Women's Committee to Oppose Conscription Records
Scope and Contents
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.
Dates
- Creation: 1942-1948
Creator
- Women's Committee to Oppose Conscription (Organization)
- Balch, Emily Greene, 1867-1961 (Correspondent, Person)
- Chalmers, Frances K. (Frances Kinghorn) (Correspondent, Person)
- Cleghorn, Sarah Norcliffe, 1876-1959 (Correspondent, Person)
- Detzer, Dorothy, 1893-1981 (Correspondent, Person)
- Elfenbein, Elsie Wright (Correspondent, Person)
- French, Paul Comly, 1903-1960 (Correspondent, Person)
- Garst, Eleanor (Correspondent, Person)
- Harkness, Georgia Elma, 1891-1974 (Correspondent, Person)
- Hughan, Jessie Wallace, 1875-1955 (Correspondent, Person)
- La Force, Pearl A. (Correspondent, Person)
- Libby, Frederick J. (Frederick Joseph), 1874-1970 (Correspondent, Person)
- Muste, Abraham John, 1885-1967 (Correspondent, Person)
- Mygatt, Tracy D. (Tracy Dickinson), 1885-1973 (Correspondent, Person)
- Pierce, Katharine C. (Katharine Curtis), 1882- (Correspondent, Person)
- Randall, Mercedes M. (Mercedes Moritz), 1895-1977 (Correspondent, Person)
- Schomer, Elsie (Correspondent, Person)
- Scudder, Vida Dutton, 1861-1954 (Correspondent, Person)
- Stewart, Annalee, 1900?- (Correspondent, Person)
- Swomley, John M., 1915-2010 (Correspondent, Person)
- Wilson, E. Raymond (Edward Raymond), 1896-1987 (Correspondent, Person)
- Witherspoon, Frances, 1886-1973 (Correspondent, Person)
Language of Materials
Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
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.
Conditions Governing Use
None.
Historical Note
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.
Extent
7.25 linear ft. (7.25 linear ft.)
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.
Arrangement
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
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Grace Rhoads, Mildred Scott Olmsted, and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, U.S. Section ; 1948, 1966, 1969.
Bibliographic References
Bibliographic References
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
Collection re-processed and checklist revised by Anne Yoder in April, 2001; This finding aid was prepared by Chloe Lucchesi- Malone in August, 2009.
Subject
- Women's Committee to Oppose Conscription (Organization)
- Committee to Oppose the Conscription of Women (Organization)
Topical
- Draft -- Societies, etc. -- History -- Sources
- Draft -- United States -- History -- Sources
- Military nursing -- United States -- History -- Sources
- Women and the military -- United States -- History -- Sources
- Women and war -- United States -- History -- Sources
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Women -- Sources
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2018: The file list was standardized in Summer 2017 by Mary Olesnavich in preparation for importing into ArchivesSpace. Elisabeth Miller added the notes in Fall 2017.
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 repoductions from Swarthmore College Peace Collection Library
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore 19081-1399 USA US
610-328-8557
610-328-8544 (Fax)
peacecollection@swarthmore.edu
