Discomfort and Unpleasantness: The Vietnam Antiwar Movement at the Supreme Court

Abstract

This submission analyzes the use of the U.S. court system in the Vietnam antiwar movement. Specifically, this paper looks at how activists used the Supreme Court to protect their First Amendment rights to protest. In protecting their rights through the courts, these activists ensured the continued development and growth of the antiwar movement. Legal activism in this way was distinct because it allowed the movement to grow in ways that other forms of protest did not. It also impacted the lives of those not involved in the movement by enhancing their First Amendment rights in ways that protests outside the courtroom never would have been able to.