Jump to Content

Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
World Without War Council records
84029  
No online items No online items       Request items ↗
View entire collection guide What's This?
Search this collection
Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Use
  • Acquisition Information
  • Preferred Citation
  • Processing Information
  • Historical Note
  • Scope and Contents
  • Index to WWWC Programs

  • Title: World without War Council records
    Date (inclusive): 1940-2018
    Collection Number: 84029
    Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
    Language of Material: English
    Physical Description: 250 manuscript boxes, 2 oversize boxes, 1 cardfile box, 265 cubic foot boxes (372.5 Linear Feet)
    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.
    Creator: Pickus, Robert
    Creator: World Without War Council
    Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

    Access

    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.

    Use

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

    Acquisition Information

    Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1984.

    Preferred Citation

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

    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.

    Historical Note

    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.

    Scope and Contents

    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.

    Index to WWWC Programs

    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

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Peace
    Disarmament
    Vietnam War, 1961-1975
    United States -- Foreign relations
    Nuclear weapons
    World politics
    Conscientious objectors -- United States
    Pacifism