National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam was a relatively short-lived coalition of antiwar activists formed in 1967 to organize large demonstrations in opposition to the Vietnam war. The organization was informally known as "the Mobe."

Mobe was formed following the Spring Mobilization Conference held in Washington D.C. May 20-21, 1967, a gathering of 700 antiwar activists called to evaluate the antiwar demonstrations that had taken place on April 15, 1967 in New York City and San Francisco, and to chart a future course for the antiwar movement. The conference set another antiwar action for the fall of 1967 and created an administrative committee to plan it. That committee was the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam.

Mobe planned a large demonstration for Washington D.C. on October 21, 1967. This demonstration was a rally at West Potomac Park near the Lincoln Memorial and a march to the Pentagon, where another rally would be held in a parking lot, followed by civil disobedience on the steps of the Pentagon itself. The action was known as the "March on the Pentagon."

The initial rally drew some 100,000 people with about 35,000 marching and participating in the second rally at the Pentagon. About 700 people were arrested for civil disobedience on the steps of the Pentagon.

Following the Pentagon demonstration, the Mobe began discussion and planning for demonstrations at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, to be held in Chicago, where President Lyndon B. Johnson was expected to be nominated for a second term.

Tom Hayden and Rennie Davis were the key Mobe organizers for the Chicago demonstration, and would later be indicted for conspiracy and inciting a riot as members of the Chicago Seven. The Chicago demonstrations did not draw many participants--about 10,000 at most--because it was widely anticipated that the mayor of Chicago, Richard J. Daley, would deploy his police to prevent marches to the site of the Convention.

Following the election of Richard M. Nixon, Mobe organized a "counter-inaugural" to take place in Washington D.C. on the day of Nixon's inauguration. This demonstration as well attracted only about 10,000 and was accompanied by street violence.

The National Mobilization Committee then disbanded. Future national marches against the Vietnam war would be organized by other groups.

Some individuals and organizations associated with the National Mobilization Committee include: Dr. Benjamin Spock and SANE, Sid Peck, Eric Weinberger, David Dellinger, Jerry Rubin, Stew Albert, Karen Wald, Fred Halstead, Brad Lyttle, Vietnam Summer, Robert Greenblatt, and Tom Hayden.