"Ohio" and the Kent State Shooting

Famous picture from Kent State shooting, inspired a few lines of "Ohio".

     "Ohio", a song by Neil Young, is a song I am pretty familiar with, I have heard it a number of times in the past. But music is an interesting thing because most say that to appreciate music, you have to be able to relate to the lyrics and understand the meaning behind the piece. I happen to completely disagree with that. Take twenty-first century rap for example, one of the most popular genres among teens in America. Most rap songs talk about being in gangs, getting shot at, and dealing drugs. Well at my private college-prep high school, I think it is safe to say that none of that (or at least that I know of) is going on, but rap still happens to be the most popular genre that the majority of kids at my school listen to. Well, the same goes for the song "Ohio", a song I definitely enjoy but have no understanding or appreciation for the meaning of the lyrics. So I decided to dive deeper into this song and its background. Such a simple song with so much meaning. A song that tells the story of an extremely tragic and significant event in history: The Kent State Shooting (1970).

The guardsmen at the university walking towards the main building on the day of the shooting.

     As I begin my research on this song and its meaning, I learn that I have no previous knowledge of the shooting, so little knowledge that I did not even know it happened until I began the project. To get a quick overview of the shooting, I visited Wikipedia to learn a little about broad perspectives of the who, what, when, where, and why of the event that inspired Neil Young's song. I learned that basically four students were killed and nine were injured in a shooting at Kent State in 1970. That would explain why "Ohio" talks about death. That instantly grabbed my attention, the death of four kids just like me. So now I know the when and where, but the important questions are who and why.

Map of Cambodia where North Vietnamese were launching attacks so US bombed there. 

   So my research about this simple song has led me all the way back to a civil war in Vietnam in the 1970's. Who would have thought? I used this source about the war just to get a background on what all was happening over there. The source seems credible enough because it is a company that sells information to major news sources about global security and war information. I researched and found out how other sources are siting this company. The Times and other major news sources use the information given on this website so I figured I could too. I started reading and quickly got overwhelmed with all the weird names and big words so I asked my teacher to help me clear things up. She sent me to my class textbook (which I naturally trust because my teacher uses it to teach an entire year course about American history) to read about the war and President Nixon's reaction to what was happening. I read that the Russians (big time enemies of the US) were working along side the North Vietnamese troops. Nixon believed that they were launching many of their attacks from Cambodia so naturally he decided to send US troops in to bomb and destroy any bases that may be there. Despite it's success, the US involvement in the Cambodian invasion brought fourth a lot of strong anti-war attitudes in America. Nixon went on television on April 30, 1970 to announce that he was sending US troops to Cambodia, he said "We take these actions, not for the purpose of expanding war into Cambodia, but for the purpose of ending the war in Vietnam, and winning the just peace we all desire."  Nixon's lies and secrecy about the efforts and his unnecessary forces that escalated the problem caused a lot of controversy, including an anti-war protest at Kent State University.

College students holding anti-war protests at Kent State in 1970. 

     In May of 1970, many college students attending Kent State University in Kent, Ohio began protesting US war efforts after Nixon announced the US bombings in Cambodia on television. I used an online encyclopedia of Ohio history to learn more about what happened at the shooting and the effect it had on American society. I figure that an encyclopedia better be pretty darn accurate otherwise it shouldn't be allowed to be an encyclopedia, so I'm trusting that the information from this website is all truth. This site says that the anti-war protests at Kent State began on May 1st and started getting violent pretty quickly. Students and other protesters began throwing bottles and rocks at police officers to show their anger. These minor acts of violence only got worse with time, protesters started breaking windows and stealing from stores in a fit of rage.

     I thought that this whole protest shooting thing only lasted one day but in reality it was four long days of violence and tension.On May 2nd the mayor decided that things were getting slightly out of hand and declared a state of emergency. He sent national guards onto the campus to control the situation, and when they got there buildings were being burned the university was in a state of total chaos. By May 3rd, about a thousand guards had been sent to the college only creating more tension and anger. The governor called the demonstrators "un-American" and said that "They're the worst type of people that we harbor in America." This caused the protesters to get even more heated about the whole situation, they began shouting at the guards calling them "pigs" and began throwing rocks and other objects as them as well. It sounds a little bit like most of this was unnecessary and could have probably been dealt with in a more civilized manor. It seems that people tend to get a little crazy when emotions get involved. On may 4th the guards got scared and started threatening the crowd with their bayonets and fired tear gas into the crowd. When that didn't really do much of anything, twenty-nine of the guards, in fear for their life, opened fire into the crowd killing two protesters and two innocent by standers. The shooting lasted only thirteen seconds firing a total of sixty-seven shots.THIRTEEN SECONDS! Four children, just like me, killed by gunfire in thirteen seconds. It is ridiculous how fast things can get out of hand and how quickly life can be taken.

