Mayday 1971

Fifty years ago the U.S. war in Vietnam had been raging for six years. More than 50,000 American soldiers had died in Southeast Asia. In April and May of 1971, anti-war protesters descended on the capital for an extraordinary run of demonstrations, to pressure Congress and President Nixon to bring the troops home.The finale came in early May. The protesters slogan was,“If the government won’t stop the war, we’ll stop the government.” Protesters blocked the city’s streets and bridges. The Nixon administration arrested more than 12,000 people over three days. It remains America’s largest mass arrest. Photographs from the People’s Archive of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library are used here and in the book, "MAYDAY 1971: A White House at War, a Revolt in the Streets, and the Untold History of America’s Biggest Mass Arrest," by Lawrence Roberts.

About one hundred vets stage a sit-in at the Supreme Court steps, to protest the federal court order banning them from their campsite. Their arrests win them public sympathy.

Defiant, angry and sorrowful, the Vietnam vets end their foray into Washington by hurling their combat ribbons and medals onto the steps of the Capitol.

Hosea Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference leads a rally outside the Justice Department. The civil rights group coordinates with the Mayday anti-war leaders.

The Mayday camp in West Potomac Park takes on the air of a 1960s-style festival including a 24-hour rock show that opens with the Beach Boys.

Leaders persuade most of the thousands of campers to leave peacefully, rather than risk jail and miss the Monday blockade. Some angry protesters burn makeshift lean-tos on the way out.

Despite reluctance at the Pentagon, Nixon officials summon 10,000 active-duty military to help police and National Guard. Chinook helicopters unload troops on the Mall.

Jerry V. Wilson, the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, is ordered by President Nixon to use any means necessary to keep the city open and foil the protests.

Jeeps cruise through Georgetown in a show of force. Troops aren’t making arrests, but their presence escalates tensions between demonstrators and police, and emboldens the riot squad.

Concerned about conditions at the camp, Walter Fauntroy, D.C.’s first non-voting representative to Congress, confers with Senator Charles Mathias, R-MD (left) and Bob Rogers (right) of the City Council staff.

The White House believes Monday’s mass arrests broke the will of the Mayday demonstrators. But the next day, police take another 2,000 people into custody outside the Justice Department.

On the third day, the Mayday protests move to the U.S. Capitol. Some 1,200 people are rounded up and jailed, despite having been invited to the rally by members of Congress.

Criticism mounts over the arrests. The White House conceals its role, saying local officials made all decisions. Nixon holds a photo op to congratulate Chief Jerry V. Wilson, Mayor Walter Washington and others.