Was that leading u. S. Senators were sidiing essentially with te antiwar faction and an amendment to end the war were appealing to the public, and doing it in a very cool and calm and rational and thoughtful way, and this was a very important moment for the Antiwar Movement, that it wasnt just in the streets. It was in the senate and the congress as well. You hadnt seen this before, whats your impressions, your first reaction to just the tone of this thing . Its a very serious piece. These are very earnest men who are both republicans and democrats, moderates and liberals, people who have come to the conclusion that the United States should not be fighting in this war, that the tragedy has mounted so much over the years that they have to and they are trying to use the legislati legislative branch to bring the war to an end, in a sense creating a bit of a constitutional clash with the president of the United States. Its a very moving piece, and those are all very prominent senators. I knew several of them and worked with them. They looked much younger in these pictures, but theyre really earnest about what theyre saying, and they were very convincing to the Television Audience that watched them. They had to fight to get that Television Program in the first place, and so they made the most of it. Article i section 8 of the constitution reads as follows, the Congress Shall have power to raise and support armies but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years. Our amendment to end the war fulfills the obligations that we have under the constitution. Mcgovern hatfield amendment, its sometimes referred to, who were they and what would this really have done if it passed. To back up just a little bit, the president of the United States, richard nixon, had announced in november of 1969 the program to remove american troops from vietnam, and the thought at that point was maybe this was the end of the war, it was kocooling down. Actually, it was good for me, i was a marine corps supply clerk, and they werent sending supply clerks to vietnam anymore, so i was sent to pearl harbor, hawaii, instead. So a lot of us sort of breathed a sigh of relief. But then instead of the war going down and reducing, it seemed to increase, to escalate. It seemed to be getting more violent, and it seemed to be spreading into the rest of indo china, into laos ask cambodia. Thats why John Sherman Cooper and frank church introduced the Cooper Church amendment to stop any american activity in laos and cambodia, and then senator mark hatfield, a republican from oregon and senator george mcgovern, a democrat from south dakota got together to create the Mcgovern Hatfield amendment that would have ended the United States participation in the war. It would have first off stopped all military actions that year and the next year would have withdrawn all troops. So it was a sweeping amendment. They knew they couldnt introduce it as a piece of legislation, so they put it on as an amendment to an appropriations bill that was going to eventually go to pass, and so they thought they had a chance that way, but they had to develop american support. The day that they introduced that amendment, april 30th, 1970, that night president nixon went on television, on National Television, and announced that he was authorizing american troops in cambodia to attack enclaves of vietnamese. In cooperation with the armed forces of South Vietnam, attacks are being launched this week to clean out major enemy sanctuaries on the cambodian vietnam border. And so this was a huge step forward and escalation of the war, and all hell broke out on american campuses. There were demonstrations on even the most conservative campuses had demonstrations at this time, but the most dramatic, the most tragic took place at kent state just a few days after nixons announcement when National Guardsmen fired on and killed students on the campus, and then about a week later, there was a similar shooting at jackson state in mississippi. So this was a really tragic moment. There were a hundred thousand people marched on washington to protest at this stage. The senators felt that the president could get air time anytime he wanted it. He could, you know, announce make these announcements to the public, but they couldnt respond, and of course there was no cspan in the chamber at that stage, and so if you were lucky enough to be on the news, it was just for a minute or two or maybe youd get on the sunday morning news programs. But essentially, they wanted a chance to respond, and so they went to the federal Communications Commission and asked for equal time. They wanted free time on National Television to respond to the president. The fcc wouldnt grant that, so they basically took out a 60,000 loan and they purchased a half an hours time on nbc, broadcast on the evening of may the 12th, 1970 at 7 30 right after the news, although it was up against Walter Cronkites news on cbs at that time. And they made that program, and then several other stations felt that the program was so important that they ran it later. So cbs, for instance, ran it the following sunday and other networks followed, local stations followed. The program ends with an appeal for money and an appeal for petitions, and it was so successful raised a half a Million Dollars at that time, which was maybe a little over 3 million today in terms of how people responded, and huge bags of mail were delivered to the senators offices, people writing in to tell them they supported this. The public support, however, wasnt enough because when the senate eventually got around to voting on the Mcgovern Hatfield, it was