page_title: Stop Our Ship (SOS)
section_title: Constellation Vote
hierarchical_section_title: Stop Our Ship (SOS) / USS Constellation / Constellation Vote
caption_attribution_description: English: Poster used for the Constellation Vote in San Diego September 17-21, 1971
context_page_description: The Stop Our Ship (SOS) movement, a component of the overall civilian and GI movements against the Vietnam War, was directed towards and developed onboard U.S. Navy ships, particularly aircraft carriers heading to Southeast Asia. It was concentrated on and around major U.S. Naval stations and ships on the West Coast from mid-1970 to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, and at its height involved tens of thousands of antiwar civilians, military personnel and veterans. It was sparked by the tactical shift of U.S. combat operations in Southeast Asia from the ground to the air. As the ground war stalemated and Army grunts increasingly refused to fight or resisted the war in various other ways, the U.S. “turned increasingly to air bombardment”. By 1972 there were twice as many Seventh Fleet aircraft carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin as previously and the antiwar movement, which was at its height in the U.S. and worldwide, became a significant factor in the Navy.
context_section_description: The plan to stop an aircraft carrier attracted antiwar activists from all over California, including Joan Baez and David Harris. Harris suggested organizing a citywide referendum on whether the Constellation should set sail, and soon hundreds of activists, including sailors and veterans, were canvassing the city organizing the Constellation Vote. This led to a citywide straw vote in late September 1971 with 54,721 votes counted. Over 82% of voters elected to keep the ship home, including 73% of the military personnel who voted. While not a "real" vote, the impact on public opinion was appreciable. The commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet was quoted as saying "never was there such a concerted effort to entice American servicemen from their posts."
caption: Poster used for the Constellation Vote
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