     These thirteen seconds and four deaths had a major impact on American life. It angered the majority of American people and put the protesters on the same human level as everyone else causing even more protests. Universities all over the country shut down for the rest of that school year because they didn't want any more problems like the one at Kent State, mostly in attempt to keep anyone else from being hurt or killed. Things didn't finally begin to settle down until Nixon started taking American troops out of Vietnam. The shooting was such a short lasting event that made such huge impact in the US, even on young college students. The shooting is the sole inspiration of the song "Ohio" which conveys the seriousness of the tragedy that happened at Kent State on May 4, 1970.

Neil Young: Canadian Rock Guitarist

     So I wanted to know why this Neil Young guy would write about a shooting in the middle of nowhere Ohio. So i went to Alabama Virtual Library (the most difficult source to navigate) and found this bio about Mr. Young, which surprised me a little. AVL is an academic website put together by research librarians for educational purposes so i'm pretty sure this bio isn't some made up thing from some crazy weirdo. I found out that Neil Young is from Canada! I was not expecting that at all and I'm a little confused about why the heck a Canadian rock artist would write a song about a shooting at a college in Ohio. After all I've read about the Kent State Shooting, it sounds like it was a pretty huge deal all over the country, starting a period of anti-war protests and was a contributor to a new type of protest music that started in this time period. Neil Young was just pleasing the people and writing a style of music he knew would sell.

     I don't think that people want to hear music that they can always relate to. Americans want to listen to music that is exciting or emotional. Not many people listening to "Ohio" were at the actual shooting or had any connection to it at all, but it is a song that brings forth a strong emotion about death. At this Neil Young archive website, the death of four children: Allison Krause (19), William Schroeder (19), Jeffery Miller (20), and Sandra Scheuer (20) puts the shooting on a personal level no matter who is listening to the song. The song brings the American opinion of war and the shooting itself together with the raw emotion brought about by any death and puts them all in a song that draws in an audience to have sympathy for the families of the dead children and anger towards the American government for being so irrational and cruel. "Ohio" was successful in that it took an event that didn't directly involve the entire American people and put it to music in a way that could entertain everyone and draw out some kind of strong emotion.
   

     

Research Topic

I'm going to study and analyze the song "Ohio" by Neil Young to learn about the Kent State massacre and music of that time.

Children Playing in the Street

Children Playing in the Street

Walker Evans

I think Evans took this picture to capture the true emotions that were omnipresent during the Great Depression. Emotions that were clear even on the faces of young children. Their faces show sadness and despair as each of them are wearing ragged clothes. They seem to have nothing to do, as if they have no purpose. The depression has not only clearly effected their outward appearance, but it is clear from this photo that their inner beings have suffered as well. Their parents are probably out looking for work just to put a meal on the table for super. The younger boy sitting on the stairs looks skinny and hungry. They seem alone and desperate. This picture does a really good job of capturing how the depression effected everyone during that time period and caused a lot of hardship and despair. 

American Conscientious Objectors WWI

Conscientious objectors took freedom of speech to a new level and caused much controversy.

     My Ohhhh so very exciting topic to research is the AMERICAN CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS in WWI. WOOHOO! A conscientious objector is a "person who, on the grounds of conscience, resists the authority of state to compel military service." In other words, someone who does not feel it necessary to fulfill the obligation of an American citizen by serving in the military for his/her country in times of need. Religious beliefs are the main reason behind most peoples defiance and refusal. This was happening all throughout both world wars, not just in America, but in many countries around the world. 

     While reading "A Defense of Draft Law Defiance" by Roger Baldwin in a book World War I , I learned that during WWI, many Americans strongly objected the idea of fighting and violence and refused to be drafted into war because of this. These people became to be known as Conscientious Objectors. I was not surprised when I read that religious beliefs and political ideals were among the reasons behind why people were so against war. Men all over the country were making it very clear that they did not believe in all that war entailed and had no intentions of fighting for their country. But some men, had no reason at all besides not wanting to be pushed around by the government. 

