List of congressional opponents of the Vietnam War

Last updated

This is a list of U.S. senators and representatives who opposed the Vietnam War. This includes those who initially supported the war, but later changed their stance to a strong opposition to it.

Contents

Senate

SenatorParty (at opposition)StateTerm (at opposition)Ref.
StartEnd
FrankChurch.jpg Frank Church Democratic Idaho 3 January 19573 January 1981 [1]
JohnShermanCooper.jpg John Sherman Cooper Republican Kentucky 7 November 19563 January 1973 [2]
J. William Fulbright in 1960 (cropped) 2.jpg J. William Fulbright Democratic Arkansas 3 January 194531 December 1974 [3]
Albert Gore Sr..jpg Albert Gore Sr. Democratic Tennessee 3 January 19533 January 1971 [4]
Mikegravel.jpg Mike Gravel Democratic Alaska 3 January 19693 January 1981 [5]
Governor ernest gruening 1943 cropped.jpg Ernest Gruening Democratic Alaska 3 January 19593 January 1969 [6]
Vance Hartke.jpg Vance Hartke Democratic Indiana 3 January 19593 January 1977 [7]
Mark Hatfield - 1967.jpg Mark Hatfield Republican Oregon 3 January 19673 January 1997 [8]
Jacob Javits.jpg Jacob Javits Republican New York 3 January 19573 January 1981 [9]
Robert F Kennedy crop.jpg Robert F. Kennedy Democratic New York 3 January 19656 June 1968 [10]
Michael Joseph Mansfield.jpg Mike Mansfield Democratic Montana 3 January 19533 January 1977 [11]
Charlesmathiasjr.jpg Charles Mathias Republican Maryland 3 January 19693 January 1987 [12]
EugeneMcCarthy.jpg Eugene McCarthy Democratic-Farmer-Labor Minnesota 3 January 19593 January 1971 [13]
GeorgeStanleyMcGovern.jpg George McGovern Democratic South Dakota 3 January 19633 January 1981 [14]
Wayne Morse.jpg Wayne Morse Democratic Oregon 3 January 19453 January 1969 [15]
Senator William Proxmire.jpg William Proxmire Democratic Wisconsin 28 August 19573 January 1989 [16]

House of Representatives

RepresentativeParty (at opposition)DistrictTerm (at opposition)Ref.
StartEnd
Bella Savitsky Abzug.jpg Bella Abzug Democratic NY-19 3 January 19713 January 1973 [17]
NY-20 3 January 19733 January 1977
Les Aspin official DoD photo.jpg Les Aspin Democratic WI-01 3 January 197120 January 1993 [18]
Georgebrownjr.jpg George Brown Jr. Democratic CA-29 3 January 19633 January 1971 [19]
Philip Burton.jpg Phillip Burton Democratic CA-05 18 February 19643 January 1975 [20]
Dellums-CBC.jpg Ron Dellums Democratic CA-07 3 January 19713 January 1975 [21]
Robert Drinan.jpg Robert Drinan Democratic MA-03 3 January 19713 January 1973 [22]
MA-04 3 January 19733 January 1981
Ed Koch 95th congress.jpg Ed Koch Democratic NY-17 3 January 196931 December 1973 [23]
NY-18 3 January 197331 December 1977
Allard K. Lowenstein.jpg Allard K. Lowenstein Democratic NY-05 3 January 19693 January 1971 [24]
Pete McCloskey.jpg Pete McCloskey Republican CA-11 12 December 19673 January 1973 [25]
Patsy Mink 1970s.jpg Patsy Mink Democratic Hawaii 3 January 19653 January 1977 [26]
1945 Thomas ONeill Massachusetts House of Representatives.png Tip O'Neill Democratic MA-08 3 January 19633 January 1987 [27]
Henry S. Reuss.jpg Henry S. Reuss Democratic WI-05 3 January 19553 January 1983 [28]
Don Riegle, Jr.jpg Donald Riegle Republican MI-07 3 March 196730 December 1976 [29]
James H Scheuer.jpg James H. Scheuer Democratic NY-21 3 January 19653 January 1973 [30]
Eugene Siler.jpg Eugene Siler Republican KY-05 3 January 19633 January 1965 [31]
Fortney Pete Stark.jpg Pete Stark Democratic CA-08 3 January 19733 January 1975 [32]
Andrew Jackson Young.jpg Andrew Young Democratic GA-05 3 January 197329 January 1977 [33]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Byrd</span> American politician (1917–2010)

