Doing it in a very cool, calm, way. Womanas a very thoughtful moment for the Antiwar Movement. You havent seen this, what is your impression, your first reaction . It is a very serious piece. They are both republicans and democrats, moderate and liberal. People who come to the conclusion that United States should not be fighting in this war. They are trying to use the legislative branch to bring the war to an end. Creating a bit of a constitutional clash with the president of the United States. Those are all very prominent. I knew them and work with them. They look much younger in these pictures. They are really earnest about what they are saying. They had to fight to get that Television Program in the first place. They made the most of it. Article one, section eight of the constitution reads as follows, Congress Shall have power to raise and support armies but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longerterm than two years. Our amendment to end the war fulfilled the obligations that we have under the constitution. The hatfield amendment it is 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 announced in november, 1969 the program to remove american troops from vietnam. The thought at that point was maybe this was the end of the war, the cooling down. It was a good forte it was good for me. I was a marine corps supply court clerk. I was sent to pearl harbor, hawaii and said instead. Instead of the war going down and reducing, it seemed to increase, escalate. It seemed to be getting more violent. Intoems to be spreading the rest of indochina with laos and cambodia. Cooper and Senator Frank Church introduced the cooperchurch amendment to stop any american activity in laos and cambodia. Senator hatfield, a republican others got and together to create the mcgovernhatfield amendment that would have ended the United States participation in the war. It wouldve stopped military and the nextyear year wouldve withdrawn all troops. Amendmentt on as the to the appropriations bill. They thought they had a chance that way. To get american support. The day they introduce that amendment, april 30, 1970, that night president nixon went on television and announced that he was authorizing american troops in it cambodia to attack enclaves of vietnamese. Attacks are being launched majoreek to clean out enemy sanctuaries on the cambodianvietnam border. All hell broke out on american campuses. Even the most conservative campuses had demonstrations. The most romantic, the most tragic took at kent state. Just a few days after nixon. National guardsmen killed students on campus. A week later there was a similar shooting at jackson state, in mississippi. This is a tragic moment. 100,000 people marched on washington to protest. Felt the president could get airtime anytime he wanted. He could make these announcements to the public. They could not respond. Enough to beucky on for a minute or two, debbie would get on the sunday morning news program. Respond. Ed a chance to they asked for equal time. They wanted free time on national television. The sec would not grant that. Aey basically took out 60,000 loan and purchased half an hours time on nbc. A broadcast on the evening of may 12. Right after the news. It was up against Walter Cronkite on cbs at that time. They made the program. Several stations felt the program was so important they ran it later. Cbs ran at following sunday. The program ends with an appeal for money and petition. It was so successfully raised 500,000 dollars. At that time it was maybe over 3 million today. Mail withhuge bags of people writing and telling them they supported this. The senate eventually got around to voting on the mcgovern defeated 5539. There were several major antiwar senators who voted against it because they didnt like the principal of telling a president in the middle of a war that he had to stop. They were able to give the president a little more time to withdraw. It was showing there was significant sentiment for ending the war. They did pass the Cooper Church amendment. It was making the first steps towards eventually the passage of the war powers. It was passed over president nixon. This was an important first step. Just two years later, he was the democratic nominee for president. It was the growing strength of the Antiwar Movement of the United States. The principal stumbling block now is we are somehow worried about losing things. We are worried about embarrassing policymakers that sent us in there. We are worried about admitting that perhaps we made a mistake. Tohink it would contribute the United States if there is a free people that could admit that we are capable of making a mistake and then do the best we can to put an early end to it. In policyot a change at all. It is a continuation of the old policy. What could be learned today as we are about to watch this togram from just listening how the senators framed the . Ebate why is it important to study this . When you consider how ,olarized politics have become these are two republicans and three democrats. How you think about flamboyant politics have gotten, theyre not making outrageous statements. They are having a good dialogue between themselves. Pointing out the tragic nature of the war. At that point about 40,000 americans had died in the war. Senators, i think senator caddell says if we dont pass this now we could have ,nother 20,000 casualties almost 20,000 more names were added after this broadcast was made. War, itonclusion of the or no different than 1973 1975. Right. Back, they were president johnson and president nixon were absolutely wrong about what they did in vietnam. United states has suffered from that ever since. Thank you for joining us. From may 12, 1970, here that broadcast. Today and the bright springtime of 1970, the United