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Women's Committee to Oppose Conscription Records, 1942-1948
Collection: DG 068
Contact Information
Swarthmore College Peace Collection
500 College Avenue,
Swarthmore, PA 19081-1399
U.S.A.
Telephone: (610) 328-8557 (Curator);
Fax: (610) 328-8544
Email: wchmiel1@swarthmore.edu (Curator)
URL: http://www.swarthmore.edu/Library/peace/
Descriptive Summary
Repository
Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Creator
Women's Committee to Oppose Conscription
Title
Women's Committee to Oppose Conscription Records
Inclusive Dates
1942-1948
Call Number
DG 068
Language of Materials
Materials in English
Extent
7.5 linear feet [papers only]
Abstract
This group was originally named the Committee to Oppose the Conscription of Women [WCOC], and then the National Committee to Oppose the Conscription of Women. It was formed in 1942 to protest the Austin-Wadsworth legislative bills and similar measures, which proposed that American women be drated into a civilian workforce for the duration of World War II. When the immediate threat of drafting women had passed, the group changed its name again, this time to the Women's Committee to Oppose Conscription, reflecting its stand against any conscription. Mildred Scott Olmsted served as Director, A.J. Muste as Treasurer, and Grace Rhoads as secretary. The Committee was headed by Katherine Pierce and Frances Chalmers of New York City.
Administrative Information
Restrictions to Access
None
Usage Restrictions
None
Alternate Form of Material
None
Acquisitions Information
Gift of Grace Rhoads, Mildred Scott Olmsted, and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, U.S. Section ; 1948, 1966, 1969
Processing Information
Collection re-processed and checklist revised by Anne Yoder, April 2001; This finding aid was prepared by Chloe Lucchesi- Malone, August 2009.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Women's Committee to Oppose Conscription Records (DG 068), Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law
Online Catalog Headings
These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online library/archival catalogs.
See tripod record
Related Collections
Fellowship of Reconciliation Records (DG 013: Series A-3, box 16; Series C, box 17).
Mildred Scott Olmsted Papers (DG 028)
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, U.S. Section Records (DG 043)
Historical Background
This group was originally named the Committee to Oppose the Conscription of Women [WCOC], and then the National Committee to Oppose the Conscription of Women. It was formed to protest the Austin-Wadsworth legislative bills and similar measures, and as an independent committee with one objective it expected to educate and motivate a constituency no organized peace group could reach. At its height, the group had a governing committee of 150 members and a national mailing list of 3000. When the immediate threat of drafting women had passed, the group changed its name again, this time to the Women's Committee to Oppose Conscription, to reflect its stand against any conscription. Mildred Scott Olmsted served as Director, A.J. Muste as Treasurer, and Grace Rhoads as secretary. The Committee was headed by Katherine Pierce and Frances Chalmers of New York City.
Collection Overview / Arrangement of Collection
The material in this collection came in 1948 from Grace Rhoads; in 1966 from Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (Mildred Scott Olmsted's files); and in 1969 from Mildred Scott Olmsted. It is difficult to know if this comprises all of the files kept by the Committee's office, though it is unlikely. In 2001, the collection was rearranged and refoldered; because of time constraints, however, no attempt was made to do preservation photocopying (much of the paper in this collection is brittle), or to put into chronological order the material within the folders