MA,„to 00 'b } A CALL TO RESIST ILLEGITIMATE AUTHORITY To the young men of America, to the whole of the American people, and to all men of good will everywhere: An ever growing number of young American men are ter of peasants who dared to stand up in their fields and I• finding that the American war in Vietnam so outrages shake their fists at American helicopters; — these are all their deepest moral and religious sense that they cannot actions of the kind which the United States and the other contribute to it in any way. We share their moral outrage. victorious powers of World War II declared to be crimes against humanity for which individuals were to be held We further believe that the war is unconstitutional personally responsible even when acting under the orders 2• and illegal. Congress has not declared a war as re­ of their governments and for which Germans were sen­ quired by the Constitution. Moreover, under the Constitu­ tenced at Nuremberg to long prison terms and death. The tion, treaties signed by the President and ratified by the prohibition of such acts as war crimes was incorporated in Senate have the same force as the Constitution itself. The treaty law by the Geneva Conventions of 1949, ratified by Charter of the United Nations is such a treaty. The Charter the United States. These are commitments to other countries specifically obligates the United States to refrain from force and to Mankind, and they would claim our allegiance even or the threat of force in international relations. It requires if Congress should declare war. stales to exhaust every peaceful means of settling and to submit disputes which cannot be settled We also believe it is an unconstitutional denial of reli- peacefully to the Security Council. The United States has 4• gious liberty and equal protection of the laws to with­ systematically violated all of these Charter provisions for hold draft exemption from men whose religious or pro­ thirteen years. found philosophical beliefs are opposed to what in the Western religious tradition have been long known as un­ Moreover, this war violates international agreements, just wars. 3• treaties and principles of law which the United States Government has solemnly endorsed. The combat role of Therefore, we believe on all these grounds that every the United States troops in Vietnam violates the Geneva 5• free man has a legal right and a moral duty to exert Accords of 1954 which our government pledged to support every effort to end this war, to avoid collusion with it, and but has since subverted. The destruction of rice, crops and to encourage others to do the same. Young men in the livestock; the burning and bulldozing of entire villages armed forces or threatened with the draft face the most consisting exclusively of civilian structures; the interning of excruciating choices. For them various forms of resistance civilian non-combatants in concentration camps; the sum­ risk separation from their families and their country, de­ mary executions of civilians in captured villages who could struction of their careers, loss of their freedom and loss of not produce satisfactory evidence of their loyalties or did their lives. Each must choose the course of resistance dic­ not wish to be removed to concentration camps; the slaugh­ tated by his conscience and circumstances. Among those already in the ormed forces some are refusing to obey A PARTIAL LIST OF SIGNERS specific illegal and immoral orders, some are attempting to Nelson W. Aidrich, Jr. Jerome Lettvin their fellow servicemen on the murderous and bar- Edwin B. Allaire Denise Levertov nature of the war, some are absenting themselves Gar Alperovitz Jack Levine Robert Lowell Emile de Antonio hoal leave. Among those not in the armed forces Elliott Lieb are applying for status as conscientious objectors to Richard Ashley Walter Lowenfels David Bakan Staughton Lynd American oggression in Vietnam, some are refusing to be Richard J. Barnet Dwight Macdonald inducted. Among both groups some are resisting openly Inge Powell Bell Herbert Marcuse Rev. Philip Berrigan, S.S.J. Kenneth O. May