Students for a Democratic Society Stage Antiwar Protests

An activist group called Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) stages a protest against the war in front of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. Approximately 25,000 people, mostly students, attend the protest, which features speeches against U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia. According to historians, the event is the largest antiwar demonstration in American history to date. Over the next several years, SDS—which grows from 800 members in 1962 to over 10,000 by 1965—shifts more of its focus from domestic civil rights issues to foreign policy and protesting the escalation of the Vietnam War.1