Existing comment:
Expectations and Fears
As the day of the march approached, no one really knew what to expect. Demonstrators across the country finalized their travel plans; others were already on the road. Organizers had hoped for as many as 100,000 participants, but would they come and would their journey be blocked along the way?
The capital braced for the worst. The Washington police department canceled all leave. On military bases around the city, thousands of troops were placed on alert, and Pentagon officials reviewed their plans to send soldiers to the Mall if violence erupted.
Bill Mauldin's cartoon, published in the Chicago Sun Times, on August 24, 1963, captured the widespread apprehension about the upcoming demonstration. |