Call Number:

MC.1249

Repository:

Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections

Extent:

2.5 linear ft. (3 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

World War I Reconstruction and Conscientious Objectors files, 1918-1923 (HC.MC.1249), Quaker & Special Collections, Haverford College, Haverford, PA.

Date:

1918-1923 (inclusive)

Creator:

American Friends Service Committee and American Friends Reconstruction Unit

Abstract:

Card files on Conscientious Objectors in World War I (of all faiths) and on workers and applicants to the Reconstruction Unit program overseen by the Society of Friends in Europe after World War I.

The organization which later became the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) organized large numbers of relief workers to go to Europe in the years following World War I. They served as frontline relief workers doing basic work to alleviate the suffering caused by years of war. Eventually, these less-formal efforts coalesced into the AFSC.

Conscientious Objectors in World War I served in noncombatant roles in the military or as farm workers. Some "absolutist" objectors refused all such service, and were imprisoned. Later, many objectors were furloughed from prison or their noncombatant service to serve as reconstruction workers.

This collection consists of card files on Conscientious Objectors (COs) in World War I (of all faiths) and on workers and applicants to the Reconstruction Unit program overseen by the Society of Friends in Europe after World War I. There is some overlap between the two-- some COs worked in the Reconstruction Unit after World War I. The information is organized in multiple ways, both by names of applicants and by status and location. The type of information reported on the cards varies, but usually includes name, age, and religious affiliation; some also include education and marital status.

Included in box 1 are spreadsheets of the Conscientious Objectors and of the Reconstruction Unit applicants. These spreadsheets are also available digitally.

Conscientious Objector cards are organized by last name and location. Reconstruction worker cards are organized by type of work, worker status, and last name. Original order was probably maintained.