Video: '15th November 1969: 500,000 people march on Washington in the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam'

(Saturday, November 15, 1969, 10:25 a.m.-4:00 p.m. EST; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — The Vietnam Moratorium Committee staged what is believed to be the largest antiwar protest in United States history today when as many as half a million people attended a mostly peaceful demonstration in Washington.

Video: 'Vietnam: A Television History - Peace is at Hand [9/11]' (Nov. 15, 1969, at 13:49)

Smaller demonstrations were held in a number of cities and towns across the country. In San Francisco, police put the crowd at 85,000 during the height of a five-hour rally.

Video: 'Vietnam: A Television History - Homefront USA [10/11]' (Nov. 15, 1969, at 39:33)

The rally featured speeches by antiwar politicians, including Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern and Charles Goodell, the only Republican to take part.

It also included musical performances by Peter, Paul and Mary, Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger, who led the crowd in the singing of John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance.”

Video: 'ARE YOU LISTENING, NIXON?'

Though a small section of the crowd began protesting violently near the end of the demonstration, the day was mainly peaceful, standing in contrast to many of the violent antiwar protests of previous years, including the rioting at the 1968 Democratic Convention.

President Richard M. Nixon had promised in his 1968 campaign to begin a troop withdrawal but 10 months after taking office had yet to take action. He was unmoved by the demonstration, later claiming that he watched sports on television in the White House as it happened.

Video: 'Yesteryear 1969 Part 2'' (Nov. 15, 1969, at 0:11)