Title: Madison Citizens for a Vote on Vietnam Records
Inclusive Dates: 1967-1968

Creator:

• Madison Citizens for a Vote on Vietnam (Wis.)

Call Number: Mss 296

Quantity: 0.8 c.f. (2 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Records of an ad hoc Madison, Wis., organization that sponsored a 1968 referendum on U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam, mainly consisting of correspondence and publicity. In addition to letters, the correspondence includes internal memoranda, notes, instructions to ward chairmen, minutes, news releases, and exchanges with sponsors, citizens, and nationally-prominent political candidates. Also present are financial records, clippings, copies of petitions, and background information on an abortive referendum effort in January 1967 and the Dow demonstration of October 19, 1967. Especially useful are the analytical notes made by Paul Hass, a leader of the organization, commenting on the progress of the MCVV.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00296

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The Madison Citizens for a Vote on Viet Nam was an ad hoc group opposed to United States military involvement in Viet Nam. Their purpose was to put the question of the war before the Madison public on the primary ballot of April 2, 1968 in the form of a referendum and to insure as large a vote as possible.

In January, 1967, several concerned citizens attempted to put the question on the spring, 1967, ballot, but they did not have enough time to procure the necessary number of signatures and to appear before the City Council. In August, 1967, Maurice Zeitlin, a professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin, began to collect prominent local men and women to be sponsors of efforts aimed at the 1968 ballot. After the confrontation on October 19, 1967, between the UW administration, the students, and the city police over the right of Dow Chemical Company to recruit on campus, Zeitlin was able to enlist the aid of many students. Working with the Concerned Democrats (“Vote No” to Johnson campaign) in the wards, the MCVV managed to collect more than the requisite 6,700 signatures by the December 22, 1967, deadline.

In January, 1968, MCVV was reorganized to be nonpartisan and independent of all other movements such as the McCarthy for President campaign. On January 25 the City Council approved inclusion of the referendum on the primary ballot, after which a massive publicity campaign began. A downtown office was rented as headquarters with a part-time secretary. In March several attempts were made to enlist the endorsement of nationally known political candidates without much success. Advertising and voter registration were more effective. On April 2, 1968, the referendum calling for an immediate cease-fire and eventual withdrawal received nearly 45 per cent of the votes, indicating rapidly growing dissatisfaction with the role of the United States in Viet Nam. The group was disbanded soon after the primary.

The papers of the MCVV consist mainly of correspondence and publicity materials resulting from the petition campaign and the voter registration and information drive. The papers are divided primarily by type of document, then arranged chronologically. Included in the chronologically arranged correspondence folders are internal memos and notes; instructions to ward chairmen; correspondence with sponsors, other citizens, and nationally prominent political candidates; minutes; and news releases. The collection also contains financial records, extensive publicity materials, news clippings, copies of the petitions, and some background information of the January, 1967 referendum effort and the Dow Chemical Company protest and strike. Of particular interest in the collection are analytical notes made by Paul H. Hass, a leader of the MCVV and an SHSW staff member, commenting on the progress of the MCVV in securing its objectives. Among the miscellaneous materials are clippings from organizations and individuals who supported the war and others across the country who opposed the war.

Included in the correspondence are messages from the following prominent individuals:

• Walter Cronkite, postcard, March 2, 1968
• Robert Kastenmeier, letters, March 15 and 26, 1968
• Eugene McCarthy, telegram, March 8, 1968
• James Reston, letter, March 12, 1968
• Harold E. Stassen, telegram, March 12, 1968

Acquisition Information

Presented by Patrick Quinn, April 30, 1968 and March 4, 1969; Paul H. Hass, August 8, 1968 and August 22, 1968; Maurice Zeitlin, September 24, 1968 and October 11, 1968; and Marianne Rice, December 18, 1969. Accession Number: M67-223; M68-150, M68-266, M68-289, M68-317; M69-82, M69-410

Processing Information

Processed by archives students and Elizabeth Maule, April 29, 1974.

Box   1 Folder   1	, 1967 Petition and Referendum effort
Box   1 Folder   2	Dow Chemical Company protest on campus, October, 1967
	Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   3	1967 August-November
Box   1 Folder   4	1967 December-1968 January
Box   1 Folder   5	1969 February
Box   1 Folder   6	1969 March-October
Box   1 Folder   7	Undated
Box   2 Folder   1	Notes and comments by Paul H. Hass
Box   2 Folder   2	Copies of petitions submitted December 22, 1967
Box   2 Folder   3	Financial Records, 1967-1968
Box   2 Folder   4	Ward organization material, 1967-1968
Box   2 Folder   5	Advertising material, 1967-1968
Box   2 Folder   6	News clippings, 1967-1968
Box   2 Folder   7	Material on referendum in San Francisco, November, 1967
Box   2 Folder   8	Material from other organizations opposed to the war, 1967-1968
Box   2 Folder   9	Clippings about organizations supporting the war, 1967-1968