defeated, i think by 5539. And that was substantial. Actually, there were several, you know, major antiwar senators who voted against it because they just didnt like the principle of telling a president in the middle of a war that he had to stop, and they were willing to give the president a little more time to withdraw. But it was showing that there was significant sentiment in congress for ending the war, and it was important that they did pass the Cooper Church amendment, but at that point nixon had withdrawn troops from cambodia, and it was making the first steps towards eventually the passage of the war powers act in 1973, which was passed over president nixons veto. So this was an important first step. It also introduced senator mckorch m mcgovern to a lot of the public, and just two years later, he would be the democratic nominee for president. He would lose very badly in that election, but still, it was an indication of the growing strength of the Antiwar Movement in the United States. And i think that the principle stumbling block now is that were somehow worried about losing face. Were worried about embarrassing the policymakers that sent us in there. Were worried about admitting that perhaps we made a mistake. Actually, i think it would contribute to the greatness of the United States if as a free people we could just admit that were capable of making a mistake, and then do the best we can to put an early end to it. Vietnamization is not a change in policy at all. Its a continuation of the old, old policy. What can we learn today as were just about to watch this program from just listening to what the how the senators frame the debate and the argument and whats happening in the war. Why is it important to study this . Well, when you consider how polarized politics have become, its quite fascinating to see this as a bipartisan group. These are two republicans and three democrats. When you consider how, you know, sort of flamboyant politics have gotten in recent years, these are very soberminded people. Theyre not making outrageous statements. Theyre making very serious statements. Theyre having a good dialogue between themselves about what needed to be done. Theyre also pointing out the tragic nation of the war. At that point about 40,000 americans had died in the war and countless vietnamese had died in the war. One of the senators i says, i think its goodell, says that if we dont pass this now, we could have another 20,000, you know, casualties, and in fact, the vietnam war in washington has 58,000 so almost 20,000 more names were added after this broadcast was made. And they were quite right about the seriousness, and of course, the conclusion of the war was no different in 1973 or 1975 than it would have been in 1970 or for that matter in 1965. Looking back at this point, its they were right, and president johnson and president nixon were absolutely wrong about what they did in vietnam, and the United States has suffered from that ever since. Donald ritchie, thank you very much for joining us via zoom. Thank you. Now from may 12th, 1970, heres that broadcast. Today in the bright springtime of 1970, the United States of america has been ripped apart. Citizens bludgeon each other in the streets of new york, students die in a campus eruption. Buildings explode. Banks burn. The nations colleges are shut down. The population is polarized, and there are parades of protests everywhere. Not since the days of the civil war have americans treated each other like this. At the heart of the trouble lies the war in vietnam. It is a strange war, a war that we have to keep explaining to ourselves year after year after year, and it is a difficult war to explain. Particularly to the people who have to go and fight on its inconclusive battlefields. But while all the talk goes on, the war goes on, too. It continues tonight as it has continued for a decade. Tonight americans will die in vietnam. Tonight americans will die in cambodia. What can we do . On the day before we went into cambodia, amendment no. 609 was introduced on the floor of the United States senate. It was cosponsored by a Bipartisan Coalition of 20 senators. These republicans and democrats call it the amendment to end the war. They regard it as a realistic new thrust for peace, the Senate Debate on it will begin in just a few days. In the next half hour, five of these senators will make a case for this amendment. If the American People can effectively urge its passage upon the members of the house and senate, if the amendment to end the war is passed, then the traditional right of declaring whether or not we shall commit americans to battle will be returned to the congress where it belongs. Through protest, petition, and an act of law, we shall have at last ended the vietnam war. There is no way under the constitution by which the congress of the United States can act either to continue this war or to end it except by a decision on whether we will appropriate funds to finance the war. Article i, section 8 of the constitution reads as follows the Congress Shall have power to raise and support armies but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years. Our amendment to end the war fulfills the obligations that we have under the constitution. The amendment clearly states that unless the Congress Shall have declared war, that no moneys appropriated on the act to which we attach the amendment or any other law shall be used in vietnam after december the 30th, 1970, except for the withdrawal of american troops and other provisions. It provides that no money shall be used for military operations in the country of laos after december of 1970. It provides that no moneys shall be authorized for the use of any military operations in cambodia. 