Half a million people marched against the Vietnam War in Washington
On this day · 15 November 1969
On November 15, 1969, an estimated half a million Americans filled Washington in the largest anti-war protest the capital had seen.
On November 15, 1969, an estimated half a million people poured into Washington, D.C., for the second nationwide Moratorium against the Vietnam War. It was likely the largest single anti-war demonstration the capital had ever witnessed.
Marchers paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House, where folk singer Pete Seeger led the crowd near the Washington Monument in a swelling chorus of “Give Peace a Chance.” The day was overwhelmingly peaceful, though a breakaway group clashed with police at the Justice Department.
President Nixon pointedly claimed to be watching football that afternoon, unmoved by the gathering outside.
The November Moratorium followed an earlier nationwide day of protest on October 15. Together they signaled how deeply the war had divided the country — and quietly constrained the administration’s options for escalating it.
Sources & references
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