Draft Resistance and the Vietnam Era Antiwar Movement

The draft served as the primary vehicle for inducting young men into the military during the Vietnam War Era. It is estimated that of the nearly 500,000 who evaded the draft in the late 1960s and early 1970s, 10,000 were indicted for draft resistance. I was among those 10,000. Although there are numerous scholarly studies and personal memoirs of the draft resistance movement, most of these focus on east and west coast experiences. This chapter will concentrate on the development of draft resistance in the Midwest, specifically in Minnesota, where I was a draft resister and antiwar organizer during my time in grad school at the University of Minnesota. Combining personal reflections with socio-historical analysis, this chapter will explore the ways in which draft resisters and their movement articulated peace advocacy during the Vietnam War.