Douglas Olsen
On May 4, 1970, four students were killed and nine wounded by the Ohio National Guard during an anti-Vietnam War protest at Kent State University. The Kent State shootings, also known as the Kent State massacre, occurred when National Guardsmen fired 67 rounds into a crowd of unarmed demonstrators and bystanders. The four students killed were Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer, and William Knox Schroeder. The shootings triggered the first nationwide student strike in U.S. history, with over 4 million students protesting the invasion of Cambodia, the Kent State killings, and the continuation of the Vietnam War.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of Kent State shootings | May 4, 1970 |
| Number of students killed | 4 |
| Names of students killed | Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Lee Scheuer, William Knox Schroeder |
| Ages of students killed | 19, 20, 20, 19 |
| Number of students wounded | 9 |
| Number of rounds fired by the National Guard | 67 |
| Duration of the shooting | 13 seconds |
| Number of National Guard soldiers who fired | 28 |
| Number of students who took part in the protest | 300+ |
| Number of students who took part in the nationwide student strike | 4 million+ |
| Number of campuses that closed during the strike | 450+ |
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What You'll Learn
Four students were killed
On May 4, 1970, four students were killed at Kent State University during a rally opposing the expanding involvement of the Vietnam War into Cambodia by US military forces. The Ohio National Guard fired 67 rounds over 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom was left permanently paralysed.
The four students who were killed were Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Lee Scheuer, and William Knox Schroeder, aged 19, 20, 20, and 19, respectively. Krause and Miller were among the more than 300 students who gathered to protest the expansion of the Cambodian campaign, which President Richard Nixon had announced. The other two victims, Scheuer and Schroeder, were not part of the protest and were simply passing by.
The Kent State shootings, also known as the Kent State massacre or the May 4 massacre, marked a seminal moment in modern US history. The event triggered the first nationwide student strike in US history, with over 4 million students protesting and hundreds of colleges and universities closing during the demonstrations. The shootings also symbolised the deep political and social divisions across the US during the Vietnam War era.
The impact of the shootings was far-reaching and long-lasting. The iconic photograph of a young woman screaming over the body of Jeffrey Miller, taken by Kent State photojournalism student John Filo, won the Pulitzer Prize and became one of the enduring images of the anti-Vietnam War movement. The shootings also prompted debates about the constitutionality of the protests and the decisions to ban them. In the years following the tragedy, Kent State University faculty conducted research and engaged in teaching and writing about the event, contributing to a better understanding of what happened and its broader implications.
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Nine students were wounded
On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine. Twenty-eight National Guard soldiers fired around 67 rounds in just 13 seconds. The incident triggered a nationwide student strike, forcing hundreds of colleges and universities to close.
The four students who were killed were Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer, and William Knox Schroeder. Krause and Miller were among the more than 300 students who had gathered to protest the expansion of the Cambodian campaign, which President Richard Nixon had recently announced. Krause, Miller, and Scheuer died on the scene, while Schroeder was pronounced dead at Robinson Memorial Hospital in nearby Ravenna shortly afterward. One of the nine wounded students suffered permanent paralysis.
The Kent State shootings, also known as the Kent State massacre or May 4 massacre, highlighted the deep political and social divisions in the United States during the Vietnam War era. The event symbolised the first time in US history that students had united to strike, with over 4 million students protesting the killings of unarmed student protesters. The shootings also prompted discussions about the constitutionality of the protests and the decisions to ban them.
The impact of the Kent State shootings extended beyond the immediate aftermath. In the years following the incident, the university faculty was called upon to conduct research and share their findings through teaching and traditional writing about the tragedy. Additionally, they were challenged to develop alternative forms of protest and conflict resolution to prevent similar tragedies in the future. The shootings also had a lasting impact on popular culture, with the song "Ohio" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young being released a few weeks later to commemorate the event.
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Victims' names: Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer, William Schroeder
On May 4, 1970, four Kent State University students were shot and killed by soldiers of the Ohio Army National Guard. The four students were Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer, and William Schroeder.
Allison Krause
Allison Beth Krause (April 23, 1951 – May 4, 1970) was an ardent anti-war activist and a student at Kent State University. Krause was shot in the left side of her chest from a distance of approximately 330 feet (101 m). An autopsy found that a single bullet entered and exited her upper left arm before entering her left lateral chest, fragmenting on impact and causing extensive internal injuries to her chest and stomach. She died from her wounds before reaching the hospital. Krause's younger sister, Laurel, co-founded the Kent State Truth Tribunal (KSTT) in 2010 to uncover, record, and preserve the testimonies of witnesses, participants, and individuals involved in the Kent State shootings.
Jeffrey Miller
Jeffrey Glenn Miller (March 28, 1950 – May 4, 1970) was an American student at Kent State University. He was born in New York and was Jewish. Miller had transferred to Kent State from Michigan State University four months before his death. He was among the more than 300 students who gathered to protest the expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia and the presence of the Ohio National Guard on the Kent State campus. Miller was shot in the mouth, and his death was captured in a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph by Kent State photojournalism student John Filo. Miller was cremated, and his ashes were placed in a niche in the community mausoleum at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.
