100,000 March on Pentagon: Vietnam Protest Surges
An estimated 100,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial on October 21, 1967, for a rally against the Vietnam War. After speeches by Benjamin Spock and others, roughly 50,000 marched across the Arlington Memorial Bridge to the Pentagon. Some tried to enter the building. Military police and U.S. Marshals met them with rifle butts and tear gas. Abbie Hoffman led a group attempting to 'levitate' the Pentagon through chanting. Norman Mailer was arrested and later wrote The Armies of the Night about the experience. The protest lasted two days. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara watched from his office window, privately harboring his own doubts about the war. He resigned six weeks later. The march marked the moment antiwar protest moved from campuses to the seat of military power.
October 21, 1967
59 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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