Document Group: DG 025
Restrictions: Yes
Microfilm: None
Finding Aid: Collection re-processed & checklist revised
by Anne Yoder, April 2001
This checklist is the property of the Swarthmore College Peace
Collection.
The National Interreligious Service Board for Conscientious Objectors (NISBCO) is a non-profit organization whose primary purpose is to spread understanding of conscientious objection. NISBCO, which is sponsored by a broad coalition of religious groups, acts as a service agency for individual conscientious objectors and for churches and organizations interested in CO's. Prior to 1970, the group was called the National Service Board for Religious Objectors (NSBRO).
NSBRO was formed in October 1940 by the historic peace churches to provide a unified approach to the federal government in matters concerning conscientious objection and alternative services. Friends, Brethren, and Mennonites were soon joined by other religious groups in sponsoring NSBRO. From 1941-1947, the NSBRO office in Washington functioned as the administrative agency for the Civilian Public Service program in which over 12,000 men performed "work of national importance" under the direction of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), the Brethren Service Committee (BSC), the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), and a few other church groups. NSBRO served as a liaison with the Selective Service System and other federal agencies, disseminated information about the program, and provided counseling and other assistance to individual CO's.
Since World War II, NSBRO/NISBCO has continued to provide information on registration, classification, regulations, legislation, and court decisions concerning conscientious objectors and has furnished assistance to those making appeals. In recent years, the focus of NISBCO activity has been opposition to any form of registration, the draft, or compulsory national service and the provision of information and counseling for any persons experiencing problems with military service or concerned about convictions of conscientious objection.
Paul Comly French was executive director of NSBRO during the war period, 1940-1946, followed by Ora Huston (1946-1948), A. Stauffer Curry (1949-1955), C. LeRoy Doty, Jr. (1956-1958), J. Harold Sherk (1958-1969), and Warren W. Hoover (1969- ).
The Swarthmore College Peace Collection is the official repository for the records of NSBRO/NISBCO. The collection includes minutes of the Board of Directors and Consultative Council (1943-1969), correspondence (1940-1973), memoranda, literature and releases, financial records, statistics, subject files, newspaper clippings, photographs, and motion pictures. In addition to the administrative records of the Washington office, the 1940-1947 records include correspondence, reports, and publications of 151 Civilian Pubic Service camps, together with case files of men assigned to CPS camps and of the men who were reclassified or imprisoned. Additional case files covering the period 1949 to 1973 contain information about men who performed alternative service ) 1-W classification) and about men who sought help with problems relating to military service and/or classification. All case files are restricted.
Material relating to other organizations is found in the NSBRO/NISBCO files, including scattered minutes, reports, and publications of AFSC, BSC, and MCC; Financial records and correspondence of Pax Christi (late 1940s); minutes (1949-1959) and correspondence relating to the Consultative Peace Council;and minutes (1952-1961) of Church Peace Mission.
The personal diary of Paul Comly French (1903-1960) for the period of July 1940 to December 1946 is also in the collection (restricted).
Among the correspondence are the above named executive directors
and Roger N. Baldwin, Allen H. Barr, Charles F. Boss, JR., James A.
Crain, Girven H. Culley, E. LeRoy Dakin, Henry A. Fast, Paul J.
Furnas, Albert M. Gaeddert, Lewis B. Hershey, A. S. Imirie, Abraham
Kaufman, Huber F. Klemme, Lewis F. Kosch, George Loft, Robert A.
Lyon, Orie O. Miller, James P. Mullin, A. J. Muste, Mary B. Newman,
Ray Newton, W. Harold Row, William T. Snyder, Lyle Tatum, Walter W.
