Records of Great Peace March, DG 147, Swarthmore College Peace Collection

The Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament evolved from another peace effort, PRO-Peace (DG 152 in SCPC). Formally organized on April 2, 1985, by David Mixner of Los Angeles, California, PRO-Peace envisioned raising $20,000,000 to send 5000 marchers 3000 miles eastward to Washington D.C. The march departed from Los Angeles on March 1, 1986, with only 1200 participants and a fraction of the needed monies in hand. The marchers soon began to realize that the collapse of PRO-Peace was imminent and some began to organize a new structure to take its place. On March 14, while camped near Barstow, California, they received word from David Mixner that PRO-Peace no longer existed. Many marchers departed but those who remained incorporated on March 19 into the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament. A home office was established in Santa Monica, California, and financial aid was received from individuals and organizations, including the Peace Development Fund and Physicians for Social Responsibility.

The GPM, also known as Peace City and now numbering approximately 600, resumed its eastward walk on March 28. Its governance and organizational structure adapted to meet its evolving needs. Marchers assumed volunteer jobs, replacing the highly structured and paid PRO- Peace network, and a Policy Board began the task of governing. A City Council soon replaced the Policy Board with decisions made preferably by concensus. The Board of Directors was enlarged from three to seven members and a Judicial Board oversaw resolution of disputes and disciplinary problems among marchers. Three City Managers, one for each of the tent cities, plus department heads, formed an Operations Council. Mayor Diane Clark represented Peace City at ceremonial occasions as the GPM made its way across the United States.

Many departments and task forces were created to carry on the work of the March. These included the Community Interaction Agency which planned outreach events with communities the March passed through, the Field Department which later merged with the C.I.A., Education (Peace Academy) which worried about school for the children on the March as well as issue-oriented speeches for marchers, and Entrance/Exit which handled marcher applications.

A Statement of Purpose was approved with the following preamble "The Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament is an abolitionist movement. We believe that great social change comes about when the will of the people becomes focused on a moral imperative. By marching for nine months across the United States, we will create a non-violent focus for positive change; the imperative being that nuclear weapons ar politically, socially, economically and morally unjustifiable, and that, in any number, they are unacceptable. It is the responsibility of a democratic government to implement the will of its people, and it is the will of the people of the United States and many other nations to end the nuclear arms race."

The marchers crossed the United States through California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, and arrived in Washington, D.C. on November 14. Concluding ceremonies were held the following day in Meridian Park, followed by speeches in front of the White House, and closing ceremonies at the Lincoln Memorial.

Scope and Content

The records of the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament (GPM) include administrative minutes, departmental working papers, correspondence to and from the marchers, accounts, poetry, art, and songs by marchers, GPM literature including releases, periodicals, a marcher directory, and manuals, as well as memorabilia, photographs, video cassettes, and newsclippings.

Of special significance are the original, chronologically arranged collections of documents found in the City Council Notebooks (Series I) where there are C.C. minutes, memos, policies, etc., and the Peace City News Notebooks (Series IV) where there are, in addition to the daily newspaper, releases, flyers, correspondence, etc. These original
collections show a correct sequence of events as well as which documents were important to the marchers themselves.

Administrative documents include minutes from the Board of Directors (19 March 1986 - 4 May 1987) and the City Council (13 April 1986 - 6 November 1986), as well as judicial case documents, some of which are restricted for fifty years. Working papers of the departments and task forces include minutes, reports, memos, correspondence, and releases. There is a geographical file with material pertaining to different cities and states through which the GPM marched and marcher applications from the Entrance/Exit Department. There is additional correspondence to and from both the march as a unit and individuals in it.

A literature file contains the flyers, mailings, and other releases distributed by the GPM as well as its periodicals, including the daily Peace City News and a marcher directory, The Silver Thread. Journals, diaries, books, poetry, and songs as well as interviews and surveys give first-hand descriptions of the March. There are newsclippings, photographs, a documentary video cassette titled Just One Step: The Great Peace March (1988), and memorabilia presented to the March by city officials and the blue ribbon signed by marchers and wrapped around the Washington monument at the conclusion of the March.

Miscellaneous papers of Franklin Folsom and a separate series of documents pertaining to events after the March are also among the GPM records.

Correspondents include Allan Affeldt, Coleen Ashly, Daniel Chavez, Diane Clark, Evan Conroy, Ed Fallon, Franklin Folsom, Tom Johnson, Richard Polese, John Records, Mordecai Roth, and Dan Weinshenker.

Arrangement

The Great Peace March derived from PRO-Peace (DG 152) so some documents from each group were moved to the other. Chronological order was used except in the Field Department geographical file and among such records as marcher applications where, in both instances, alphabetical order was used.

