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Committee for Amnesty for All Objectors to War and Conscription Collected Records

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Held at: Swarthmore College Peace Collection [Contact Us]500 College Avenue, Swarthmore 19081-1399

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Swarthmore College Peace Collection. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
CDG-A.Committee for Amnesty...
Repository:
Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Extent:
0.83 linear ft. (10 linear in.)
Preferred Citation:
Cite as: [Identification of item], in the Committee for Amnesty for All Objectors to War and Conscription Collected Records (CDG-A), Swarthmore College Peace Collection.
Date:
1945-1948 (inclusive)
Creator:
Committee for Amnesty for All Objectors to War and Conscription
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.

On December 1, 1945, representatives from numerous peace organizations (including the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the War Resisters League, and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom), met in New York City to discuss establishing a committee that could work proactively on the question of amnesty for conscientious objectors. It was agreed to form the Committee for Amnesty for War Objectors and Selective Service Violators, with A.J. Muste as Chair. On January 12, 1946, the name of the group was changed to Committee for Amnesty for All Objectors to War and Conscription. The Committee's purpose was 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 main office was at 5 Beekman Street in New York City, but a Washington, D.C.office (dissolved by June 1946), and a Chicago office were formed as well. Stanley Murphy was Organizing Secretary until March 1946, whereupon Albon Man took over the position. Vivien Roodenko was employed as secretary in the Washington, D.C. office, and later in the New York City office. Among the Committee's proponents were Emily Greene Balch, Pearl Buck, Dorothy Canfield Fisher, Harold Ickes, A.J. Muste, Robin Myers and Igal Roodenko. 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.

It is unlikely that this collection contains everything issued by the Committee during its existence. The War Resisters League donatated the files in this collection to the Swarthmore College Peace Collection at the instigation of Albon Man.

The Swarthmore College Peace Collection is not the official repository for the records of this organization.

Gift of War Resisters League.

For the catalog record for this collection, and to find materials on similar topics, search the library's online catalog.

Processed by SCPC staff. Checklist created by Anne Yoder, October 2002. Finding aid revised by Andrew Ciampa, June 23, 2010.

Items removed: Photographs

People
Organization
Subject

Publisher
Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Access Restrictions

None.

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Use Restrictions

None.

Collection Inventory

Checklists.
Box 1
History.
Box 1
Meeting minutes, 1945 (December) - 1948 (June).
Box 1
Sponsors.
Box 1
Finances: Taxes filed, 1946-1948.
Box 1
Correspondence (general), 1946-1948.
Box 1
Correspondence with Executive Committee members.
Box 1
Correspondence with U.S. President, Congress and other government officials.
Box 1
Correspondence with Ibid. re: COs imprisoned at Sandstone Prison, 1946.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

[includes letters from CO prisoners]

Correspondence with American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 1945-1948.
Box 1
Correspondence with Balch, Emily Greene, 1946-1948.
Box 1
Correspondence with Buck, Pearl and John Burke (Co-Chairs), 1948.
Box 1
Correspondence with Congregational Christian Churches, 1946.
Box 1
Correspondence with Federal Council of Churches, 1946.
Box 1
Correspondence with Fisher, Dorothy Canfield (Honorary Chair), 1946-1948.
Box 1
Correspondence with Freedom Defense Committee, 1947.
Box 1
Correspondence with Ickes, Harold, 1947.
Box 1
Correspondence with Methodist Church, 1945-1948.
Box 1
Correspondence with Muste, A.J., 1946-1948.
Box 1
Correspondence with O'Neil, James, 1947.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

[includes inquiries about him]

Correspondence with Presbyterian Church, 1946-1948.
Box 1
Correspondence with Roberts, Owen, 1946-1947.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

[includes inquiries about him]

Correspondence about Willis Smith, 1946-1947.
Box 1
General.
Box 2
Compiling of statistics re: COs in prison.
Box 2
Pursuit of tax exempt status for Committee.
Box 2
Gathering of names signed to petitions re: amnesty.
Box 2
Development of statement/s before President's Amnesty Board.
Box 2
Sponsorship of amnesty demonstration, Washington, D.C., 1946 (May 11).
Box 2
Form letters.
Box 2
Articles, releases, calls to action.
Box 2
Publicity: Press releases.
Box 2
Literature.
Box 2
Chicago office/committee/branch.
Box 2
Washington, D.C. office/committee/branch.
Box 2
Media coverage.
Box 2
Amnesty: General.
Box 2
Amnesty: Presidential statements, 1930s - 1940s.
Box 2
Number of COs in prison, 1945-1948.
Box 2
Copies of letters by Igal Roodenko, 1946-1947.
Box 2

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