Half a Million March: Vietnam War Protest Fills DC
An estimated 250,000 to 500,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C., on November 15, 1969, in the largest antiwar demonstration in American history at that time. The Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam had organized a 'March Against Death' that began the previous evening: 45,000 marchers walked single file from Arlington National Cemetery to the Capitol, each carrying a placard with the name of a dead American soldier or destroyed Vietnamese village. The main rally on the Mall featured speeches by Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, and Coretta Scott King. Nixon claimed to be watching football. Privately, he was shaken. The protest demonstrated that antiwar sentiment had moved from the radical fringe to the mainstream. Polls showed a majority of Americans now opposed the war.
November 15, 1969
57 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on November 15
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