1971 May Day Protests
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On Monday, May 3rd, 1971 one of the most disruptive actions of the Vietnam War era occurred in Washington, DC, when thousands of anti-war activists tried to shut down the Federal government in protest of the Vietnam War. The threat caused by the May Day Protests forced the Nixon Administration to create a virtual state of siege in the Nation’s Capital. Thousands of Federal and National Guard troops, along with local police, suppressed the disorder and by the time it was over several days later, over 10,000 would be arrested. It would be the largest mass arrest in U.S. history.
[edit] Course of events
By 1971, many anti-war leaders realized that massive, non-violent political protests were not going to end the Vietnam war. The next step of the protest movement would have to be more aggressive. The planning began in June 1970 when Rennie Davis joined Jerry Coffin of the War Resisters League, and then Michael Lerner later that year. Davis went to Paris for coordination with representatives of the communist North Vietnamese government. [1] So the Mayday Tribe was formed. It was made up of Yippies and other more militant members of the anti-war movement. Their tactics would be non-violent but aggressive. The overall objective of the Mayday Tribe was to create such a high level of “social chaos” that the only way the political leaders could end the chaos would be to stop the War. The Mayday Tribe's first and last action would occur on May 3rd, 1971.
The Tribe’s plan was to “shut down the Government”. This would be achieved by having small groups of determined protesters block major intersections and bridges in the Capital and stop workday traffic from coming into the city on Monday morning. On the weekend prior to the action, about 35,000 activists had camped out in West Potomac Park, not far from the Washington Monument. They had gathered in the park to listen to rock music and plan for the coming mass action. Unfortunately for the protesters, the government had anticipated their actions. Early Sunday morning May 2nd, the Nixon administration had the park permit canceled. U.S. Park Police and Washington Metropolitan Police, dressed in riot gear, raided the encampment. The police formed up in phalanxes and slowly moved through the park firing tear gas and knocking down tents, forcing out the campers. The campers scattered towards the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial. After the campsite was closed down, most of the protesters went home but a hard core of about 10,000 regrouped at various churches and college campuses in the area. Even though their numbers and objectives had been reduced, they still planned to close down the government on Monday morning. Many were forced into the nearest car and ordered to leave the city by police. The mass exodus stopped traffic on the freeways for hours, and there was a big mobile party on the highways leading out of D.C. that day. Police mostly ignored the drugs, concentrating on expelling the mob from the Nation's Capital.
The Nixon administration was determined to keep the Capital open at all costs. The Federal government already had various plans drawn up to deal with major disruptions in cities throughout the country. These plans had been developed in response to the urban disorders of the 1960s. The government now put one of these plans into action to protect the Capital. While protesters listened to music, planned their actions or slept, the authorities quickly moved 10,000 Federal troops to various locations in the D.C. area, including 4,000 paratroopers from the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division. At one point, so many soldiers and marines were being moved into the area from bases along the East Coast that troop transports were landing at the rate of one every three minutes at Andrews Air Force Base in suburban Maryland, about 15 miles from the White House. These troops were to back up the 5,100 D.C. Metropolitan Police and 2,000 D.C. National Guard troops that were already on the streets.
A state of siege existed in the Capital. Thousands of troops and thousands of demonstrators planned to confront each other on Monday May 3rd. Nixon’s internal security forces had moved into place early Monday morning. Every bridge coming into the city was lined with troops. Every monument, park and traffic circle had troops protecting its perimeters. Paratroopers and marines made helicopter combat assaults onto the grounds of the Washington Monument. Hundreds of troops were brought into the city by helicopter to support the police. While the troops were in place and thousands held in reserve, the police clashed with members of the Mayday Tribe. The Yippies engaged in hit and run tactics throughout the city, trying to disrupt traffic and cause chaos in the streets. The police responded with tear gas and mass arrests. While Nixon rested in San Clemente, California, thousands of Federal workers had to navigate through police lines and Mayday Tribe roadblocks. Nixon had refused to give Federal workers the day off because he wanted it to appear as though the government was still operating normally.
While the troops secured the major intersections and bridges, the police roamed through the city making massive arrest sweeps. They arrested anyone who looked like a demonstrator, rounding up thousands and transporting them to an emergency detention center located at the Washington Redskins practice field, next to RFK Stadium, east of the United States Capitol.[citation needed] Skirmishes between protesters and police occurred up until about mid-day, but by Monday afternoon, the Mayday Tribe’s actions were mostly over. Against thousands of troops and police, the protesters did not have a chance. On Monday, the police had arrested over 7,000 demonstrators. Over the next few days several thousand more would be arrested during smaller protests, making this the largest mass arrest in U.S. history.
The Mayday action had failed. The government had not shut down. Its leaders were arrested by the FBI on conspiracy charges, and other protesters who had been caught up in the police sweeps were eventually released. Many of those arrested were later financially compensated by the Federal government because the massive police arrest sweeps were later declared unconstitutional.
[edit] References
- ^ Order of Battle. TIME (May 10, 1971).
- The Washington Post, various news articles, May 1-7, 1971.
- Barber, Lucy G. (2002) Marching on Washington . University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. (www.ucpress.edu)