As discussed in the Scope and Content section, both the City Council Notebooks in Series I and the Peace City News Notebooks in Series IV are in original order. Much of the other GPM material received by SCPC was neither in notebooks nor in any kind of order. Much of it was subsequently arranged by placing together similar kinds of material, i.e., correspondence, periodicals, art, etc. The departmental origin of many of the working files was unknown.

The correspondence found in Series III was found unfiled within the collection. A significant quantity is also found scattered through the working files where it was found.

Franklin Folsom's scrapbooks of newsclippings were not photocopied as was done with the other newsclippings. Some of his papers are not in Series VIII but were placed with related material.

Some memorabilia was discarded, particularly souvenirs received along the route which were not peace-related, such as high school yearbooks and frisbees. Most memorabilia is housed in the Oversize section of SCPC.
Photographs and A-V materials are housed separately for conservation purposes. Locations are listed in Series IX.

Box 1
Checklist
Statements of Purpose, philosophy
By-laws
Articles of incorporation
Organization charts, lists, planning documents
Policy Board minutes (March 1986)
Board of Directors
Minutes (March 19, 1986-May 4, 1987)

Box 2
Elections
Ballots, tallies, etc.
Candidates' statements
Memos
Bd. of Directors' correspondence
Proposals to Bd. of Directors
Franklin Folsom's Bd. of Director's notes
Bd. of Directors misc.
City Council
Official notebooks with following divisions:
Consensus
Nonviolence
Marcher lists

Box 3
Elections
Misc.
Notes and notebooks of original, handwritten C.C. minutes
Notebook: "Policies of Peace City"
Notebook: Red Town "Comm 1" original minutes

Box 4
Judicial Board
Books 1 and 2: "Judicial Board Notes" (Handwritten minutes, June 9 November 10, 1986)
Requests for hearings
Cases heard and closed
Judicial Board misc.
Policy statements, departmental memos, etc.
Conditions of restrictions for some cases
National Advisory Board

Legal Department
Finance Department
Policies
Correspondence
Budgets
Financial statements and expense information

Box
Community Interaction Department (C.I.D. or C.I.A.)
Minutes
Departmental reports, policies, etc.
Notebook: "Community Interaction Planning"
Questionnaire: "Person on the Street Survey"
Marcher petitions
Endorsements
Lists of endorsers
Form letters of endorsement
Proclamations and welcomes from city officials and others
Contacts
Personnel

Other original files that may belong in C.I.D.
Marcher projects
L.I.F.E. (Food Drive)
Girl and Boy Scouts
Blue Ribbon project
Mud Day (Unity Day - Nebraska. See also Geographical file)
Declaration of Life - Plan to Save the Planet Earth
Students for Social Responsibility
"Make a Difference" packet
Lobbying

Affinity groups
Consensus
Ethnic/Inner City Interaction
Functional Activity Leads
Issues Background
International Relations
Environment
The Peace Wave (splinter group)

Field Department
Policies, reports, and departmental memos
Evaluations of various regional efforts
Volunteer meetings

Geographical files (includes planning documents, releases,
reports, correspondence, memos, misc.)

GPM Itinerary
Colorado, Florida
Illinois (Chicago)
Indiana
Iowa (Mississippi Peace Cruise - July 30)
Maryland, Michigan
Nebraska (Mud Day, Heartland Peace Pilgrimage)

Box 8
Nevada, New Jersey
New York (New York City)
Ohio (Cleveland, Toledo)
Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, Philadelphia)
Utah (Spirit Walk)
Washington D.C.
Planning
Minutes: D.C. office meetings
Releases, events, general mailings
Communications from D.C. office
Interfaith Service (November 15)
Department of Energy action (November 17)

Box 9
Fund-raising Department
Policies and reports
Collective Vision (Musical group)
Marcher-in-the-home
Notebook of procedures, evaluations, etc.
Misc. reports and policies
Mayor
Reports and policies including Keys and Trees Ceremony
Small memorabilia
Town scouting
Marcher for a day
Direct Action Task Force
Religious Task Force
Education Department
Reports and policies
School Project Notebook
Franklin Folsom's folder: "Education, schools, children"
Media Department (Public relations)
Electronic Mail ("Peace Net")

Box 10
Info(rmation) Center
Entrance/Exit Department
Departmental reports and policies
Marcher forms, policies, information
Manuals: Marcher Manual and new marcher orientation pamphlet
Full-time marcher list
"Up to 30 Days" marcher list
Other marcher lists
Marcher Networking Book (Nov. 13, 1986)
Correspondence with applicants
Marcher I.D.s, expense vouchers
Misc.
Communications Department
Departmental reports, policies, memos, misc.
Radio
Computer education
V releases