States of america has been ripped apart. Citizens bludgeon each other in the streets of new york. The campus orat option. Buildings explode, banks burn. Colleges are shut down. The population is polarized. They protest everywhere. Not since the days of the civil war of americans treated each other like this. At the heart of the trouble lies the war in vietnam. It is a strange war. The war we have to keep explaining to ourselves year after year. It is a difficult war to explain. Particularly to the people who have to going fight on the inconclusive battlefield. On, thel the talk goes war goes on, too. It continues tonight as it has continued for decades. Tonight americans died in vietnam. What could we do . Went to cambodia, and the memos introduced on the floor of the senate. It was cosponsored by a bipartisan coalition. It the amendment to end the war. It was regarded as a new thrust for peace. The Senate Debate will begin in just a few days. Hour, five oflf the senators will make a case for this amendment. If the American People can , ifctively urge the passage the amendment to end the war is passed, the traditional right declaring whether or not we should commit americans to battle will be returned to congress, where it belongs. Petition, andt, an active law, we shall have it at last ended the vietnam war. There is no way under the constitution by which the congress of the United States could 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 one, section eight of the constitution reads as follows. To Congress Shall have power raise and support armies. No appropriation of money to that use shall be to a longerterm than two years. Warur amendment to end the fulfills the obligations we have under the constitution. The amendment clearly states that unless the Congress Shall have declare war, no moneys appropriated on the act to which we attach the amendment or any other law shall be used in after december 30, 1970. Except for the withdrawal of american troops and other provisions. It provides that no money shall be used for military operations after country of laos december, 1970. It provides no moneys shall be authorized for the use of any military operations in cambodia. 30 days following the adoption of the amendment. That all troops shall be withdrawn from vietnam. All americans, by june, 1971. The United States that shall deem it important enough to extend that time by requesting congress. Such extending times. The amendment to end the war provides funding for the extension of american troops during the total period of our withdrawal. It provides Adequate Funding for political asylum for the south vietnamese and other civilians. Are adequate provisions that these civilians may be placed in other places for their own protection. A continuingor negotiation of exchange of prisoners. I assume the senate will be acting on another amendment . It sets the limits on that adventure to those declared by the president. This provides an orderly way for the United States to exit the war in vietnam south. For is are looking reasonable way to accomplish that withdrawal. I think the principal stumbling is losing face. Embarrassing policymakers. Thated about admitting perhaps we made a mistake. If there is a free people, we could just admit that we are capable of admitting that we made a mistake and put an early end to it. The motivation is not a change in policy at all. It is a continuation of the old posse. It has dedicated the war, not peace that means the war will go on and continue to go on for years. It means there has been no one speaking in this administration or the last two end of the support to commitment in vietnam. It means we can look into the future for at least a decade to a quarter of a million men involved in vietnam. I think every mother and father in america would have their son or that is five or six years old up to 15 or 16 should well realize that boy is going to be involved in our future commitment in vietnam under the existing policy. We have come to the point where we realize, i think the president realized the vietnam vietnamization will not work. I think it is time to realize the president doesnt have the power to declare war or make war alone. He could ask congress. I think that is why what we are discussing here, urging support from the American People is so important. It is not and you responsible action with the walls all falling down around american prestige and power in the world that we decide we are going to get out. Haveess is saying ok we spent our resources on this. Vietnamese, to take it over. Over a period of time, we will be withdrawing. We will not stay there and fight and bleed and die for you any longer. No longer the opinion of senators, the evidence of history of over 40,000 deaths. Proven each of these escalations to be wrong. I say how many more american men have to be heaped up onto that to disprove a theory or doctrine of military action that has been proven wrong each time it has been acted upon. The United States is not going to impose any permanent solution to settle asian problems among asian people. The idea that we are going to do that is against the whole current of history. What is happening in asia is the western powers are moving out. Vietnamization, is not the method. Ourill merely perpetuate involvement in this war. Half the troops may come home, the other half will stay. Not serve the interest of the United States to maintain a Permanent Military base in Southeast Asia. President reiterated that he will continue to bring back these 150,000 men in the next 12 months. May feel that means they will be coming back. Of bringing back 150,000 men in the next 12 sendingwe will be 276,000 men. We are not there now. We are in them arotech military or about to go into the military. We will bring back 