The Vietnam War and Youthful Protest during the 1960's - Challenging the Myth

In the years since the ending of the Vietnam War, the public has generally accepted the view that during the 1960s, the protest movement was a source of generational conflict, with older Australians supporting engagement, in disagreement with their teenage and young-adult children. However, evidence to the contrary abounds. When President Johnson visited Australia in October 1966, massive crowds of young and old welcomed him, while in a Federal election soon afterwards, the pro-war Liberal-Country Party Coalition achieved a massive victory, with Prime Minister Holt attributing his success to his Party’s attraction for younger voters. Furthermore, a poll taken at the University of New South Wales in March 1969, at the height of the anti-war protests, revealed that 50% of students favoured the Liberal Party. The findings of a survey in a Walkabout issue devoted to Young Australians, also in 1969, similarly challenged the myth of youthful radicalism in Australia in the 1960s. With involvement in the War now thoroughly discredited and the baby boomer generation receiving accolades for their steadfast opposition, E.H. Carr’s belief that history is a story usually told by or about winners for their own benefit gives cause for reflection when evaluating young Australians’ opposition to the Vietnam War during the 1960s