Call Number:

DG.083

Repository:

Swarthmore College Peace Collection

Extent:

1.75 linear ft. (1.75 linear ft.)

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of item], in the Young Friends of North America: Committee on Conscription Records (DG 083), Swarthmore College Peace Collection

Date:

1968-1971 (inclusive)

Creator:

Young Friends of North America. Committee on Conscription

Abstract:

The Young Friends of North America, an open fellowship of Friends between the ages of 18 and 30, established a Committee on Conscription in the fall of 1968 to facilitate communication among Friends who were involved with draft resistance. The Committee, chaired by C.O. Peter Blood, collected information from members of the Religious Society of Friends who had refused to cooperate with conscription since the 1940s, as well as Friends who were currently imprisoned for draft resistance. Besides Peter Blood, David Morrison and Gary Stewart also seemed to have been involved in keeping the Committee active.

The Young Friends of North America, an open fellowship of Friends between the ages of 18 and 30, established a Committee on Conscription in the fall of 1968 to facilitate communication among Friends who were involved with draft resistance. The Committee, chaired by Conscientious Objector Peter Blood, collected information from members of the Religious Society of Friends who had refused to cooperate with conscription since the 1940s, as well as Friends who were currently imprisoned for draft resistance. Besides Peter Blood, David Morrison and Gary Stewart also seemed to have been involved in keeping the Committee active.

This collection is small, but valuable because of the personal information it contains in correspondence, statements, and questionnaires filled out by Friends (and others) who resisted the draft. The Committee also collected information from various yearly meetings about their stance on draft resistance, conscription, providing sanctuary to men opposed to the draft, and tax resistance. In addition, the collection holds a small amount of material from other Protestant denominations about these subjects, including the Church of the Brethren and the Mennonite Church. One folder in the collection regarding the Young Friends of North America and its joint (?) efforts with New Swarthmoor does not seem to be part of the Committee on Conscription's work, though men involved in both groups may have been active with or interested in the Committee.

The Committee worked closely with A Quaker Action Group and other organizations in developing material to promote draft resistance among Friends and to document Quaker men who had declared themselves to be Conscientious Objectors. In processing this collection, it was at times difficult to discern when something was designed by the Committee alone, or when it was done collegially with another group, and the original folders were not specific enough to help in sorting the material as well has would have been preferable. Therefore, researchers should be aware that the current arrangement of the material may not be a totally accurate reflection of this Committee's work.