Sandra Scheuer
Sandra Lee Scheuer was a member of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority at Kent State University. Scheuer was not part of the assembly of students protesting on campus. She was caught in the gunfire and killed. Current members of her sorority speak in her memory each year on the Kent State University campus at the May 4 Task Force's commemoration of the 1970 tragedy. In 2018, an exhibit in memory of Scheuer called "Sandy's Scrapbook," based on an actual scrapbook she kept while attending Kent State, opened at the University's May 4 Visitor Center.
William Schroeder
William Knox Schroeder was a student at Kent State University. He died at Robinson Memorial Hospital in Ravenna shortly after being shot. Schroeder's personal writings and effects, as well as supporting material about his life, are on display in a special section at the May 4 Visitor Center at Kent State University.
The Kent State shootings led to widespread protests and a significant increase in participants of the 1970 student strike, with an estimated four million nationwide student participants. The Kent State campus remained closed for six weeks following the shootings.
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The Kent State shootings triggered the first nationwide student strike in U.S. history
On May 4, 1970, four Kent State University students were shot and killed by the Ohio National Guard during a rally protesting the expanding involvement of U.S. military forces in Cambodia and the National Guard presence on campus. The shootings triggered immediate outrage across college campuses in the U.S., leading to the first nationwide student strike in the country's history. More than 4 million students participated in organized walkouts at hundreds of universities, colleges, and high schools, causing many campuses to close.
The Kent State shootings, also known as the Kent State massacre or the May 4 massacre, left an indelible mark on the nation. Twenty-eight National Guard soldiers fired approximately 67 rounds in 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others. The students killed were Allison Krause (19), Jeffrey Miller (20), Sandra Lee Scheuer (20), and William Schroeder (19). Krause and Miller were among over 300 students who had gathered to protest the expansion of the Cambodian campaign, which President Richard Nixon had recently announced.
The impact of the shootings was profound and far-reaching. They brought to light the deep political and social divisions that sharply polarised the country during the Vietnam War era. The event also sparked intense debates around the legal justification of the shootings and the constitutionality of both the protests and the decisions to ban them. The term "massacre" was used to describe the incident, reflecting the magnitude of the tragedy.
The shootings had a significant influence on national politics. H. R. Haldeman, a top aide to President Nixon, suggested that the Kent State shootings marked the beginning of the Watergate scandal, which ultimately led to the downfall of the Nixon administration. In the aftermath of the shootings, President Nixon established the President's Commission on Campus Unrest, known as the Scranton Commission, to address the growing dissent, disorder, and violence on college and university campuses.
The Kent State shootings were immortalised in the song "Ohio" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and through the iconic photograph of a young woman screaming as she knelt over the body of Jeffrey Miller, which was published across the national press. The events of May 4, 1970, continue to be analysed and remembered, with literature, scholarship, and efforts to ensure historical accuracy surrounding the tragic incident.
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The event symbolised the deep political and social divisions in the country
On May 4, 1970, four Kent State University students were killed, and nine others were wounded by the Ohio National Guard. The students were part of a rally opposing the expanding involvement of the Vietnam War into Cambodia. The event triggered a nationwide student strike, forcing hundreds of colleges and universities to close.
The Kent State shootings, also known as the Kent State massacre or May 4 massacre, symbolised the deep political and social divisions in the country. The killings put a regional institution into the national spotlight, with observers characterising Kent State as an unlikely site for student radicalism. However, this interpretation overlooked the school's well-established activist presence. From 1965 to 1970, more than ten organisations at Kent State were involved in anti-war and civil rights activism. The shootings led to protests on college campuses throughout the United States, with a common sentiment expressed by students at New York University: "They Can't Kill Us All."
The impact of the Kent State shootings was dramatic and far-reaching. H. R. Haldeman, a top aide to President Richard Nixon, suggested that the shootings directly impacted national politics. In his book, "The Ends of Power," Haldeman states that the Kent State incident began the slide into Watergate, ultimately destroying the Nixon administration. The shootings also prompted the first nationwide student strike in US history, with over four million students protesting and hundreds of colleges and universities closing during the strikes.
The event further highlighted the political and cultural divides across the US. A BBC team spoke to student activists at Kent State, who commented on the profound political and generational divides in the country at the time. The student activists recognised the basic cynicism that led to violent political protests: "Violence only arises from frustration, violence is the last resort...It's obvious that's what's going on all over the country." The iconic photograph of a young woman screaming as she knelt over the body of a student, later identified as Mary Ann Vecchio over Jeffrey Miller, was published across the national press and came to symbolise the political and cultural divide.
The Kent State shootings continue to be a powerful symbol of a great American tragedy, occurring at the height of the Vietnam War era, a period of deep political and cultural division in the nation. The need for healing remains, and this can only be achieved through a continued search for the truth behind the events of May 4, 1970.
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Frequently asked questions
Four students were killed at Kent State University.
The four students who were killed were Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer, and William Knox Schroeder.
Nine students were wounded in the incident.
