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Opposition to the war in the USA brought about increased political pressure at key moments, which limited or delayed the President Nixon’s actions. For example, after the invasion of Cambodia in 1970, large-scale protests contributed to Nixon’s decision to bring troops home sooner.

The opposition also embarrassed the government, showing that the president was not acting in a democratic way. In 1971, a government employee leaked the Pentagon Papers. These showed that former President Johnson had lied to the public and Congress.

Results of opposition

Opposition to the Vietnam War affected government policy. For example, many opponents complained about the draft selection process, as it excluded college students. Eventually, Nixon replaced it with a lottery, where dates of the year were randomly drawn. Any man aged over 18 and born on that day was called up first. This subsequently happened to every man, up to the age of 26. This made the system fairer to minorities and poorer people.

Finally, opposition to the war placed personal pressure on Nixon. A presidential election was due in 1972 and Nixon was worried that he would not be re-elected because of the slow progress of the peace negotiations. He authorised the bugging of his opponents, the Democratic party's, headquarters - an event which ultimately led to his resignation when this illegal activity was revealed.

These factors all contributed to the signing of a peace settlement in January 1973.

• The USA withdrew its soldiers and North Vietnam agreed to a temporary shared government in South Vietnam.
• However, the peace terms were not honoured. Forces from the North later invaded South Vietnam.
• By the end of 1975, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos were all in communist hands.