Van Kirk, Norman J. Whitney, Herman Will, Jr., George Willoughby, and
M. R. Higler.
Notebook 1: Part 1
ADMINISTRATIVE FILES OF NSBRO
Series/Boxes A1 - A87 and A-S1 - A-S6. Includes (but not
exclusive to):
American Friends Service Committee (correspondence; meeting
minutes; publications)
Brethren Service Committee (correspondence; publications)
Mennonite Central Committee (Peace Committee; correspondence;
CPS)
Roger Baldwin, ACLU
Fellowship of Reconciliation / A.J. Muste
Jehovah's Witnesses
Periodicals
Civilian Public Service
Correspondence etc. re: demobilization
Financial Council
Personnel records
Transfer authorizations
Notebook 1: Part 2
CIVILIAN PUBLIC SERVICE CAMPS
Series/Boxes C1 - C147. Includes:
Records of every CPS Camp, arranged by number
Notebook 1: Part 3
CIVILIAN PUBLIC SERVICE CAMPS - SUPPLEMENT #1
Series/Boxes C-S1 - C-S11. Includes:
Equipment and property reports from various camps
Sickness and accident reports from various camps
Notebook 1: Part 4
DISCHARGE FILES [all boxes are off-site]
Series/Boxes D1 - D519. Includes:
Files re: men discharged from CPS, 1942?-1947
Notebook 1: Part 5
DISCHARGE FILES - SUPPLEMENT #1
Series/Boxes DS1 - DS12. Includes:
Files re: men discharged from Alternative Service Program
[1-W Service], 1952-1954
Notebook 1: Part 6
DISCHARGE FILES - SUPPLEMENT #2
Series/Boxes DS1 - DS36. Includes:
Files re: men discharged from Alternative Service Program
[1-W Service], 1955-1956
Notebook 1: Part 7
DISCHARGE FILES - SUPPLEMENT #3
Series/Boxes DS1 - DS32. Includes:
Files re: men discharged from Alternative Service Program
[1-W Service], 1957-1960
Notebook 1: Part 8
DISCHARGE FILES - SUPPLEMENT #4
Series/Boxes DS1 - DS48. Includes:
Files re: men discharged from Alternative Service Program
[1-W Service], 1957-1960
Notebook 1: Part 9
DISCHARGE FILES - SUPPLEMENT #5
Series/Boxes DS1 - DS36. Includes:
Files re: men discharged from Alternative Service Program
[1-W Service]
A-Z, 1967 - Aug. 1968
A-Z, Sept.-Dec. 1968
Notebook 2: Part 1
GENERAL FILES, A-Z, 1940s
Series/Boxes G1 - G95. Includes (but not exclusive
to):
ACLU; American Friends Service Committee; Army; prisons -
disciplinary barracks; Roger Baldwin; meeting minutes, 1945-1946;
Brethren Service Committee; Ellen Starr Brinton; "Bulletin"; civilian
bonds; civilian service; The Conscientious Objector; C.O.
physicians' placements; Civilian Public Service; complaints;
conferences; conscientious objectors; Consultative Peace Council;
Dorothy Day; Episcopal discontented C.O.s; Federal Council of
Churches; foreign C.O.s; Friends [Society of]; Jessie Wallace
Hughan; insurance; Rufus M. Jones; Mennonite Central Committee;
newspaper clippings; parole; Peace, Department of; Clarence Pickett;
prisons; reports of visits to CPS camps; Grace Rhoads; Eleanor and
Franklin D. Roosevelt; statistics; Harry S. Truman; U.S. government;
White House; Women's International League [for Peace and
Freedom]
Notebook 2: Part 2
GENERAL FILES, A-Z - SUPPLEMENT #1, ca. 1940s-1953
Series/Boxes GS1 - GS10. Includes (but not exclusive
to):
Civilian Public Service
Frozen Fund, 1946-1949
Mennonite Central Committee Peace Section
Notebook 2: Part 3
RECLASSIFIED, A-Z, 1940s
Series/Boxes R1 - R92. Includes:
Files of men having classification difficulty, or men in
prison
RECLASSIFIED - SUPPLEMENT #1, ca. 1940s-1959
Series/Boxes RS1 - RS32.
RECLASSIFIED, A-Z, 1949-1959
Series/Boxes R1 - R29. Includes:
Reclassification case files, 1949-1959
Notebook 2: Part 4
SPECIAL PROJECTS, 1940s [1974? Accession]
SPECIAL PROJECTS - SUPPLEMENT #1
Series/Boxes SP1 - SP16 and SP-S1 - SP-S7. Includes
(but not exclusive to):
Agriculture experiment stations; artificial limbs; aviation;
farm labor; dairy testers; foreign
units; forestry; hospitals; mental hospitals; music therapy; medical
files; Office of Scientific
Research and Development; prison work; reports of field trips; summer
camps; training
schools; women's CPS; work of social significance; transfers, Fall
1943
Notebook 2: Part 5
NISBCO ADMINISTRATION, 1940s-1950s [1970
accession]
Boxes [Cases] 1 - 43. Includes (but not exclusive
to):
Financial records, 1942-1954
Newsletters re: 1-W Service, 1953-1959
Newspaper and Congressional Record clippings, 1940-1952
Pax Christi, 1947
Correspondence, A-Z, 1952-1958
Special registrants in I-O, 1952
Misc., 1948-1958
Conferences
Consultative Peace Council, 1950-1959
Misc., 1951 [includes counseling of C.O.s]
Correspondence, A-Z, 1959
