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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

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

[includes letters from CO prisoners]

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

[includes inquiries about him]

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

[includes inquiries about him]

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

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