Funny you should put it in exactly those terms. Americans in the street and how many does it take to alter policy? I watched this excellent episode of American Experience two nights ago. Taking to the streets in 1969, in America, changed the course of American history. Estimate of number of nationwide protestors that day: 3 million perhaps.
I took part in the Nov., 1969 anti-war march on Washington. Until this research emerged, I had no idea how much we altered the course of history! Because of that demonstration, and dozens of others throughout the nation, North Vietnam knew Nixon would never nuke them, and Nixon and Kissinger were forced to abandon their planned strategy of greatly expanding the war. Nixon hoped to scare the daylights out of North Vietnam by convincing them he was just insane enough to nuke them…..
Taking to the streets can indeed change the course of history….
Discover the story of the 1969 showdown between President Nixon and the antiwar movement. Told through firsthand accounts, the film reveals how movement leaders mobilized disparate groups to create two massive protests that changed history.
www.pbs.org
“The Movement and the “Madman” shows how two antiwar protests in the fall of 1969 — the largest the country had ever seen — pressured President Nixon to cancel what he called his “madman” plans for a massive escalation of the U.S. war in Vietnam, including a threat to use nuclear weapons. At the time, protestors had no idea how influential they could be and how many lives they may have saved.
Told through remarkable archival footage and firsthand accounts from movement leaders, Nixon administration officials, historians, and others, the film explores how the leaders of the antiwar movement mobilized disparate groups from coast to coast to create two massive protests that changed history”.
aaronkheriaty.substack.com
