Wars & Related Anti-War Movements Archives

Indians at Mankato; they were found guilty for their actions during the Dakota Conflict. Public execution of 38 Dakota Illustration by W. H. Childs, 12/26/1862. Courtesy to Pioneer Press: Minnesota Historical Society

Dec. 26, 1862: Mass Execution of Dakota Indians

The mass execution of 38 Dakota Indians was ordered by President Abraham Lincoln.

April 25, 1846: U.S. Mexico War Begins

Today’s border with Mexico is the product of invasion and war. Grasping some of the motives for that war and some of its immediate effects begins to provide students the kind of historical context that is crucial for thinking about the line that separates the United States and Mexico.

Glory

Film. Directed by Edward Zwick. 1989. 122 minutes.
The all-Black 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment is brought to the screen in this star-studded Civil War film.

Brown University students on strike in 1970, holding signs, protesting in a large crown on campus.

May 5, 1970: Brown University Student Strike

Students at Brown University went on strike to demand that the university take a stand against the escalation of the Vietnam War into neighboring Cambodia.

March 24, 1965: Anti-Vietnam War Teach-in at University of Michigan

The first anti-Vietnam War teach-in occurred at the University of Michigan, with more than 3,000 students, faculty and community members gathering on campus to educate each other about escalating U.S. aggression in Vietnam.

April 30, 1975: End of U.S. War Against Vietnam

April 30 marks the end of the U.S. war in Vietnam — the capture by Vietnamese forces of Saigon in 1975.

Oct. 25, 1977: Puerto Rican Nationalists Occupy Statue of Liberty

Puerto Rican nationalists and their supporters occupied the Statue of Liberty, hanging the Puerto Rican flag from Lady Liberty’s crown and demanding the release of five U.S.-held Puerto Rican political prisoners.

Image from an American Friends Service Committee traveling art exhibit called Windows and Mirrors: Reflections on the War in Afghanistan.

Oct. 7, 2001: United States and U.K. Began War in Afghanistan

The United States and United Kingdom began the war in Afghanistan.

A Revolution of Values

Teaching Activity. By Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 3 pages.
Text of speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Vietnam War, followed by three teaching ideas.

Fort Hood Three Press Conference | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

June 30, 1966: Fort Hood Three Release Public Statement on Vietnam Refusal

The Fort Hood Three issued a public statement about their refusal to be sent to Vietnam.

July 25, 1898: U.S. Invades Puerto Rico

U.S. troops invaded Puerto Rico at Guánica.

Bisbee Arizona 1919 (photo) | Zinn Education Project

July 3, 1919: The Battle of Brewery Gulch

A battle between Black soldiers and the local white law enforcement who targeted them in Bisbee, Arizona during Red Summer.

Company E 4th U.S. Colored Infantry at Fort Lincoln Photo

April 9, 1865: Civil War Officially Ends

The U.S. Civil War ended when the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia surrendered to U.S. General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in south-central Virginia.

Newspaper clipping of the Wayland Town Crier for June 1954. Headline reads: “Public Hearing on Hale is Scheduled for June 8; School Committee Makes Charges.”

June 25, 1954: Elementary School Teacher Fired in Red Scare

At the height of the anti-Communist Red Scare, Massachusetts second-grade teacher Anne P. Hale Jr. was removed from her position because of her prior membership in the Communist Party.

Revolutionary Founders: Rebels, Radicals, and Reformers in the Making of the Nation

Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Alfred F. Young, Gary Nash, and Ray Raphael. 2012. 464 pages.
In twenty-two original essays, leading historians reveal the radical impulses at the founding of the American Republic.

Guantánamo Voices: True Accounts from the World’s Most Infamous Prison

Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Sarah Mirk. 2020. 208 pages.
A graphic novel anthology of illustrated narratives about the prison and the lives it changed forever.

July 13, 1863: New York City Draft Riots and Massacre

The New York City Draft Massacre (“Riots”) were the largest civil insurrection in U.S. history besides the Civil War itself. White mobs attacked the African American community — committing murder and burning homes and institutions (including an orphanage.)

July 17, 1944: Port Chicago Disaster and Mutiny

A deadly munitions explosion occurred at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago, California. When the surviving African Americans sailors demanded safer conditions before returning to work, they faced court martial and jail.

July 26, 1950: No Gun Ri Massacre

During the No Gun Ri Massacre, the U.S. Army ordered that all Korean civilians traveling and moving around the country must be stopped.

July 28, 1932: Bonus Army Attacked

The U.S. government attacked an encampment of Black and white WWI veterans with tanks, bayonets, and tear gas.

Odawa Chief Pontiac Meets with Gladwin | Zinn Education Project

July 31, 1763: Chief Pontiac Wins Battle of Bloody Run at Fort Detroit

Fighting alongside Odawa Chief Pontiac, the unified Native warriors defeated 250 British soldiers during their siege at Fort Detroit during Pontiac’s War.

Grenada education poster| Zinn Education Project

Grenada: ‘A Lovely Little War’

By Bill Bigelow

Anti-bullying curricula are the rage these days. But the official history curriculum teachers are provided often celebrates, or at least excuses, bullying among nations. Well, at least when the United States is the bully.

A good example is the U.S. invasion of Grenada — Operation Urgent Fury, as it was called by the Reagan administration — launched on Oct. 25, 1983. Grenada made an unlikely target of U.S. military might. Its main product was not oil but nutmeg. Its naval fleet consisted of about 10 fishing trawlers. Grenada’s population of 110,000 was smaller than Peoria, Illinois. At the time of the invasion, there was not a single stoplight in the entire country. So what put Grenada in the crosshairs of the Reagan administration?

Time Period

Theme

Resource Type

Grade

Keywords