Today in history

May 24

1774
The Virginia House of Burgesses declared this a day of “fasting, humiliation and prayer” in reaction to the British closure of the Port of Boston.
1906
British suffragist Dora Montefiore protests lack of women’s vote by refusing to pay taxes & barricading her house against bailiffs.
1943
In Bulgaria, a march against anti-Semitism leads to stop in Jewish deportations.

1964
Senator Barry Goldwater (R-Arizona), running for the Republican Party nomination for president, gave an interview in which he said he would consider the use of low-yield atomic bombs in North Vietnam.

1968
Four protesters, including Phil Berrigan and Tom Lewis, were sentenced in Baltimore, Maryland, to six years each in prison for pouring blood on draft cards.

1971
At Fort Bragg, North Carolina, an anti-war newspaper advertisement signed by 29 US soldiers supporting the Concerned Officers Movement results in controversy. The group had been formed in 1970 in Washington, D.C., by a small group of junior naval officers opposed to the war. The newspaper advertisement at Fort Bragg was in support of group’s members, who had joined with antiwar activist David Harris and others in San Diego to mobilize opposition to the departure of the carrier USS Constellation for Vietnam. No official action was taken against the military disside president, gave an interview in which he said he would consider the use of low-yield atomic bombs in North Vietnam.

1981
International Women’s Day for Disarmament was declared.

1982
More than 200,000 people participate in massive anti-nuclear demonstration in Tokyo.

1984
Largest national gathering of women in anti-nuclear demonstration, Auckland., NZ.