150,000 more than we send. Mene will be this 276,000 that will perhaps die. What evidence is there based on past history that could lead us to believe that we would be in any better position for the year, fiveam one years, 10 years after tens of thousands of additional americans have been killed and we are now. Crisis andcreated a a deep disillusionment and alienation that doesnt just affect the narrow of radicals on campus. This feeling extends to millions of young americans. Up without a belief in this system, that seems to me has far greater bearing on the future of the United States than anything then we have now or have ever had at stake. The great, tragic byproducts of all of this will be the spirituals. We are involved in a body count war with total military supremacy, for them to have the far ranging effects on the policy of those nations sparing chemicals and driving people off the land into cities. Completely changing the Little Nation involving 16 million18 Million People. Can we be happy about the fact that we killed 10,000 vietnamese and suffered 300 deaths ourselves . This complete some ecology that we have that we are destroying life at any expense. Brutalizing our own society. We find our young people turning away from it. Attitudes that they consider whereistic and an age of we are really questioning ourselves to find National Purpose again. What we need to understand is there is no way to separate the cost of this war in asia from the cost of our own society. There were stories in the press some of the black citizens and other minority have shied away from participating in protests against the war on the grounds that they are concerned with racism, poverty, what i think all of our fellow americans need to understand is the answer to these other problems will not come until we put this war behind us and the enormous strain it is taking on our society. Aboutrson who is worried that should realize war is the principal cause about the man who is worried about the stock market is about to realize the stock market is associated to a great extent with the war. Many times the governors and the city councilman and others who are worried about where the money will come from for new schools or new sewage products or other things, they have to understand the war is robbing them of those possibilities. We are talking about 16 million to 18 Million People in vietnam. In americablacks have not been able to find justice in this great country. Indians who have never been brought to their fulfillment. You work so long and so energetic with summit 35 Million People living in poverty with the various foundations shaking every major city in the nation with the great basic undergirding of this nation with those minorities is now being drained off and siphoned off in saving facesomehow in Southeast Asia. When we talk, i think you would agree there is a great paradox. The war last year was 23 billion. In specific terms, one years cost of this war would clean up all of our waters in the United States. The halfhour this program is being telecast to reduce that or translate that in terms of the cost of war. The federal government will be spending 1 million just in this one halfhour in vietnam. Justin vietnam. I think of all the arguments that is the least impressive. The world knows we have the power to exterminate every living inhabited. It is not our power that is in question out there. It is the wisdom of our policy. It is the richest and strongest inion dropping more bombs North Vietnam then we did in all of europe during the second world war. If you remember this proportion of strength and wealth, that puts us in a bad light world. Done morehis war has to undermine americas moral leadership in the world than anything that has ever happened. The faster we put the matter , and in the Southeast Asia end this war, the sooner we win back again the respect this country should have throughout the world. What do you say to people who are really concerned about the fact that we will lose faith in the world . That we will not be a first rate . Ower honest americans that want to get out of the war and stop the killing, the dying, that this is americas place in the world. Thou unless we accept this challenge we are somehow failing in world leadership. This is the question on the minds of millions of americans today. Armament. T power of power of ideals. Losing in the world today by continuing to be in vietnam. It is a matter whether our ideals are embodied in the constitution in the hearts of American People are really at the center of our policy or we are out here with some peripheral object. It is humiliating to admit we are wrong and save lives. The sooner we do this, the better it will be for our nation. Can take therful chance of admitting error. Most civilizations that have died have died from within. The is happening now in United States of america if we dont get out of this war. We close this in the sacred justice,peace but freedom, peace are at stake. The government we are supporting is not a democratic government. It is incompetent and corrupt military. It is involved with a war with another dictatorship. A war between two dictatorships. Great mistakee a when we try to close such a war in terms of the ideals for which this country should stand. Freedom is not an issue for the people of vietnam. One way or another the kind of freedom we know will not be as a gift of this war out there. We are talking about this amendment to end the war. To most americans it is how could i support this amendment and at the same time support my country in an involvement we have had over the last 15 years. This, it could resolve willingly brings this war to the end. The president said the other weht if we leave vietnam now will be finished as a peacemaker in asia. I