Education / Key events

The Kent State shootings

May 4, 1970

Background

At the end of April 1970, President Nixon announced the invasion of Cambodia. On Friday, May 1, students at Kent State held a rally to protest it, and unrest in the town followed. The governor of Ohio sent in the National Guard.

What happened

On Monday, May 4, a crowd of roughly two to three thousand students and spectators gathered at midday. The Guard ordered the crowd to disperse, used tear gas, and moved across the campus. A group of Guardsmen then fired toward students. In about 13 seconds, the Guard fired about 67 shots, killing four students and wounding nine.

Some Guardsmen later said they had been fired on by a sniper. An FBI investigation found that claim unsubstantiated, according to the National Park Service’s landmark documentation.

The students

The four students who were killed were Jeffrey Miller, Allison Krause, William Schroeder and Sandra Scheuer. Nine others were wounded. One of them, Dean Kahler, was left paralyzed from the waist down.

Aftermath

The shootings sparked protests across the country, and many colleges closed for part of that spring. A presidential commission on campus unrest studied the period. The legal aftermath was long and costly, and it included a U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that public officials acting in their official capacity can be brought to court.

The site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010 and named a National Historic Landmark in January 2017. Kent State University maintains a visitors center and an audio-guided walking tour.

Questions for discussion

1. How did the expansion of the war into Cambodia contribute to the protests at Kent State?
2. What responsibilities do government officials have when responding to protests?
3. Why do you think the events at Kent State are so widely remembered?

Sources

• National Park Service, Kent State Shooting Site National Historic Landmark documentation
• Kent State University, Historic landmark status helps May 4 site tell its story

Accounts of these events vary, and estimates are given as ranges where sources disagree. See something to correct? Email us.

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