     

     I found a really interesting primary source in the same book that was written by a man who refused to take a physical examination for the draft. Roger N. Baldwin wrote that he knew what the consequences would be and after refusing to take the examination he walked himself straight to the United States Attorney who would surely throw Baldwin in jail. Apparently he was just angry and was not going to be told what to by the government. He said "I regard the principle of conscription of life as a flat contradiction of all our cherished ideals of individual freedom, democratic liberty, and Christian teaching." He basically said that the war was immoral, stupid, and against all Christian beliefs. He knew he was stubborn in believing this said that he was probably a bit extreme in his thinking. But I think it is cool that he stood his ground despite the possibility of imprisonment. 


   I'm having trouble finding sources about Conscientious Objectors in the United States during World War I. I have been finding a lot about limits put on CO's during and after World War II and some about British objectors in the first World War. What I have found out, is that during World War I, Conscientious Objectors had to have a religious or political reason for not joining the draft. Those without reasons involving one of the two were normally tossed in jail. The largest group of radical objectors seem to be people claiming to be devout "Christians". Among those are a large number of Mennonites and Amish people. This database talks about most lists of objectors had the names and religious views of the men refusing to be drafted. The person who wrote this database got all of his information from Mennonite historians and universities which tells me that those were the people keeping track of the names CO's.

Many Christian groups were very much against non-violence and used their religion as a way to avoid the draft.

   So I was reading about how Mennonites and Amish people were among the largest groups to refuse to serve and I was curious as to why that is. I am interested in the differences and similarities between Mennonites and Amish and what beliefs would have prevented them from being able to serve. I found a source that compares and contrasts the Mennonite and Amish beliefs and culture. According to this article, the religious views of the two groups are very similar, coming from the early Anabaptist group that started in the 1500's. They differ in the strictness of their attire and technology and sometimes in language. Although they believe in the same basic teachings of the bible, some interpretations vary between the two groups. There strict believe of non-violence and their refusal to use new technology were the main reasons they would not join the draft. They truly believed their service would be going against God's will and the bible teachings. 


   I really am not finding any new information about these Conscientious Objectors, everything is just talking about why they were against fighting and what happened to them if they refused to do so. I find it interesting that the government was so lenient with these people for so long. To some extent I feel like the government was being taken advantage of by some people who just did not want to comply with the rules. Although I do not agree with all the non-violence beliefs, I completely understand the governments willingness to not encroach on religious beliefs since that is a freedom we are given as Americans. I do feel like as an American citizen it is our duty to serve our country in times of need. But for those who truly believe that is against God's laws, I also believe that a person's religious views are not something to toy with. Either way, the draft was effective and the CO's really did not make up such a percentage of people that the American military power suffered too greatly. 

Wilfred Owen (poet)

I read an article about Wilfred Owen who was an English soldier in the first World War. He knew the severity of the war and returned to England after school to train to fight for his country. He was sent to France where he was wounded and sent to the hospital. In the hospital he met and became friends with a man named Seigfried Sassoon who was a poet. Sassoon and Owen became friends and that is where Owen squired his writing style and his love for poety. Two of Owens most well known pieces of writing are "Dulce de Decorum Est" and "Anthem for Doomed Youth". I looked at his actual manuscript of "Dulce de Decorum Est" his handsriting is messy like he was writing ideas quickky as they came to his mind. He scratched through a lot of what he wrote and edited a lot. The poem is actually about the war itself and is very visual and I vivid. His poetry became a good therapy for his mind and he used it to write down his experiences. After he recovered, Owen was sent back out to fight where he became a war hero for his courage and leadership abilities. Owens died in battle but became a war hero and a well known poet.

Great White Fleet Research

So far for my research I have found a crazy good source through the Alabama Virtual Library under student resources about the Great White Fleet. The artical I found has good information reguarding the fleet along with a bunch of great pictures. It even has a list of all the stops that the Great White Fleet made on its journey. I still need a primary source and a few other things but this one source has a lot of the information I need. It is the link I uploaded on the previous post. Id like to find a few more things about life on the journey or more personal details about the Fleet but this is a good start.

Post Card Research Links

• http://web.ebscohost.com/src/detail?vid=3&hid=110&sid=73e81bda-1568-44f9-988d-a5b4137a2cd5%40sessionmgr114&bdata=JnNpdGU9c3JjLWxpdmU%3d#db=khh&AN=27523189
• http://www.thepeacefulsea.com/great-white-fleet.html
• http://www.greatwhitefleet.info/Great_White_Fleet_Cruise.html