50 years ago, the Kent State shootings sparked student unrest across America

The killing of four students by armed guardsmen in 1970 is one of the most divisive moments in U.S. history since the Civil War.

Ohio National Guard soldiers moved in on war protestors at Kent State University on May 4, 1970. Four students were killed and nine were wounded when the guardsmen opened fire. The university, located in Kent, Ohio, had planned an elaborate multi-day commemoration for the 50th anniversary. Events were canceled or modified because of social distancing restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Photograph by AP

Fifty years ago today, Monday, May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard opened fire on students protesting the Vietnam War on the campus of Kent State University. In just 13 seconds, four students were killed and nine were injured. The Kent State shooting was a watershed moment in American history, viewed as the day the United States turned its back on the young people who were supposed to be its future.

Five days earlier, on Thursday April 30, 1970, President Richard Nixon, who won the 1968 election in part due to his promise to end the Vietnam War, announced that the United States would invade Cambodia in an attempt to target the headquarters of the Viet Cong. The announcement sparked

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