After successfully pushing for the Civil Rights Act, King continued to fight for justice. He criticized the U.S.’s role in the Vietnam War. He argued that the reason the United States was in Vietnam was “to occupy it as an American colony.” In his speech, Beyond Vietnam—A Time to Break the Silence, he connected the war with economic justice. He told the public that the money that was supposed to be used to lessen poverty in the Americas had instead been used to pay for the war. In addition, he called the United States “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today,” and said that it needed serious moral change. King’s opposition to the war was condemned by many, most notably from civil rights leaders who felt that he was losing