Robert Carlyle Byrd was an American politician and musician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia for over 51 years, from 1959 until his death in 2010. A Democrat, Byrd also served as a U.S. representative for six years, from 1953 until 1959. He remains the longest-serving U.S. Senator in history; he was the longest-serving member in the history of the United States Congress until surpassed by Representative John Dingell of Michigan. Byrd is the only West Virginian to have served in both chambers of the state legislature and in both chambers of Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 United States presidential election</span> 46th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1968 United States presidential election was the 46th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 1968. The Republican nominee, former vice president Richard Nixon, defeated both the Democratic nominee, incumbent vice president Hubert Humphrey, and the American Independent Party nominee, former Alabama governor George Wallace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hubert Humphrey</span> Vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969

Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. was an American politician and statesman who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 1949 to 1964 and 1971 to 1978. As a senator he was a major leader of modern liberalism in the United States. As President Lyndon B. Johnson's vice president, he supported the controversial Vietnam War. An intensely divided Democratic Party nominated him in the 1968 presidential election, which he lost to Republican nominee Richard Nixon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strom Thurmond</span> American politician (1902–2003)

James Strom Thurmond Sr. was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Before his 48 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South Carolina from 1947 to 1951. Thurmond was a member of the Democratic Party until 1964 when he joined the Republican Party for the remainder of his legislative career. He also ran for president in 1948 as the Dixiecrat candidate, receiving over a million votes and winning four states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fritz Hollings</span> American politician (1922–2019)

Ernest Frederick "Fritz" Hollings was an American politician who served as a United States senator from South Carolina from 1966 to 2005. A conservative Democrat, he was also the 106th governor of South Carolina, the 77th lieutenant governor of South Carolina, and a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. He served alongside Democrat-turned-Republican Senator Strom Thurmond for 36 years, making them the longest-serving duo in U.S. Senate history. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living former U.S. senator. As of 2024, he is the last Democrat to hold and/or win a U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyndon B. Johnson</span> President of the United States from 1963 to 1969

Lyndon Baines Johnson, often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served as the 37th vice president from 1961 to 1963. A Democrat from Texas, Johnson also served as a U.S. representative and U.S. senator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyrus Vance</span> American lawyer and government official (1917–2002)

Cyrus Roberts Vance Sr. was an American lawyer and United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980. Prior to serving in that position, he was the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense in the Johnson administration. During the Kennedy administration he was Secretary of the Army and General Counsel of the Department of Defense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John C. Stennis</span> American politician (1901–1995)

John Cornelius Stennis was an American politician who served as a U.S. senator from the state of Mississippi. He was a Democrat who served in the Senate for over 41 years, becoming its most senior member for his last eight years. He retired from the Senate in 1989, and is, to date, the last Democrat to have been a U.S. senator from Mississippi. Furthermore, at the time of his retirement, Stennis was the last senator to have served during the presidency of Harry S. Truman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry M. Jackson</span> American politician (1912–1983)

Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. representative (1941–1953) and U.S. senator (1953–1983) from the state of Washington. A Cold War liberal and anti-Communist member of the Democratic Party, Jackson supported higher military spending and a hard line against the Soviet Union, while also supporting social welfare programs, civil rights, and labor unions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henrik Shipstead</span> American politician (1881–1960)

Henrik Shipstead was an American politician. He served in the United States Senate from 1923 to 1947, from the state of Minnesota. He served first as a member of the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party from 1923 to 1941 and then as a Republican from 1941 to 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vance Hartke</span> American politician (1919–2003)

Rupert Vance Hartke was an American politician who served as a Democratic United States Senator from Indiana from 1959 until 1977. Hartke won election to the Senate after serving as the mayor of Evansville, Indiana. In the Senate, he supported the Great Society and became a prominent opponent of the Vietnam War. Hartke ran for president in the 1972 Democratic primaries but withdrew after the first set of primaries. He left the Senate after being defeated in his 1976 re-election campaign by Richard Lugar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. William Fulbright</span> American politician (1905–1995)

