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Pennsylvania Committee for Total Disarmament Records

 Collection
Identifier: SCPC-DG-030

Scope and Contents

This archival collection comprises the complete records of the Committee, as well as the personal files of Dr. Hull regarding his involvement. Further correspondence of Dr. Hull may be found in the misc. correspondence (“H”) files, and his correspondence and reports from Geneva may be found in the 1932 General Disarmament Conference file.

Correspondents (in addition to those listed below) include: Brent D. Allinson, Caroline Lexow Babcock, A. Fenner Brockway, H. Runham Brown, Elinor Byrns, Lucy A. Cox, Constance Drexel, Dorothy Detzer, Lynn J. Frazier, Lindley V. Gordon, William B. Harvey, Darlington Hoopes, Frieda Langer Lazarus, Jennie Lee, Frederick J. Libby, Alfred Lief, Ray Newton, Vincent D. Nicholson, John Nevin Sayre, Tucker P. Smith, Walter W. Van Kirk, Oswald Garrison Villard, Lydia G. Wentworth, H. Justice Williams, and E. Raymond Wilson. This checklist was re-written and re-typed from old versions, after the boxes were sent off-site, which accounts for some of the possible discrepancies between this box listing and what might appear on the actual folder labels within the boxes themselves.

Dates

  • 1930-1938

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Limitations on Accessing the Collection

The collection is open for research use.

Physical Access Note

All or part of this collection is stored off-site. Contact Swarthmore College Peace Collection staff at peacecollection@swarthmore.edu at least two weeks in advance of visit to request boxes.

Copyright and Rights Information

Microfilm reels may be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

Historical Note

The Pennsylvania Committee for Total Disarmament was active from 1930 to 1936, chiefly in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although the group had formed in 1929, its official organization took place following a dinner in honor of A. Fenner Brockway (British Member of Parliament, and Chair of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation) on February 4, 1930. Dr. William I. Hull was Chair of the Committee throughout its existence, with Sophia Dulles as Executive Secretary. Active members included Mary Winsor, Mrs. Walter Cope, William Eves III, and Edward N. Wright. The main emphasis for the Committee’s work was to bring pressure, through public opinion and personal contacts, on Congress to support total disarmament, including passage of the Frazier Amendment outlawing war. During the General Disarmament Conference, held in Geneva (Switzerland) during 1932, Dr. Hull was the Committee’s representative and sent many reports back on his activities.

Other objectives of the Committee included a Congressional investigation of the munitions industry, opposition to all preparations and training for war (including ROTC), and support for conscientious objectors, both American and those from other countries whose stance caused them to be denied United States citizenship. The Youth Committee was especially active in giving support to conscientious objectors enrolled in college.

The Committee’s efforts were accomplished through correspondence, public meetings, marches, dissemination of literature, and through a well-organized Youth Section. Although membership of the Committee was mostly from the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area, cooperation with other groups – such as the Women’s Peace Union, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and the Committee on Militarism in Education – provided a national forum for expressing concerns and working together toward solutions.

The Committee was disbanded in 1938.

Extent

8.75 Linear Feet (8.75 linear ft.)

Overview

The Pennsylvania Committee for Total Disarmament was active from 1930 to 1936, chiefly in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Through public opinion and personal contacts, PCTD supporters pressured Congress to support total disarmament, including passage of the Frazier Amendment outlawing war. Other objectives of the Committee included a Congressional investigation of the munitions industry, opposition to all preparations and training for war (including ROTC), and support for conscientious objectors, both American and those from other countries. The Committee was disbanded in 1938.

Arrangement

The collection consists of files arranged in the following order: administrative records, financial records, personal files of William I. Hull, organizational correspondence, in chronological and then alphabetical order, and special subject files.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Pennsylvania Committee for Total Disarmament and from William I. Hull.

Existence and Location of Copies

This collection is available on microfilm (reels 81.1-81.16). Microfilm is available on-site by appointment and through interlibrary loan from the Swarthmore College Peace Collection.

Related Materials

For related materials, search the library's online catalog

Separated Materials

Two scrapbooks were removed to the Oversized Items Collection: Scrapbooks, as was a financial ledger. These item were not included on the microfilm. - Scrapbook of Misc. Literature from the Committee, 1930-1936 - Scrapbook of Newsclippings, 1930-1936 [covers A. Fenner Brockway, Dorothy Detzer, William I. Hull, Swarthmore College, Toyohiko Kagawa, Jennie Lee, Muriel Lester, Paul Smith, Sophia Dulles, Margaret Cope, General Smedley Butler, Ellen Wilkinson, & large anti-war demonstrations in Philadelphia (PA), etc.] - Treasurer’s Cash Record, 1931 (April) – 1936 (June) Six poster designs by students at Moore Institute of Art, Science & Industry (the Philadelphia School of Design for Women) were removed to the Poster Collection. These items were not included on the microfilm. The manuscript material (boxes 1-21) for this collection is stored off-site. Microfilm reels may be borrowed through inter-library loan (three at a time).

Bibliographic References

Guide to the Swarthmore College Peace Collection, 2nd ed., p. 53.

Legal Status

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Processing Information

This finding aid was prepared by Peace Collection staff and revised by Anne Yoder in August, 2005.

Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Find It at the Library

Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting reproductions from Swarthmore College Peace Collection Library

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