Box 11
Bulletin board communications
People Power (Work, Jobs)
Logistics Department
Campscape
Tents
Duty officers
Food service
Permits and licenses
Health and safety
Sanitation
Security
Transportation

Box 12
Route maps (Beginning of GPM-Nov. 15)
Printed itineraries
Peace City scheduling sheets (weekly)
Day schedules
Mail: lists, policies, memos, correspondence, etc.
Women's Collective

Box 13
To and from the GPM
To and from individual marchers
Governmental correspondence
From children

Box 16
Periodicals: (1986, many scattered)
Peace City News (Daily, April 3-November 21)
Notebooks (includes GPM printed material besides daily paper)

Box 17
Memos, forms, policies, etc.
Misc. completed submissions to Peace City News
Morning Roundup (Daily, March 26-August 20)
News from the Great Peace March for Nuclear Disarmament (Weekly, April 9-September 23)
The Paper - A Peace City News Magazine Bi-weekly, cJune 5-September 26)
The Peace City Lampoon, "Humor, Satire, and Other Stuff for Adults" (June 15 and June 24)
The Weekly Peace, "An Info-Comm Publication" (April ? to July 11)
The Peace March Update (Monthly, May 20-November 26)
Greenskeepers (Clubb Hiram. June, July, September)
Misc. others
Marcher Directory: The Silver Thread (November 1986)
Updates (1987, 1988)
Alphabetical file of marchers' filled-out forms

Box 19
Accounts by marchers
List of books available at SCPC
Short accounts by marchers
During the march
After the march
By "Chris" and Connie Fledderjohann
By Franklin Folsom
Tom Johnson's radio reports
Notes of Billy Lieb
Journal of Cynthia McGorrie
By June and Bill Thompson
Misc. writings
Statement of Plan, Purpose and Vision for Peace City, a Prospectus, by Susan Larson (May 1986)
Poetry
Collections by Dale Malleck and Maramis
Misc. including:
As the Train Rolls By by Michael Krieger
Road Poems by Frank Sahlem

Box 20
Songs
Art
By Guy Colwell
Misc.
Logo contest
Flyer project
Marcher memorabilia
Translations into Russian
Interviews
By Franklin Folsom during GPM

Box 21
Connie Fledderjohann's scrapbook: "Interviews with People along the Route of the Great Peace March"
Marcher surveys
"A Great Peace March Community Resource, Opinion and Idea Survey" (March 1986)
"Media Survey"
(Washington) "D.C. Plans Survey Questionnaire"

Box 27
"Great Peace March Scrapbook" by Franklin Folsom and Connie Fledderjohann. (Chronologically ordered newsclippings,
GPM periodicals, and a few releases)

Box 28
Contents of chronological file containing GPM literature, some minutes, notes, etc.
Chronological file folders with dated references to Chris Ball's newsclipping book
Research material for book The Great Peace March by Franklin Folsom and Connie Fledderjohann with Gerda Lawrence (1988)
Correspondence

Plans and proposals for after the march
Official documents about termination of the corporation, disposal of assets, etc.
GPM mailings
Misc. notes
Spinoffs from GPM
Collective Vision
Peoples Peace Network
Peace film made by Cathy Zheutlin

Marcher speeches (Acc. 90A-006)
Email List of Great Peace Marchers-September 1990
Contributions other than money (Field Dept. - Stephanie Wald)
(Acc. 93A-0102) Writings about the Great Peace March, FBI Files on PRO-Peace, Great Peace March, and Franklin Folsom
Miscellaneous file, including writing by Franklin Folsom (Acc. 97A-039) (See boxes 13a-d)
Email list of Great Peace Marchers-May 2001 (Acc. 01A-065)
Reunion (2000)

Audio cassettes
Video cassettes )(Including movie and out takes, by Cathy Zheutlin)
Phono disc

Bumper stickers

Archved Great Peace March Web Sites

These web sites were created by the "alumnae" of the 1986 Great Peace March. The sites cover GPM activities since the march. The World Wide Web did not exisit in 1986 when the GPM took place. Beginning in 2002 the Wayback Machine of the Internet Archives (IA) cached the FOR's web site. Please check both URLs listed as there are some each may list different dates on which web sites were saved.

The links are provided here for the convenience of researchers interested in the history of the national FOR's web presence. The Swarthmore College Peace Collection has no control over the web sites or how they are saved by IA. Local FOR branches or groups may have their own web sites and may have been preserved by IA.

Dates of web sites marked with an * indicate a change in that site from the last saved web site.

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.greatpeacemarch.org/

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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This page was last updated on June 15, 2007.

Historical Introduction

Scope and Content

Arrangement