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Charles Fisher Collected Papers

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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

Charles Fisher was a draft counselor for the Boston Draft Resistance Group (BDRG) and a sociologist at Brandeis University. In 1973 Fisher analyzed over 5,000 counselee forms to determine what types of people were using BDRG's counseling services. He found that a majority of counselees were white middle-class college students. He also studied how BDRG clients ultimately attempted to avoid the draft during the Vietnam War and how receptive they were to BDRG's political message. In another study, ca. 1970, Fisher analyzed BDRG steering committee meeting minutes. Fisher was also involved with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).

Charles Fisher was involved in several important radical peace groups in the late 1960s and early 1970s, during the Vietnam War era. His papers showcase his efforts with the Congress of Racial Equality and the Boston Draft Resistance Group, including his manuscript analyzing the BDRG.

These papers were arranged according to Fisher's involvements with two groups. Boxes 2-3 hold cards with his notes about the BDRG. Box 4 has usage restrictions because of the personal nature of the interview contents.

The Swarthmore College Peace Collection is the official repository for this collection of papers.

Gift of Charles Fisher, 1998 [Acc. 98A-015].

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

Processed by Anne M. Yoder, Archivist, 1998.

Publisher
Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Access Restrictions

Draft counseling files in Box 4 cannot be copied, scanned, or photographed. Researchers using these materials must sign a form agreeing to not make reproductions and to anonymize personal information in any publications. For more information, contact the Swarthmore College Peace Collection at peacecollection@swarthmore.edu. These restrictions remain in place until 2035.

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

Material in box 4 may be seen by all researchers, but may not be photocopied; in addition, researchers must sign a form agreeing to not use personal names or other characteristics of individuals that might identify them in any published work; restrictions are in place until 2035.

Collection Inventory

Archival Resource Key. Draft registration, 1964.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Involvement with CORE: notes re: strategy meetings, ca. 1964.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Involvement with CORE: negotiations with Bank of America.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Involvement with CORE: miscellaneous, "The Sheraton-Palace Sit-In".
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Involvement with CORE: miscellaneous writings.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Involvement with CORE: miscellaneous notes.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Involvement with CORE: newsclippings.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Involvement with Boston Draft Resistance Group: correspondence, 1970-1971.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Involvement with Boston Draft Resistance Group: miscellaneous, "Midwives to History: The Sociology of a Radical Anti-War Group" (chapters I-IV).
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Involvement with Boston Draft Resistance Group: miscellaneous, "Midwives to History: The Sociology of a Radical Anti-War Group" (chapters V-VIII).
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Involvement with Boston Draft Resistance Group: miscellaneous, "Midwives to History: The Sociology of a Radical Anti-War Group" (chapters IX-XI).
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Involvement with Boston Draft Resistance Group: organizing/ field notes.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Involvement with Boston Draft Resistance Group: miscellaneous, notes.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Involvement with Boston Draft Resistance Group: miscellaneous re: history of BDRG by Thomas W. Newman.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Involvement with BDRG.
Box 2
Scope and Contents

card file box

Archival Resource Key. Involvement with BDRG.
Box 3
Scope and Contents

card file box

Archival Resource Key. Involvement with Boston Draft Resistance Group: counseling forms.
Box 4
Scope and Contents

Restricted Until 2035

Archival Resource Key. Involvement with Boston Draft Resistance Group: analysis of counseling forms.
Box 4
Scope and Contents

Restricted Until 2035

Archival Resource Key. Involvement with Boston Draft Resistance Group: transcripts of interviews.
Box 4
Scope and Contents

Restricted Until 2035

Archival Resource Key. Involvement with Boston Draft Resistance Group: transcripts of interviews.
Box 4
Scope and Contents

Restricted Until 2035

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