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American Civil Liberties Union: National Committee on Conscientious Objectors Records, 1940-1946 (inclusive)

Extent:

13.25 linear ft. (33 boxes)

Abstract:

The roots of the NCCO began shortly after conscription in WWII was instituted. Little is known about the New York Office of the NCCO. It was headquartered at 31 Union Square West in New York City (NY) where the ACLU had its offices, and was likely set up in 1940, under the chairmanship of Norman Angell, and stayed in existence through 1945. In Washington (DC), the Temporary Committee for Legal Aid to Conscientious Objectors was formed in 1940. R. Boland Brooks had gone to NSBRO (National Service Board for Conscientious Objectors) under the sponsorship of this committee. In 1942, George Reeves and R. Boland Brooks left their posts at the National Service Board for Conscientious Objectors. The relationship of Brooks and the Legal Aid Committee was re-established after the resignations from NSBRO. Reorganizing as Legal Service to Conscientious Objectors, the Committee agreed to sponsor a Washington service bureau, with Brooks as director and Reeves as assistant director. An office was...(see more)

Held at: Swarthmore College Peace Collection [Contact Us]

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War Resisters League Records, 1923-2013 (inclusive)

Extent:

35.4 linear ft. (series a = 37 boxes and 15.22 linear feet; series b = 49 boxes and 20.22 linear feet)

Abstract:

The War Resisters League is a pacifist organization whose members are against all war. Witnessing the establishment of the War Resisters' International in Europe in 1921, and sensing a need for a similar organization in the United States, Dr. Jessie Wallace Hughan established the War Resisters League as an independent organization. The War Resisters League membership pledge, which has remained essentially unchanged since its inception, reads: "The War Resisters League affirms that war is a crime against humanity. We therefore are determined not to support any kind of war, international or civil, and to strive non-violently for the removal of all causes of war." The League seeks to end war and social injustice through pacifist and nonviolent tactics.

Held at: Swarthmore College Peace Collection [Contact Us]