The etiquette of warfare has changed drastically in American history. In the era of the Revolutionary War, cannons and rifles was the technological advancement. As we approach a more modern time period, chemical warfare is introduced.
"It was early 1966. A woman in the suburban town of Redwood City, California, answered her doorbell. Asked to sign a petition against the local production of napalm, she responded, "Napalm? No thank you. I'm not interested. I always use Tide." ( H. Bruce Franklin, Burning Illusions)
The reality is that no one knew what Napalm was and the deadly consequences for using it. America was, in a sense, keeping their citizens mis-informed about what was really going on overseas in Vietnam. Napalm is a highly flammable sticky gel. It was originally thought up in World War II. It had two purposes, to stick to human flesh and burn and to "strategically bomb" cities in the air.
Anti-war movements at Stanford were formed. Their main goal was to petition for the end of the Vietnam War. They were called the Stanford Committee for Peace in Vietnam (SCPV). Although they were devoted to ending the war, they had no interest in any long term programs to change American society. That is an example of how odd and backwards some American people can be.