Mind map
Massacre at My Lai
Map content
Massacre at My Lai
Key Terms
- Agentic State
- Legitimacy of authority
1968 Vietnam War
Applying it:
- Milgram's findings helped to explain the crime in the notorious war at My Lai.
- As many as 504 unarmed civilians were killed by American soldiers.
- Women were gang-raped
- People were shot as they emerged from their homes, with their hands in the air.
- Soldiers blew up buildings, burnt villages to the ground and killed all the animals.
- Only one soldier faced charges and was found guilty.
- Lt William Calley
- Defence was the same as the Nazi officers at the Nuremberg trials; that he was only doing his duties by following orders.
Q: Explain the behaviour of the soldiers in terms of agentic state and legitimacy of authority.