestors as hippies, kooks, etc. (thoroughly established in the serious historical literature, still fairly common if not dominant in public memory) .

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely fascinating on how our nation told young men at the age of 18 that they would be drafted to the Vietnam War if they were not in college on a deferment and wealthy elite young men to dodge the draft. This left many uneducated and poor young men to be sent off to a very unpopular war. As the war escalated and the draft to fight was increased the country's young men fought back and burned their draft cards in protest.

If you really want to know how scared and unfair the draft was I recommend you reading this book yourself. It was definitely an eye opener for me.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at specifically the Boston area draft resistance movement, but the writing was a bit uneven (repetitive at times, skipping over other things), and it could have used a little more editing to transition from dissertation to book.