Notebook 2: Part 6
NISBCO GENERAL FILES, 1951-1967 [1971 accession]
Boxes [Cartons] 1 - 60. Includes (but not exclusive
to):
Selective Service; articles about C.O.s; Mennonite Central
Committee; legislation; NSB Consultative Council & Board of
Directors; ROTC; Church Peace Mission; 1-W releases; C.O. film; case
files, A-Z, 1963-1967; case files of NSBRO, A-Z, 1963-1967; general
correspondence, D-F, 1949-1951; pardon survey, 1958; Alternative
Service Program
(1-W); NSBRO staff meeting minutes; C.O. research; Foreign C.O.s;
Alternative Service registration, 1946-1951; NSBRO cash receipt
registers, 1957-1965; NSBRO finance record books, 1940-1946
Notebook 2: Part 7
NISBCO CASE FILES, A-Z, 1968-1970 [1975
accession]
Boxes [Cartons] 1 - 22. Includes:
Case files, A-Z, 1968-1970
Notebook 2: Part 8
NISBCO GENERAL FILES, 1950-1979 [1975 accession]
Boxes [Cartons] 1 - 16. Includes (but not exclusive
to):
Releases, A-Z, 1969-1970
Releases, cases, A-Z, 1969-1970
Board of Directors & correspondence, 1950-1969
General correspondence, 1970
Chaplain's Guide, 1954-1961
Amish deferment requests, 1967-1969
Correspondence, 1952-1970
Notebook 2: Part 9
NISBCO CASE FILES, A-Z, 1971-1973 [1975
accession]
Boxes [Cartons] 17 - 24. Includes (but not
exclusive to):
Case files, A-Z, 1971-1973
Notebook 2: Part 10
NISBCO 1-W FILES, 1965-1972 [1975 accession]
Boxes [Cartons] 1 - 18. Includes:
1-W forms, A-Z, 1966-1970
Boxes [Cartons] 25 - 29. Includes:
1-W files, A-Z, 1965-1972
Notebook 2: Part 11
NISBCO AMNESTY FILES (OF DUANE SHANK), 1974-1977
[1982 accession]
Boxes [Cartons] 1 - 78. Includes (but not exclusive
to):
Clippings; periodicals; NCUUA Steering Committee meeting
minutes, 1974-1977; statistics & fact sheets; packets sent; C.O.
benefits; NCUUA founding conference; clemency; movies, plays, etc.;
legislation; correspondence, 1969-1979; congressional hearings,
1972-1974; manuscripts & theses, etc.; civil liberties; Congress
& conferences; religious statements; 1976 Presidential campaign;
1976 Democratic Convention; amnesty events, 1973-1977; NISBCO
literature re: amnesty; NISBCO work re: amnesty; ACLU & ITFA;
statements re: amnesty; groups working on amnesty; discharges;
counseling files, 1971-1978; legal case files, A-Z; court cases;
denominational peace literature; 1-W work opportunities; 1-W
questionnaire responses, 1967-1970
Notebook 2: Part 12
NISBCO FILES, 1951-1977 [1985 accession]
Boxes [Cartons] 79 - 121. Includes:
Alternative Service files, 1952-1975 (general; employers by
state; employers by work type; correspondence with employers;
employees; 1970 survey)
Amnesty files (1974 hearings; Interreligious Working Group on Vietnam
Generation Ministries, 1975-1977)
Financial files, 1951-1975
Correspondence, 1969-1979
Draft counseling, 1970-1977
Counselor Training Manual, 1973
Interfaith Committee on Draft Information, 1971-1975
Prison visitation reports
Notebook 2: Part 13
NISBCO FILES [1989 accession]
Boxes [Cartons] 122 - 127 [128-129 missing].
Includes:
Warren Hoover files
Anti-draft files
Correspondence, 1980
C.O. Box Lobbying Request responses, 1984
Committee Against Registration and the Draft, 1981
Consultative Council correspondence, ??-1980
[Note: There are no boxes numbered 30-1000]
Checklist in Office File
NISBCO FILES, ca. 1966-1992 [?? accession]
Boxes [Cartons] 1001 - 1049. Includes (but not
exclusive to):
Counseling files, 1972-1989
Correspondence, 1969-1992
Administrative files, 1969-
Boxes [Cartons] 1001 - 1049 (continued).
Conscientious objection, 1966-
Publications, 1966-1990
National Service, 1968-1989
Celebration of Conscience, 1989-1990
Fundraising, 1970-1983
Judicial Branch, 1986-1988
Amnesty/clemency (post-Vietnam), 1970s
[Note: Audiocassettes (#127-153) from boxes 1048-1049 are
in Audiovisual Collection]
Notebook 3: Part 1
NISBCO FILES, 1940-1989 [19?? accession]
Boxes [Cartons] 1050 - 1106. Includes (but not
exclusive to):
Administrative files
Legislative Branch files
Correspondence, 1980s-1990s
Publications
Conscientious Objection & C.O.s, , 1958-??, 1990-1991
Board meeting minutes, 1940-1989
War taxes, 1970s-1980s
Lobbying, 1983
Conscription, 1978
Correspondence re: CPS, 1970-9186
Publications & reports re: CPS, 1970s-1980s
NOTE: ALL FILES, EXCEPT PUBLISHED MATERIAL, ARE RESTRICTED.
PLEASE CONSULT THE CURATOR FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT GETTING
PERMISSION TO USE THE COLLECTION.
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). |
|