Call Number:

DG.030

Repository:

Swarthmore College Peace Collection

Extent:

8.75 linear ft. (8.75 linear ft.)

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of item], in the Pennsylvania Committee for Total Disarmament Records (DG 030), Swarthmore College Peace Collection

Date:

1930-1938 (inclusive)

Creator:

Hull, William I. (William Isaac), 1868-1939, Dulles, Sophia H., Winsor, Mary, 1869-1956, Cope, Eliza M., Eves, William, Allinson, Brent D. (Brent Dow), Babcock, Caroline L. (Caroline Lexow), 1882-, Brockway, Fenner, 1888-1988, Brown, H. Runham (Herbert Runham), 1879-1949, Byrns, Elinor, Cox, Lucy A., Drexel, Constance, Detzer, Dorothy, 1893-1981, Frazier, Lynn J. (Lynn Joseph), 1874-1947, Gordon, Lindley V., Harvey, William Brinton, 1862-, Hoopes, Darlington, b. 1896, Lazarus, Frieda Langer, Lee, Jennie, 1904-, Libby, Frederick J. (Frederick Joseph), 1874-1970, Lief, Alfred, 1901-, Newton, Ray, Nicholson, Vincent D. (Vincent De Witt), 1890-1945, Sayre, John Nevin, 1884-1977, Smith, Tucker P., Van Kirk, Walter W. (Walter William), 1891-1956, Villard, Oswald Garrison, 1872-1949, Wentworth, Lydia G., 1858-, Williams, H. Justice, Wilson, E. Raymond (Edward Raymond), 1896-1987, and Wright, Edward Needles, 1897-

Abstract:

The Pennsylvania Committee for Total Disarmament was active from 1930 to 1936, chiefly in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Through public opinion and personal contacts, PCTD supporters pressured Congress to support total disarmament, including passage of the Frazier Amendment outlawing war. Other objectives of the Committee included a Congressional investigation of the munitions industry, opposition to all preparations and training for war (including ROTC), and support for conscientious objectors, both American and those from other countries. The Committee was disbanded in 1938.

The Pennsylvania Committee for Total Disarmament was active from 1930 to 1936, chiefly in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although the group had formed in 1929, its official organization took place following a dinner in honor of A. Fenner Brockway (British Member of Parliament, and Chair of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation) on February 4, 1930. Dr. William I. Hull was Chair of the Committee throughout its existence, with Sophia Dulles as Executive Secretary. Active members included Mary Winsor, Mrs. Walter Cope, William Eves III, and Edward N. Wright. The main emphasis for the Committee's work was to bring pressure, through public opinion and personal contacts, on Congress to support total disarmament, including passage of the Frazier Amendment outlawing war. During the General Disarmament Conference, held in Geneva (Switzerland) during 1932, Dr. Hull was the Committee's representative and sent many reports back on his activities.

Other objectives of the Committee included a Congressional investigation of the munitions industry, opposition to all preparations and training for war (including ROTC), and support for conscientious objectors, both American and those from other countries whose stance caused them to be denied United States citizenship. The Youth Committee was especially active in giving support to conscientious objectors enrolled in college.

The Committee's efforts were accomplished through correspondence, public meetings, marches, dissemination of literature, and through a well-organized Youth Section. Although membership of the Committee was mostly from the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area, cooperation with other groups – such as the Women's Peace Union, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and the Committee on Militarism in Education – provided a national forum for expressing concerns and working together toward solutions.

The Committee was disbanded in 1938.

This archival collection comprises the complete records of the Committee, as well as the personal files of Dr. Hull regarding his involvement. Further correspondence of Dr. Hull may be found in the misc. correspondence ("H") files, and his correspondence and reports from Geneva may be found in the 1932 General Disarmament Conference file.

Correspondents (in addition to those listed below) include: Brent D. Allinson, Caroline Lexow Babcock, A. Fenner Brockway, H. Runham Brown, Elinor Byrns, Lucy A. Cox, Constance Drexel, Dorothy Detzer, Lynn J. Frazier, Lindley V. Gordon, William B. Harvey, Darlington Hoopes, Frieda Langer Lazarus, Jennie Lee, Frederick J. Libby, Alfred Lief, Ray Newton, Vincent D. Nicholson, John Nevin Sayre, Tucker P. Smith, Walter W. Van Kirk, Oswald Garrison Villard, Lydia G. Wentworth, H. Justice Williams, and E. Raymond Wilson. This checklist was re-written and re-typed from old versions, after the boxes were sent off-site, which accounts for some of the possible discrepancies between this box listing and what might appear on the actual folder labels within the boxes themselves.

The collection consists of files arranged in the following order: administrative records, financial records, personal files of William I. Hull, organizational correspondence, in chronological and then alphabetical order, and special subject files.