{"id":2260,"date":"2012-11-26T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-26T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=2260"},"modified":"2015-01-08T17:21:02","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T22:21:02","slug":"signing-up-for-dr-benjamin-spock-and-draft-resistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/11\/26\/signing-up-for-dr-benjamin-spock-and-draft-resistance\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Signing up’ for Dr. Benjamin Spock and draft resistance"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"(Post-Gazette <\/a>
(Post-Gazette photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

1968:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Author and pediatrician Benjamin Spock played a prominent role in a resistance campaign against the Vietnam War. He led demonstrations across the country and spoke in favor of\u00a0draft resistance and the right of servicemen to refuse to obey \u201cillegal and immoral orders.\u201d In April of 1967, Dr. Spock together with Martin Luther King Jr. and Harry Belafonte led a march of approximately 300,000 people to the U.N. headquarters in the New York City. He led smaller rallies for the same cause in Pittsburgh, in Washington, D.C., and other cities. At rallies, young protesters held up signs similar to the one Laurann Wakefield carried in this photo, with a peace sign used for the letter o<\/em> in his name. For many young activists, according to some newspaper interviews, the idea of protesting with Dr. Spock made these protests more palatable to their parents.<\/p>\n

In June 1967, Dr. Spock was convicted for \u201caiding draft resisters.\u201d At his trial, he told the jury that he considered the war \u201ctotally illegal, immoral, unwinnable and detrimental to the best interests of the United States.\u201dAt a news conference after his conviction and sentencing, Spock said the war \u201cviolates the United Nations Charter, the Geneva accords and the United States\u2019 promise to obey the laws of international conduct. It is totally, abominably illegal.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0In 1969, the conviction was overturned and Dr. Spock continued his involvement in the antiwar movement. He was arrested three times after that because of his resistance activities.<\/p>\n

His books were under attack as well. Vietnam War supporters blamed them for developing negative character traits, such as rebelliousness, permissiveness and an expectation of instant gratification, which led young people to join Dr. Spock in his disruptive antiwar demonstrations.<\/p>\n

In 1972, the People\u2019s Party, a newly formed left-wing antiwar movement, nominated Benjamin Spock as their presidential candidate in the 1972 election to run against GOP candidate Richard Nixon and Democrat George McGovern. Dr. Spock received 78,759 votes (0.1% of popular vote).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author and pediatrician Benjamin Spock played a prominent role in a resistance campaign against the Vietnam War. <\/p>\n

Look at the pictures‘Signing up’ for Dr. Benjamin Spock and draft resistance<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[948],"tags":[962,1250,1035,1036,1050],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/tumblr_mdr5wmJltW1rr5swxo1_500.jpg?fit=423%2C750&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2257,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/11\/26\/dr-benjamin-spocks-international-legacy\/","url_meta":{"origin":2260,"position":0},"title":"Dr. Benjamin Spock’s international legacy","date":"November 26, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"He spent four years working at Pitt.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Screen-Shot-2014-12-17-at-12.22.07-AM.png?fit=1200%2C523&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":440,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/07\/21\/vietnam-protests-in-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":2260,"position":1},"title":"Vietnam protests in Pittsburgh","date":"July 21, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"A quiet September day in 1969 at South Hills High School turned chaotic.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/tumblr_n8xl29I3ak1rr5swxo7_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C923&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2481,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/09\/27\/publication-of-rachel-carsons-silent-spring\/","url_meta":{"origin":2260,"position":2},"title":"Publication of Rachel Carson\u2019s \u201cSilent Spring\u201d","date":"September 27, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"\"Every thinking man and woman should read \u2018Silent Spring.\"","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/tumblr_mazclqZOqj1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=726%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2173,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/12\/31\/pittsburghers-party-on-new-years-eve\/","url_meta":{"origin":2260,"position":3},"title":"Pittsburghers party on New Year\u2019s Eve","date":"December 31, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Remember December of 1985?","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/tumblr_mfcjqdSChO1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C791&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2505,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/09\/19\/badger-bob-the-penguins-coach\/","url_meta":{"origin":2260,"position":4},"title":"\u201cBadger\u201d Bob, the Penguins coach","date":"September 19, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"We smile when remembering Badger Bob\u2019s slogan: \u201cIt\u2019s a great day for hockey.\u201d","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/tumblr_mak6rdRqCO1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C808&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9302,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2018\/12\/24\/pittsburgh-christmas-photos-old-traditions\/","url_meta":{"origin":2260,"position":5},"title":"Photos from Pittsburgh’s Christmases past","date":"December 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Christmas is a holiday of traditions, and every city has its own. 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