-
The National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (SANE) Formed
A small, core peace movement had long existed in the United States based a lot from Quaker and Unitarian beliefs. It failed to gain popular currency until the Cold War era The escalating nuclear arms race of the late 1950s led Norman Cousins, editor of the Saturday Review, along with Clarence Pickett of the American Society of Friends (Quakers), to found the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (SANE) in 1957. A very popular member was Dr. Benjamin Spock, who joined in 1962. -
Student Peace Union (SPU)
The SPU which disbanded in 1964, worked closly with Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). They were founded in 1960. The early mission of the SDS centered around the goals of the civil rights movement rather than on American involvement in Vietnam, which had not yet became a major issue. However, the focus did begin to change with the emergence of the Free Speech movement, which also arose initially out of civil rights activism. -
Free Speech Movement
It began in late 1964 at the University of California at Berkeley as a consequence of students asserting their rights to engage in political protests and activities. At the time, this was against school policy and so clashes between students and administrators inevitably ensued. People who supported the war were called hawks. Those who did not support it were called doves. -
Anti-War Movement Begins
The anti-war movement started February 1965, when the United States commenced widespread bombing in North Vietnam. The SDS immediately began organizing a series of sit-ins and protests against the government. Teachers soon followed suit, and before long "teach-ins" were being held to provide previously unreleased data on the war in Vietnam to students and citizens. -
SDS Organized March
In April 1965, an SDS-organized march on Washington brought together approximately 20,000 protesters, an unexpectedly high number that showed the importance of the movement. -
March to the Pentagon
On October 21, 1967, one of the most prominent anti-war demonstrations took place. 100,000 protesters gathered at the Lincoln Memorial; around 30,000 of them continued in a march to the Pentagon later that night. After a brutal confrontation with the soldiers and U.S. Marshals protecting the building, hundreds of demonstrators were arrested. This showed American opposition to the fighting. -
Washington Rally
On November 15, 1969 about a quarter of a million people came out to support the cause. They took a route leading to the White House, singing and waving signs the whole way. This is one of the bigger anti-war rallies the country has seen
