Document Group: DG 083

Provenance: donated by Peter Blood, 1974 [acc. 74A-022], 1998

Size: 12.5 linear inches

Restrictions: None

Microfilm: None

Finding Aid: Collection processed and checklist prepared by Anne Yoder, Sept. 2004

This checklist is the property of the Swarthmore College Peace Collection

Historical Introduction

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.

Scope of the Collection

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 YFNA 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 C.O.s. 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.

In 1998, Peter Blood created another questionnaire regarding Quaker draft resistance, and this (along with the two replies he received) was sent to the SCPC. He also donated a 1970 manuscript by Jeff Keith, entitled "Prison Memoirs," which reflects on Keith's experiences as a C.O. at Lewisburg and Petersburg prisons in 1965-1966. Both of these items were placed in the YFNA: Committee on Conscription collection in 1998, but were removed to the Subject File in 2004.

See also the Collected Papers of Peter Blood (CDGA).

Contents of the Collection

Box 1
Memo re: file maintenance
Reports; meeting minutes; "Newsletter" (3 complete issues; partial of 2 other issues?)
Form letters and documents created/sent
Correspondence, 1968-1969
Correspondence, 1970-1971, n.d.
Notes and lists re: nonregistration by Friends and others
Draft refusal by Peter Blood
Letters of support for Peter Blood
Draft refusal by David Morrison
Lists of those interesting in (joining?) Committee; mailing lists
Miscellaneous material; notes
YNFA and New Swarthmoor efforts [not part of Committee on Conscription's work?]
Efforts re: release of "An Epistle to Friends Concerning Military Conscription"
"Questionnaire for a File on Friends' Response to Military Conscription": filled out (last names A-B)
"Questionnaire for a File on Friends' Response to Military Conscription": filled out (last names C-E)
"Questionnaire for a File on Friends' Response to Military Conscription": filled out (last names (F-H)

Box 2
"Questionnaire for a File on Friends' Response to Military Conscription": filled out (last names I-L)
"Questionnaire for a File on Friends' Response to Military Conscription": filled out (last names M-R)
"Questionnaire for a File on Friends' Response to Military Conscription": filled out (last names S)
"Questionnaire for a File on Friends' Response to Military Conscription": filled out (last names T-Z)
"A Questionnaire Concerning the Growth of Resistance Among Friends": filled out (by Daniel Barrett, Tom Coats, John Edward Knill and William J. Lovett)
Reference material: conscientious objection -- general
Reference material: conscientious objection -- statements by / press coverage of C.O.s (last names A-K)
Reference material: conscientious objection -- statements by / press coverage of C.O.s (last names L-Y)
Reference material: conscientious objection -- GI resistance
Reference material: conscientious objection -- statements by women (Alice Lynd, Marlies (sp?) Harper and Nina Braxton)
Reference material: conscientious objection -- sanctuary for draft resisters
Reference material: conscientious objection -- A Quaker Action Group (AQAG) - efforts re: nonregistration etc.
Reference material: conscientious objection -- American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) - efforts re: nonregistration etc.
Reference material: conscientious objection -- Flower City Conspiracy
Reference material: conscientious objection -- Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) - efforts re: nonregistration etc.
Reference material: conscientious objection -- Friends Coordinating Committee on Peace - efforts re: nonregistration etc.
Reference material: conscientious objection -- Friends National Conference on the Draft (Richmond, IN), Oct. 11-13, 1968

Box 3 (1/2 box)
Reference material: conscientious objection -- Baltimore Yearly Meeting - efforts re: nonregistration etc.
Reference material: conscientious objection -- Lake Erie Associated Yearly Meeting - efforts re: nonregistration etc.
Reference material: conscientious objection -- New England Yearly Meeting - efforts re: nonregistration etc.
Reference material: conscientious objection -- New York Yearly Meeting - efforts re: nonregistration etc.
Reference material: conscientious objection -- Philadelphia Yearly Meeting - efforts re: nonregistration etc. [includes Friends Peace Committee]
Reference material: conscientious objection -- various Yearly Meetings - efforts re: nonregistration etc.
Reference material: conscientious objection -- Religious Society of Friends - efforts re: nonregistration etc.
Reference material: conscientious objection -- Protestant denominations/churches - efforts re: nonregistration etc.

Swarthmore College Peace Collection [http://www.swarthmore.edu/Library/peace/index.html]

For more information, contact Wendy Chmielewski, Curator, at wchmiel1@ swarthmore.edu or call 610-328-8557.

For other resources, see the college's online library catalog (Tripod).
 

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