30 days following the adoption of the amendment and that all troops shall be withdrawn from vietnam, all american troops, by june 1971 unless the president of the United States shall deem it is important enough to extend that time by requesting the congress to pass a joint resolution authorizing such extension time. The amendment to end the war provides continuing funding for full protection of american troops during the total period of our withdrawal. It also provides Adequate Funding to provide political asylum for all those South Vietnamese and other civilians for which there may be great concern about a blood bath, and there are adequate provisions that these civilians may be placed in other places for their own protection. It also provides for a continuing negotiation of exchange of prisoners. Very soon the senate will be acting on another amendment offered by senator cooper and myself, which is addressed to the cambodian situation and sets the limits on that adventure to those declared to the president. But this end the war amendment takes the full stamp and provides an orderly method for the extrication of the United States from the war in vietnam itself. And so what were looking for is a reasonable way to accomplish that withdrawal, and i think that the principle stumbling block now is that were somehow worried about losing face. Were worried about embarrassing the policymakers that sent us in there. Were worried about admitting that perhaps weve made a mistake. Actually, i think it would contribute to the greatness of the United States if as a free people we could just admit that were capable of making a mistake and then do the best we can to put an early end to it. Vietnamization is not a change in policy at all. Its a continuation of the old, old policy. It is dedicated to war, not peace. It means that the war will go on and continue to go on for years to come. It means that there has been no one speaking in this administration or the last of an end to our support commitment in vietnam. It means that we can look into the future for at least a decade in all probability to a quarter of a million men involved in vietnam. I think every mother and father in america who has a son right now thats 5 or 6 or 7 years old or anywhere up to 15 or 16 should well realize that that boy is going to be involved in our future commitment in vietnam under existing policy. We have come to the point where we realize and i think the president realized when he went into cambodia that vietnamization will not work, and it was an admission of the failure of vietnamization. I think its time that the American People recognize that the president doesnt have the power to declare war or make war alone. He can ask congress to declare that power, and i think thats why what we are discussing here and urging support from the American People for is so important. Congress can do this, and its not an irresponsible action with the walls all falling down around american prestige and power in the world if we decide were going to get out. Congress would simply be saying, okay, we fought for seven years. Weve bled and died and weve spent our resources on this, and now the time has come to say to the South Vietnamese, take it over. Well give you time, a period o going to be withdrawing and you could go on getting aid if you fight for yourself in your own civil war. Were not going to stay there and fight and bleed and die for you any longer. But the point is simply this, it is not longer the opinion of senators, it is the evidence of history of over 40,000 deaths and this amount of resource expended that has proven each one of the escalations to be wrong. And i say how many more american men have to be heaped upon that funeral pyre of war to disprove a theory or doctrine of military action proven wrong each time it has been acted upon. After all the United States is gh is not going to impose any asian problems among asian people on the asian mainland. The idea that we are going to do that runs against the whole current of history. What is happening in asia is that the western powers are moving out and the asians are taking over for themselves. And vietnamization, as it has been pointed out here, is not the method for extricating us from this, it will merely perpetuate our involvement in this war. Half of the troops may come home, the other half will stay, indefinitely. And it does not serve the interest of the United States to maintain a Permanent Military base in Southeast Asia. If the president reiterated the other night he would continue to bring back the 150,000 men in the next 12 months. Now Many Americans may feel that that means theyre all going to be coming back and nobody is going to be going. Under a policy of bringing back 150,000 men in the next 12 months, well send to South Vietnam 276,000 men who are not there now. Who are now in the military or about to go into the military. And well bring back more, 150,000 more than we send but in the rotation process there will be 276,000 men over there to fight and perhaps die. And what would we have accomplished . What evidence is there based on past history to lead us to believe that we could be in any better position or that South Vietnam would be in any better position one year or five years or ten years hence after tens of thousands of additional americans have been killed than we are now. What would we have gained . We have created a crisis of confidence and a deep disillusionment and alienation that doesnt just affect the narrow fringe of radicals on campus. Anyone who goes