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Start Over Repository Swarthmore College Peace Collection People Muste, Abraham John, 1885-1967

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Committee for Nonviolent Action Records, 1958-1968 (inclusive)

Extent:
18.75 linear ft. (18.75 linear ft.)
Abstract:
CNVA was one of the first American peace groups to focus on nonviolentdirect action including civil disobedience. Its purpose of organizing imaginative and dramatic protest demonstrations on both land and sea attracted radical pacifists and called the attention of the American public to the atrocities of nuclear warfare. CNVA's first protest action was a vigil held outside the atomic weapons test grounds in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1957. In the second half of its existence CNVA efforts began to focus on Vietnam. The organization allied its resources with other American peace groups. As other American peace groups adopted CNVA's methods of dramatic and nonviolent demonstrations, its own numbers and support waned. In the fall of 1967, CNVA voted to merge with the War Resisters League, which became reality in January 1968.

Held at: Swarthmore College Peace Collection [Contact Us]

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A.J. Muste Papers, 1920-1967 (inclusive)

Extent:
26 linear ft. (64 boxes)
Abstract:
A.J. Muste (1885-1967), was ordained a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church, but later (1917), he became a member of the Society of Friends. During World War I, Muste's refusal to abandon his pacifist position led to his forced resignation from the Central Congregational Church in Newtonville, Massachusetts. Muste's involvement as a labor organizer began in 1919 when he led strikes in the textile mills of Lawrence, Massachusetts. He became the director of the Brookwood Labor College in Katonah, New York, remaining there until 1931. He then served as national chairman of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) from 1926 to 1929. Muste was director of the Presbyterian Labor Temple from 1937-1940. In 1940 he became executive director of the FOR, a position he held until his retirement in 1953, when he was made director emeritus. From 1948-1953, he served as secretary of the Ohio Peacemakers, a radical pacifist group. He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the War Resisters...(see more)

Held at: Swarthmore College Peace Collection [Contact Us]

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Committee for Amnesty for All Objectors to War and Conscription Collected Records, 1945-1948 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.83 linear ft. (10 linear in.)
Abstract:
On January 12, 1946, the Committee for Amnesty for All Objectors to War and Conscription was established to seek an amnesty for "all objectors to war and conscription," which included men under army court-martial for their stance against war. The Committee's most widely publicized work was the sponsorship of picketing demonstrations at the White House in May and December 1946 calling for amnesty, but the organization also promoted its objectives through lobbying of Congressional and other government leaders, creating press releases and published literature, garnering support with signatures to petitions from around the country, and working as a liaison to other groups interested in the amnesty question. It is unknown exactly when the Committee disbanded, but the last meeting minutes are dated June 30, 1948.

Held at: Swarthmore College Peace Collection [Contact Us]

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