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     On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard opened fire on an anti-war rally on the campus of Kent State University, in Kent, Ohio. As noted by Phillip Caputo in his book 13 Seconds, it was the first and only time that American troops had fired upon and killed American students.    

     In order to understand what transpired on the campus of Kent State University on May 4, 1970, there must be a background and a context in which to explain the event. First and foremost, what specifically sparked the ongoing turmoil at Kent State? And who was involved? What were the preceding events that led to the Ohio National Guard firing on an unarmed group of students, killing four and wounding nine others? Although anti-war demonstrations had been gaining traction for at least two years prior to the Kent State debacle, it seems the accelerant was President Nixon’s decision to invade Cambodia.