- 04/02/2013
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
The rise of mass movements for peace and against war of aggression in Vietnam was a major factor, forcing Washington to go for peace talks, and then on the full withdrawal of its troops from Indochina, has provided considerable assistance to the peoples of Indo-China in their struggle for national liberation.
The roots of the movement for peace of 1960s goes into a long-standing tradition of antiwar struggle, formed in the United States. In the late 50’s and early 60-ies in response to a new round of arms race, which the military industrial complex, but the U.S. was able to start under the false gom proposed missile gap with the Soviet Union, the Organization of American supporters of Cove world stepped up their activities. They were made with the requirements to stop the arms race, to ban nuclear testing, put an end to the militaristic propaganda.
In the early 60-s proponents of nonviolent action tried to penetrate the zone of nuclear weapons tests in Nevada and the Pacific (expedition on yacht “Phoenix”), at the base of nuclear submarines under the water. They organized a “sit-down demonstration” in the premises of the Commission on Atomic Energy, sent letters and telegrams to the authorities about the test, were gathering signatures on petitions, held demonstrations and rallies, the number of participants was up to 5-10 thousand. (Rhoda Blumberg)
The peace movement in 1960’s years was developing in close connection with the general increase of social protest, with the democratic struggle, the activities of youth, women, black militants, who played a prominent role in its ideological and moral side. Therefore, it could very quickly gain a wide scope, successfully using a variety of means and forms of struggle, learned from other units of the democratic movement.
Mass protests against the intervention in Vietnam began immediately after the start of massive bombing of North Vietnam military by the U.S. Air Force in February 1965, and sending of the first regular parts of the U.S. Army in Southeast Asia. Already in March passed the first anti-war speeches. (Rhoda Blumberg)
In April in Washington on the initiative of the organization of students for a democratic society was held a 25000 members demonstration. Protest of students against the Vietnam War wore mostly moral-ethical character. Nevertheless, is was objectively United Youth protest as the first towards building a mass antiwar movement, that became a school and source of radical actions for a whole generation of students and the wider community.
Dissatisfaction with the U.S. armed intervention in the affairs of a distant country was spreading among the other groups. This defeat in Vietnam forced to move to the anti-war position, even some conservative-minded Americans.
Year 1967 was marked by even more popular and representative offenses, especially by the organized in the late 1966 “Spring mobilization committee to end the war in Vietnam”. In 1967 appeared also a “National civil registration mobilization committee to end the war in Vietnam”, which had about 150 different democratic organizations, but at the same time had a serious difference: it was attended by local trade union branches. (Walter Capps)
The peak of spring speeches were massive demonstrations in New York to San Francisco that showed a sharp increase in anti-war protests and in scope and depth. The number of demonstrators in New York was over 100 thousand people (according to some sources about 300 thousand), and in San Francisco – 20 thousand people. Then was “Vietnam Summer” in 1967, when about 30 thousand student volunteers held anti-war work in more than 700 U.S. cities.( Walter Capps)
Also continued to expand the social base of the movement – in his ac favorable view began to include representatives of national minorities and working class.
Of great importance was the accession to the antiwar protest of M.L. King, reflecting the growth of antiwar sentiment among Negro population. Speaking at Riverside Church of New York in 10 days after the April anti-war demonstrations, King proclaimed the famous “Declaration of Independence from the Vietnam War”, thus taking the effort to merge the civil rights movement with other threads of democratic struggle, which would be of great importance for the fate of Democratic Forces of the United States.
A great shift in the development of anti-war struggle was a protest against conscription into the armed forces, and then the resistance to him. In a progressive American literature it is called a transition “from protest to resistance”. Denial of service in the army not on religious, but on moral or political grounds combined a protest against a particular imperialist war and against the military machine as a whole.
The anti-war speeches in “Vietnam Summer” of 1967 were held on a background of turbulent events that marked the rise of mass movements of social protest. Riots, bombings indignation against racial oppression and police terror rocked ghettos of American cities. The culmination was the so-called “march on the Pentagon” on Oct. 21, 1967, which was attended by about 200 thousand people. General and the organizer of the initiative campaign was a “National mobilization committee for ending the war in Vietnam”. (Walter Capps)
Events of 1966-1967 showed a dramatic deepening of political polarization in all sectors of society on the war in Vietnam. The anti-war movement in 1965-1967 showed the power and capabilities of mass protest against the policy of escalation of aggression, it attracted the attention of the people to the hidden explanation of this policy.
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