James William Fulbright was an American politician, academic, and statesman who represented Arkansas in the United States Senate from 1945 until his resignation in 1974. As of 2023, Fulbright is the longest serving chairman in the history of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He is best known for his strong multilateralist positions on international issues, opposition to American involvement in the Vietnam War, and the creation of the international fellowship program bearing his name, the Fulbright Program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Gore Sr.</span> American politician from Tennessee (1907–1998)

Albert Arnold Gore Sr. was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1953 to 1971. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a U.S. Representative from the state's 4th congressional district from 1939 to 1953. He was the father of Al Gore, who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 until 2001, and held Tennessee's other U.S. Senate seat from 1985 to 1993. A native of Granville, Tennessee, Gore graduated from Middle Tennessee State Teachers College and taught school. From 1932 to 1936 he was superintendent of schools for Smith County. He attended the Nashville Y.M.C.A. Night Law School, now the Nashville School of Law, from which he graduated in 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayne Morse</span> U.S. Senator from Oregon who served from 1945 to 1969

Wayne Lyman Morse was an American attorney and United States Senator from Oregon. Morse is well known for opposing the Democratic Party’s leadership and for his opposition to the Vietnam War on constitutional grounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Johnson</span> American politician (1930–2020)

Samuel Robert Johnson was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 3rd congressional district in Congress from 1991 to 2019. He was a member of the Republican Party. In October and November 2015, he was the acting Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, where he also served as chairman of the Social Security Subcommittee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob Javits</span> American lawyer and politician (1904–1986)

Jacob Koppel Javits was an American lawyer and politician. During his time in politics, he represented the state of New York in both houses of the United States Congress. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the state's Attorney General. Generally considered a liberal Republican, he was often at odds with his own party. A supporter of labor unions, the Great Society, and the civil rights movement, he played a key role in the passing of civil rights legislation. An opponent of the Vietnam War, he drafted the War Powers Resolution in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Aiken</span> American politician (1892–1984)

George David Aiken was an American politician and horticulturist. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 64th governor of Vermont (1937–1941) before serving in the United States Senate for 34 years, from 1941 to 1975. At the time of his retirement, he was the most senior member of the Senate, a feat which would be repeated by his immediate successor Patrick Leahy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burton K. Wheeler</span> American politician and lawyer (1882–1975)

Burton Kendall Wheeler was an attorney and an American politician of the Democratic Party in Montana, which he represented as a United States senator from 1923 until 1947.

U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) took positions on many political issues throughout his career via his public comments and senatorial voting record. He was broadly liberal with regard to social issues. Kennedy favored stricter gun control, supported LGBT rights and abortion rights, advocated for universal health care, and legislated for education initiatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1966 United States Senate election in Oregon</span>

The 1966 Oregon United States Senate election was held on November 6, 1966 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of Oregon. Incumbent Senator Maurine Brown Neuberger did not seek re-election. Held during the escalation of United States involvement of the Vietnam War, the race was between Republican candidate and incumbent Governor of Oregon Mark Hatfield, who opposed the war, and Democratic congressman Robert B. Duncan, who supported the war. In an unusual move, Oregon's other Senator, Democrat Wayne Morse, who also opposed the war, crossed party lines to endorse Hatfield, who won in a close election, his first of five terms in the United States Senate.