to the campuses knows that this feeling extends to millions of young americans. Now if they grow up without a belief in this system, that seems to me has far greater bearing on the future of the United States than anything we have now or have ever had at stake out in china. I think one of the great tragic biproducts is the questioning of our minds when were involved in a body count war with indiscriminate bombing and farranging effects on the colonization by spraying chemicals and driving the people off of the land into the cities, completely changing the complex of this Little Nation involving 16 to 18 Million People. And we ask ourselves, can we be happy about the fact that weve killed 10,000 vietnamese and suffered 300 deaths ourself in the process, that this complete psychology that we have of destroying life, you know, at any expense and what the results are of it. Utilizing our own society. It is brutalizing us internally and young people are fleeing to canada to avoid a war they consider immoral and attitudes they consider unrealistic in a time and age of where we really are questioning ourselves to find National Purpose again. But what we need to understand is that there is no way to separate the cost of this war in asia from the cost of our own society. Now, there were stories in the press recently that some of our poor people, some of the black citizens and other minority groups have shied away from participating in protests against the war on the grounds that their concerns are with hunger and with racism and with poverty. But what i think all of our fellow americans need to understand is that the answer to these other problems will not come until we put this war behind us and the enormous drain that it is taking here in our society. The person who is worried about inflation ought to realize that war is a principle cause of it. The man who is worried about the stock market skidding ought to realize that the stock market jitters are associated to a great extent with the war. And as youve said so many times, the governors and the city councilman and others who are worried about where the money is going to come from for those new schools or new sewage projects or other things, they have to understand that the war is robbing them of those possibilities. Were talking about a 16 to 18 Million People in South Vietnam. We have 23 million blacks in america who have not been able to find justice in this great country. Untold thousands of indians who have never been brought to their fulfillment. You, who have worked so long in the field of hunger in america and poverty with some 35 Million People living in poverty, with the very foundation shaking of every major city in the nation with the great basic undergirding of this nation that has always kept it stable with those minorities is now being drained off and siphoned off in the name of somehow saving face in Southeast Asia. So when we talk, i think you would agree there seems to be a great paradox in this. The cost of the war last year was 23 billion. So you could say in just about specific terms that one years cost of this war would clean up all of our waters in the United States. The half hour that this program is being kept telecast to the american public, to reduce that or to translate that in terms of the cost of the war, that federal government will be spending 1 million just in this one half hour period. In vietnam. In vietnam. Just in vietnam. Mark, you know the argument is made that the world will think were weak if we withdraw from vietnam. I think that of all of the arguments that are made, that is the least impressive. Actually the world knows we have the power to exterminate every living inhabitant of vietnam if we unloosed those power. We could salt it over the way rome salted over carthage. It is not ow pourer in question out there. It is the wisdom of our policy. And the world sees the biggest, richest, strongest nation dropping more bombs on North Vietnam than we dropped on all of europe in the second world war. They see this tremendous disproportion of strength and wealth. And that puts us in a very bad light in the world. In fact, this war has done more to undermine americas moral leadership in the world than anything that has ever happened to us. And the faster we put the matter right in Southeast Asia and end this war, the sooner we will begin to win back again the respect that this country ought to have throughout the world. What do you say to people who are really concerned, and i know theyre concerned, about the fact that well lose face in the world, that, you know, really well not be a firstrate power as implied by our chief executives in the past and the present and the concern of honest americans who want to get out of the war and stop the killing and the dying and yet they say this is americas place in the world, that unless we accept this challenge were somehow failing in world leadership. I think this is the question in the minds of millions of americans today. What constitutes leadership. Not just power of armament, but power of ideals. And i say that we are losing in the world today by continuing to be in vietnam. It is not a matter of national pride. It is a matter of whether were practicing what we preach. It is a matter of whether our ideals that were embodied in the constitution and the hearts of the American People are really at the center of our policy or whether were out here with some peripheral object of face saving and so forth. I say if it is to be humiliated to admit were wrong and to save lives, then the sooner we do this the better it is going to be for our nation. I dont consider it humiliation. I