Nixonland: America's Second Civil War and the Divisive Legacy of Richard Nixon 1965-72

by Rick Perlstein

Either as fears or boasts, the predictions of disorder proved unfounded. “All we are saying is give peace a chance”: the press could hear the refrain wafting from outside the White House gates as the president, visibly weary and nervous, stepped to the podium for a televised press conference the evening before the rally. Flyers were everywhere: “NIXON WOULD LIKE YOU TO USE VIOLENCE IN THIS DEMONSTRATION TO DISCREDIT THE STUDENT PEACE MOVEMENT. DO THE HARD THING…AVOID VIOLENCE.” Jane Fonda, in a T-shirt and braless, welcomed the crowd: “Greetings, fellow bums!” She gestured to the men in uniform patrolling the perimeter: “Those men may well have seen combat in Vietnam. They know better than any of us what this war is like. Don’t assume they are against us for opposing war.” A booming cheer went up. A GI flashed a conspicuous peace sign. A massed contingent marched into sight behind a banner reading FEDERAL BUMS AGAINST THE WAR. The crowd went wild. Thousands bathed in the Reflecting Pool. A black man strapped himself to a giant crucifix. Shirley MacLaine, Coretta Scott King, Dr. Spock, David Dellinger delivered soaring perorations. Time reported with pleasure how some government officials, even John Mitchell, circulated through the crowd, inviting students back to their offices for raps. The father of one of the slain Kent State students, a Pittsburgh steelworker, announced, “My child was not a bum.”