Speaking up, on the streets, and over here: Americans in Britain against the war in Vietnam

This thesis explores the anti-Vietnam War activism of US citizens and serving members of the US military who lived in Britain from 1965 to 1975, and provides an analysis of the groups they formed during the period. It establishes the extent to which these British-based, US opponents of the war were connected to, and shaped by, Britain’s own protest culture, as well as exploring their links with activists in North America and Europe. In doing so, it reveals the rich transfer of protest traditions between the US and Britain, and the influence Britons had on the burgeoning feminist and union movements in the US. It also reveals and bonds of friendship and collaboration formed with official representatives from both the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam. The thesis further shows the concerns of the British and American authorities on the protest activities of their citizens, and the extensive use of surveillance deployed by the respective governments. Finally, it extends our understanding of the British anti-Vietnam War movement as a whole, revealing it to be longer lasting and more nuanced than current historiography allows.
While recent scholarship has begun to turn its attention to expatriate protest of Americans during the period, minimal attention has been given to Americans in Britain, and no study has analysed the important role serving members of the US military played.