Seabrook: A Profile of Anti‐Nuclear Activists, June 1978*

Excerpt

In April 1977, slightly over 1,400 opponents of nuclear power pitched camp on a dirt parking lot of a nuclear power plant under construction in Seabrook, New Hampshire. Within two weeks, this group of people catapulted the American anti-nuclear movement into national and world prominence and demonstrated, once again, the efficacy of non-violent action. ¹ Their main tactic was refusal to leave the parking lot, an act of civil disobedience that resulted in their arrest, and acts of non-cooperation in the armories where they were held up for two weeks. ² The non-cooperation with bail procedures, sex, segregation, etc., drew the attention of the New England press for fifteen days. The event was a public relations victory for the anti-nuclear movement and an embarrassment to New Hampshire's Governor Meldrim Thomson, an ardent nuclear power proponent. In addition, the bail refusal tactics of many of the protestors cost the tiny state of New Hampshire $50,000 a day during their incarceration. The exasperated governor unsuccessfully sought federal funds an pleaded for contributions from the public to cover these costs. ³