References

  1. ↑ Schmitz, David F. (2003). "Congress Must Draw the Line: Senator Frank Church and Opposition to the Vietnam War and the Imperial Presidency". In Woods, Randall Bennett (ed.). Vietnam and the American political tradition. Cambridge University Press. pp. 121–148. ISBN   0-521-01000-4.
  2. ↑ Albin Krebs (February 23, 1991). "John Sherman Cooper Dies at 89; Long-time Senator From Kentucky". New York Times .
  3. ↑ "J. William Fulbright". Encyclopædia Britannica . 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
  4. ↑ Melinda Henneberger (May 22, 2000). "A Political Father Who Chose the High Road and Unpopular Stands". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ Myrna Oliver (July 29, 2003). "Vance Hartke, 84; Indiana Senator Opposed Johnson on Vietnam". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ↑ Johnson, Robert D. (2003). "The Progressive Dissent: Ernest Gruening and Vietnam". Vietnam and the American Political Tradition. pp. 58–81. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511615375.004. ISBN   9780521811484 . Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  7. ↑ Myrna Oliver (July 29, 2003). "Vance Hartke, 84; Indiana Senator Opposed Johnson on Vietnam". Los Angeles Times.
  8. ↑ "The Viet Nam Race". Time Magazine. October 14, 1966. Archived from the original on February 20, 2008.
  9. ↑ Mann, Robert (2002). A Grand Delusion: America's Descent into Vietnam. Basic Books. p. 554. ISBN   0-465-04370-4 . Retrieved April 19, 2009.
  10. ↑ Thurston Clarke (June 2008). "The Last Good Campaign". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014.
  11. ↑ Matusow, Allen (1984). "The Vietnam War, the Liberals, and the Overthrow of LBJ" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 16, 2009. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
  12. ↑ "Back in Time: At War with War". CNN. Archived from the original on June 15, 2009. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  13. ↑ Francis X. Clines (December 11, 2005). "Eugene J. McCarthy, Senate Dove Who Jolted '68 Race, Dies at 89". New York Times .
  14. ↑ "The Plight of The Doves". Time Magazine. September 14, 1970. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
  15. ↑ "FBI Investigated Wayne Morse Over Vietnam War Opposition; Johnson Allegedly Ordered Probe of Senator". The Washington Post. July 17, 1988. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012.
  16. ↑ Richard Severo (December 16, 2005). "William Proxmire, Maverick Democratic Senator From Wisconsin, Is Dead at 90". New York Times .
  17. ↑ Laura Mansnerus (April 1, 1998). "Bella Abzug, 77, Congresswoman And a Founding Feminist, Is Dead". New York Times .
  18. ↑ "Les Aspin January 21, 1993 - February 3, 1994 18th Secretary of Defense Clinton Administration". U.S. Department of Defense.
  19. ↑ Stephen Green (July 17, 1999). "Liberal Representative George Brown Jr. Dies". Daily News.
  20. ↑ "13 Demos Press to End War". The Deseret News. May 25, 1971.
  21. ↑ "Ronald V. Dellums; Representative, 1971–1998, Democrat from California". Black Americans in Congress, 1870–2007. Office of History and Preservation, Office of the Clerk, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 2008. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
  22. ↑ "Friends and Students Remember Jesuit Pioneer". Georgetown University. February 5, 2007. Archived from the original on March 10, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
  23. ↑ "Ed Koch's Legacy". Gotham Gazette. November 14, 2005. Archived from the original on April 27, 2007. Retrieved April 19, 2009.
  24. ↑ Olson, James Stuart (1999). Historical dictionary of the 1960s. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 281–282. ISBN   0-313-29271-X . Retrieved April 19, 2009.
  25. ↑ "White knight in a battle-bus". The Economist. June 1, 2006.
  26. ↑ "Patsy T. Mink". Women in Congress. Office of the Clerk, U.S. Capitol, Room H154 - Washington, DC. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  27. ↑ Martin Tolchin (January 7, 1994). "Thomas P. O'Neill Jr., a Democratic Power in the House for Decades, Dies at 81". New York Times .
  28. ↑ Graeme Zielinski (January 15, 2002). "Longtime Rep. Henry Reuss Dies; Wis. Democrat a Banking Expert". The Washington Post. Archived from the original (fee required) on October 20, 2012. He also was a foe of the Communist-baiting Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy (R-Wis.); an early supporter of civil rights, conservation and congressional reform legislation; and a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War.
  29. ↑ "Strong Criticism Comes in Reaction to Bombing". The Virgin Islands Daily News. December 22, 1972.
  30. ↑ Morgan, Joseph G. (1997). The Vietnam Lobby. UNC Press. p. 110. ISBN   0-8078-2322-8 . Retrieved April 19, 2009.
  31. ↑ Beito, David T; Beito, Linda Royster (August 21, 2006). "The Christian Conservative Who Opposed the Vietnam War". History News Network.
  32. ↑ Carl Hulse (February 9, 2003). "Threats and Responses: The Draft; A New Tactic Against War: Renew Talk About Draft". New York Times .
  33. ↑ "Andrew Young". Encyclopædia Britannica.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.