The concept of a national moratorium to protest continued U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam was first put forth in 1969 by Jerome Grossman, a businessman and chairman of the Massachusetts Peace Action Council. By early summer the idea had been adopted by Sam Brown, David Hawk, and David Mixner, three activists who had been associated in the McCarthy presidential campaign. As a self-appointed committee on June 30 they formally announced plans for a one-day moratorium on October 15, 1969, which was to be followed by a two-day moratorium in November, and so on, increasing one day per month until all U.S. troops were withdrawn from Vietnam.
Despite some skepticism about the feasibility of the committee's objectives the moratorium gained wide public support and ultimately succeeded in bringing a more moderate constituency to the antiwar movement. Both the Student Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam and the New Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, which were to the committee's left, made the October Moratorium part of their fall activities (in turn VMC endorsed their November 15 demonstrations), and to the VMC's right a section of the Democratic Party and some Republican doves lent their support. By the end of July the committee had workers on 225 campuses and contacts on 75 others, and by the time classes resumed these local ad hoc organizations had actually expanded beyond the capacity of the VMC Washington offices to keep track of them. Moratorium activities took place in almost every state and were what was up to that time perhaps the largest expression of public dissent ever seen in the United States.
Despite their organizing success, committee coordinators were understandably discouraged by their inability to affect government policy. Troubled by a lack of funds, the committee disbanded in April 1970.