consider it greatness. Because only the power could take the chance of admitting error and were that today. And most civilizations have died from within and that is happening now in the United States of america if we dont get out of the war. We close this war in the sacred words of justice and freedom and peace. But justice and freedom and peace arent at stake out there. The government were supporting is not a democratic government. It is an incompetent and corrupt military dictatorship and involved in a war with another dictatorship. This is a war between two dictatorships for control of vietnam. So i think we make a grave mistake when we try to clothe such a war in terms of the ideals for which this country should stand. Freedom is not at issue for the people of vietnam. One way or the another, the kind of freedom we know is not going to be the gift of this war. I think the gut question though, frank, and particularly georg george, and we talk about the amendment to end the war to most americans is how could i support this amendment and at the same time support my country and in involvement weve had over the last 15 years and i think if people could resolve this in their own minds they willingly bring this war to an end through this amendment. The president the other nide if we leave vietnam now, were going to be through or i think he said were going to be finished as a peace maker in asia. I think we ought to quit trying to be the policemen for asia. And lets try to be the solo banker and pacifier in asia alone. How ironic it would be if at long last we succeeding in pacifying Southeast Asia and couldnt passify our own society. The invasion of cambodia was the straw that broke the camels back. Against the president s posture right now in Southeast Asia and the belief and hope that the senate of the United States will offer the leadership to alter this posture. Everything we have said here tonight is completely unpartisan. I think we have all been as critical of the democratic president since we have of republican president s and we should not be considering this in terms of political or partisan advantage one way or another. This war transcends partisanship and i know a great deal of republicans and democrats who think our policy now is wrong and we ought to get out. I think overwhelming number of americans believe this. I think what were trying to do is to say that is too important a a decision to place on the shoulders of one man and the president ought not to have to make that judgment alone and under the constitution hes not supposed to make that decision alone. What were proposing to do, to share that responsibility and whatever political risk, whatever opportunity, whatever hazard is involved in making the decision to end this war, were prepared as elected officials to stand up on that question and answer yes or no and then take whatever blame or whatever credit is involved. In effect, were providing a situation where the president can withdraw faster, where he can make a determination the war is going to end by a fixed date and he will not bear the whole onus himself. We recognize when youve made such a tragic mistake there is no painless way to get out of that mistake. Well share that pain and responsibility, but lets recognize the mistake and get out of it. What do we say to the American Parents who have sons fightk in vietnam . Is this a patriotic move that were taking in this amendment to end the war . Is this support of their sons and of our fightk men in vietnam . There is no better way to protect young men who are fighting over there than to bring them home. And i dont know of any military person, any responsible position who doubts that if we made our declaration of coming out that they would be brought home safely and as long as we stay there, the casualties are going to go up. And if president nixons Program Works over the next three years, we are talking about a minimum of 5,000 more american dead and probably closer to 20,000. Four or five times that many casualties and four or five times that many vietnamese deaths in the process, not to mention the billions of dollars involved. But now what were proposing is not a disorganized and uncoordinated outcry. Were proposing a specific legislative act that will have the full force of law and it will say in effect no more money for Southeast Asia for any purpose other than arranging for the systematic and safe withdrawal of our forces for the exchange of presence for asylum for those people that might be threatened by our withdraw. It is an orderly, constitutional procedure for bringing about an end to this war. This brings the congress back to the role that it should have been playing all along. It asks the congress to assume its responsibility to the American People. And it brings our democratic system back to life again in a balanced, constitutional manner. And that in itself is as important in the long run to the life of this republic as ending the war in vietnam. What do you say to the American People who have been watching and who would say, well, we agree with you, but our voice is not very loud. Were im only one person, im just a little person so you hear that many times, does that voice have a place in this whole great issue of war and peace . They say were tired of speeches. We want action. Young people and older people say, all right, turn it off. We agree with you but what have you done about it, what can you do about it. Were asking people to make their views known responsibly to the congress and were asking the congress and the senate of the United States particularly to begin to assume its responsibility under the