World without War Council records, 1940-2018

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Summary

Creators:
Pickus, Robert and World Without War Council
Abstract:
Minutes, resolutions, correspondence, memoranda, reports, financial records, serial issues, bulletins, newsletters, and other printed matter, relating to peace movements in the United States, pacifism, conscientious objectors, disarmament, nuclear weapons, American foreign policy, world affairs, and the Vietnamese War.
Extent:
250 manuscript boxes, 2 oversize boxes, 1 cardfile box, 265 cubic foot boxes (372.5 Linear Feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], World without War Council records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The World Without War Council records contain minutes, resolutions, correspondence, memoranda, reports, financial records, serial issues, bulletins, newsletters, other printed matter, and audiovisual materials related to peace movements in the United States, pacifism, conscientious objectors, disarmament, nuclear weapons, American foreign policy, world affairs, and the Vietnam War.

The World Without War Council was a United States organization committed to ending war. In a statement of their goals and principles, the Council wrote, "Conflict is the nature of things; war, as a means of resolving conflict, is not. We will never rid the world of personal and small-group violence, but we can end the organized mass violence of war." ("Clarifying the Council's Work," Box 510). The Council envisioned the United States as an international leader in the work to end war and championed an interventionist strategy. Unlike many peace organizations, the Council rejected solutions that focused only on the reduction of United States military power. They believed that democratic policies were a requisite for peace and that international agreement would be needed to bring about the end of organized violence.

The WWWC had regional offices in Berkeley, New York, Chicago, and Seattle. As part of their mission, they assisted volunteer organizations and NGOs with developing their own programs, and created guidelines for other peace groups. The WWWC consulted for a variety of peace, education, labor, and religious organizations, such as the National Council on Philanthropy and the AFL-CIO. Meeting minutes, correspondence, and administrative files documenting their work can be found throughout the collection, often under the heading of "Office file" or "Chronological file."

The WWWC implemented many programs geared toward creating peace. Since the collection has not been arranged, the Index to WWWC Programs can serve as a guide to these materials. Although this index highlights large groupings of documents pertaining to specific programs, other program materials can be found throughout the collection.

The collection includes papers of Robert Pickus, founder of Acts of Peace and president of the WWWC. The Robert Pickus File (Box 509 to 520) includes correspondence, biographical documents, and printed matter relating to his life and work.

As noted throughout the finding aid, some boxes have been removed from the collection due preservation issues or rehousing of materials.

Biographical / historical:

The World Without War Council was a private, nonprofit American organization to promote peace.

In 1958, Robert Pickus founded Acts of Peace. In 1961, the organization changed its name to Turn Toward Peace. In 1967, a group split off to become the World Without War Council.

Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1984.
Processing information:

During archival processing in 2016, the contents from boxes 58, 174-180, 270-273, 472-473, 477, 488-449 were condensed into surrounding boxes. As a result, these physical boxes were then removed from the collection.

Arrangement:
145, 349-351
Alliance for Education in Global and International Studies (AEGIS)
91, 104, 143, 144, 440, 441
American Initiatives Project
54, 231, 429-430, 444-446
Assessing the Public Effort for Peace
164
Bay Area Americans and World Affairs Fellows Program
77, 80, 82, 89, 153, 236, 355-356, 409-410
Conscience and War
8, 37, 91
Diablo Valley Peace Education Project
37, 57, 99
Diablo Valley School Project
15, 257, 262
Diocese of Oakland
37, 147, 152, 266
Diocese of California, Episcopal
20-21, 210, 226
East Bay Draft Information and Counseling Service
294-295, 381-391, 503
Good Global Governance
44, 61, 360-361, 406-408
Historians Project
2, 12, 31, 35, 128, 455-456, 474-475, 478-479, 486
Immigrants and Citizenship Project (Common Good)
22-23, 33, 140, 164, 240
Improving American Competence in World Affairs
9, 27, 100, 127, 164, 208, 243, 413-414
International Conflict and American Organizations Project
6, 127, 154, 158, 161, 190, 223
National Council on Philanthropy
33-35, 54
Organizational Map Project
28, 243
Peace Ballot and Peace Platform
28, 100, 104
Peace and Elections
184, 195, 251
Project South Africa
411-412
Religious Leadership
56, 157, 164, 209
State Department/Independent Sector Project
132
Television Project
91, 132, 231, 243
U.S. Foreign Policy
44, 143, 198, 206
U.S. Response to the Arms Race
18, 85
VISA
91, 206, 243
Voluntary Organizations and a World Without War
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Boxes 1-508 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of the collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], World without War Council records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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