and paying a heavy penalty, some are organizing more Arno J. Mayer Rev. James Bevel Ev«rert Mendelsohn resistance within the United States and some have sought Norman Birnbaum Seymour Melman sanctuary in other countries. Robert Bly Thomas Merton Samuel Bowles Ashley Montagu Harry M. Bracken Ira Morris We believe that each of these forms of resistance Robert McAfee Brown Barrington Moore, Jr. 6• against illegitimate authority is courageous and justi­ Robert Brustein Rev. Richard Mumma Henry H. Bücher, Jr. Otto Nathan fied. Many of us believe that open resistance to the war Alexander Calder Jay Neugeboren and the draft is the course of action most likely to strength­ Louisa James Calder Jack NewfieW— Haydn Carruth Dr. Martin Niemoller en the moral resolve with which all of us can oppose the Jerome Charyn Michael Novak war and most likely to bring an end to the war. Noam Chomsky Conor Cruise O'Brien Allen Churchill Carl Oglesby Rev. William Sloane Coffin Richard Ohmann Dr. Arnold M. Cooper Wayne O Neil We will continue to lend our support to those who Robert Coover Grace Paley 7• undertake resistance to this war. We will raise funds Frederick Crews Victor Paschkis Alfred Crown Linus Pauling to organize draft resistance unions, to supply legal defense William Davidon Bishop James A. Pike and bail, to support families and otherwise aid resistance Martin Davis Richard H. Popkin Jean Davidson Hilary Putnam to the war in whatever ways may seam appropriate. R. G. Davis Philip Rohv Stanley 0x3 mo né Anatol Rapoport Dr. James P. Dixon Marc Raskin Peter V. Ritner We firmly believe that our statement is the sort of Rev. Thomas Dorney, SJ. Henry Robbins Douglas Do-wd • speech that under the First Amendment must be free, Gordon Rogoff 8 George P. Elliott Philip Roth and thot the actions we will undertake are as legal as is Lawrence Ferlinghetti Muriel Rukeyser W. H. Ferry me »or resistance of the young men themselves. In any Robert J. Rutman Eliot Friedson Marshall Sahlins case, we feel that we cannot shrink from fulfilling our Dr. J. W. Friedman Franz Schurman Normon D. Fruchter responsibilities to the youth whom many of us teach, to the Richard Seaver Allen Ginsberg John R. Seeley countiy whose freedom we cherish, and to the ancient tra­ Rabbi Robert E. Goldburg Wilfred Sheed ditions of religion and philosophy which we strive to pre- Mitchell Goodman Stanley K. Sheinbaum Paul Goodman James Shenton in this generation. Norman K. Gottwald Philip Siekevttz Robert Greenblatt Edgar Snow Balcomb Greene Theodore Solotaroff We call upon all men of good will to join us in this con- Barbara Guest Susan Sontag John G. Gurley Raphael Soyer 9• frontation with immoral authority. Especially we call Roger T. Hagan Dr. Benjamin Spock upon the universities to fulfill their mission of enlightenment William Hamilton Charles Stein Chester W. Hartman Grover C. Stephens and religious organizations to honor their heritage of Richard O. Hathaway Elizabeth Sutherland brotherhood. Now is the time to resist. Jules Henry John M. Swomley, Jr. Nat Hentoff Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Edward S. Herman Paul Sweezy Hallock Hoffman Daniel Talbot James G. Holland William Taylor lend to: RESIST Room 510,166 Fifth Ave. New York, NY. 10010 Leo Hubermon Karl V. Teeter Karl Hufbauer Harold Tovish Q I wish to sign "A Call to Resist Illegitimate Authority" ond Dell Hymes Tomi Ungerer am willing to have my endorsement made public. Christopher Jencks William Vickrey Gerald Walker f"l I enclose a contribution of $ _ to support the Donald Kalish Immanuel Wallerstein work of RESIST. Please make checks payable to RESIST) Herbert Kelman Roy C Kepler Brendan Walsh ^ I am interested in organizing or joining a group in my Fr. David Kirk James E. Walsh community to support young men directly resisting the war. Herbert Kohl Arthur Waskow Gabriel Kolko Howard Waskow Hans Koningsberger Anthony West Gilbert White Ivor Kraft Richard Wilbur Jean-Claude van Itallie Sol Yurick address Burton Lane Robert Zevin Christopher Lasch Paul R. Zilsei Irving Laucks city _zip_ Howard Zinn Paul Lauter Sidney Lens .