constitution. For years and years now weve abdicated and given all of the power to the president when it came to war. We sat on our hands and done nothing and hoped that the people would look the other way. Well, the time has come to reassert our responsibility and to stand up and vote on the question of war or peace. You know we have short enshrined silence as the virtue of patriotism in the last year or so. And actually i think the highest patriotic duty that any citizen has to speak up, to speak his convictions and his mind. That is hope we have to give to all American People, that there is this channel open to them and we and others like us on this and of the power structure are receptive but inviting them to participate in the amendment in the war. That we need their help. Even if we had 40 senators presently on this amendment, we need the help of the people of the United States. There is no other way that we can succeed and the voice of the people counts in the final analysis if im to exercise my judgment and to follow my conscience, i must tell the people when i think theyre right and when i think theyre wrong and expect them to support the positions or to oppose them but for lords sake dont be quiet. Write, support oro pose, but do something in this critical time. If you want to cast your vote to end the war in endochina, there is something you must do in the next few days. Write to your congressman on your senator, just the simple words i vote for the amendment to end the war in Southeast Asia. And there is Something Else you can do. Take a sheet of paper, and write at the top, we, the undersigned, favor the amendment to end the war. Leave room for names and addresses and then go out to work, to church, to the supermarket, wherever you could collect signatures and get people to sign who agree with you. Send those petitions to your congressman and to your senators. The president of the United States rightfully can command all media to bring a message to the people of the United States. Any time he deems he has a message of importance. For those of us with differing view points and wish to express those to you, the American People, it requires that we your assistance. Remember that 66 cents out of every tax dollar now goes for war. A dollar for peace could go a long way. And so send your contribution to speak out. Make your checks out to amendment to end the war, post office box 1a, ben franklin station, washington, d. C. Let me close this broadcast on a very concrete and specific point. What we are proposing here is that for the first time history of this war, the senate of the United States stand up and be counted yes or no on the question of whether we wish the war to continue or to be ended. We proposed to do that in a vote that will come in a very short time. We pledge you that that vote will be held. This is not a sense of the congress resolution. It is not a debaters point. It is an active law which if carried will put an end to this war in a systematic way. We ask earnestly tonight for your support in that effort. Every area of the world in 1968, a new phase is now started. The generals strategy is producing results. The enemys hopes are dim. If, when the chips are down, the worlds most powerful nation acts like a pitiful, helpless giant. In just a few days, debate on the amendment to end the war will begin on the floor of the United States senate. If the American People can effectively urge its passage upon the members of the house and senate, if the amendment to end the war is passed, then the traditional right of declaring whether or not we should commit americans to battle will be returned to the congress. Where it belongs. Through protest, petition and an act of law, we shall have at last ended the vietnam war. Youre watching a special edition of American History tv. Airing week days. Tonight beginning at 8 00 eastern, programs on the cold war. We tour the Cold War Museum with founder gary powers jr. And the former Communication Base that was used by the National Security agency, cia and army intelligence. Well also hear the story of mr. Powells father and how on may 1st, 1960, his u2 spy plane was shot down. American history tv now and over the weekend on cspan 3. Every saturday night American History tv takes you to College Classrooms around the country for lectures in history. Why do you all know who lizzy borden is and raise your hand if you heard of this murder, the jean harris murder trial before this class. A deepest cause where we find the true meaning of the revolution was in this transformation that took place in the minds of the American People. So well talk about both of these sides of this story here, right. The tools, the techniques of slave owner power and well also talk about the cools and techniques of power that were practiced by enslaved people. Watch history professors lead discussions with their students on topics ranging from the American Revolution to september 11th. Lectures in history on cspan 3 every saturday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on American History tv and lectures in history is available as a podcast. Find it where you listen to podcasts. Next, on reel america, we travel back to 1971 to see how the vietnam war changed peoples lives. And another family for peace is an antiwar film features five grieving families with stops in california, massachusetts, florida, texas, and iowa. We learn about two sons who were killed. One who was a prisoner in North Vietnam, a veteran who lost a leg and a quaker spedding time in federal prison for refusing to serve. Using 1 donations from
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.