Leonard Cizewski was born in Chicago in 1952. In 1981 he settled in Madison, Wisconsin, where he worked as a nurse. In Madison he continued his earlier peace activities by becoming involved in Witness For Peace and Central American issues. In 1984 Cizewski traveled to Nicaragua as part of the Wisconsin-Illinois delegation for Witness For Peace. In 1985 he was active in protesting against the deployment of the Wisconsin National Guard in Honduras. Cizewski was also part of the Dane County Pledge of Resistance, a local chapter of a national organization formed in 1984-1985 to oppose U.S. foreign policy in Central America. In May 1985 the Reagan Administration imposed a trade embargo against Nicaraguan goods. The Dane County chapter of Pledge of Resistance responded by organizing a Trade for Peace sub-committee to carry out acts of civil disobedience against the embargo. Leonard Cizewski was the prime organizer of Trade for Peace, which functioned as an autonomous organization between 1985 and 1990. During this time he ran the organization out of his home.
The goal of Trade for Peace was to raise public awareness and overturn the embargo. Toward this end, the group carried out acts of civil disobedience centered around two tactics: the symbolic importation of illegal Nicaraguan goods and the sale of these goods at press conferences and via direct mail order. Trade For Peace usually imported its merchandise through Canada, but it also relied on supplies from travelers to Nicaragua. Initially TFP imported and sold only stamps, but as the group developed, coffee beans and arts and crafts items were also sold. Trade for Peace also held annual news conferences and sales on the anniversary of the embargo.
Trade For Peace consisted of a core group of about twelve members and twelve additional supporters. By the end of its existence it had a mailing list of 600 individuals throughout the country.
From 1985 to 1987 Leonard Cizewski made several contacts with Central American activists and importers in Canada. In March 1987, he traveled to Canada to arrange for the importation of 150 pounds of Nicaraguan coffee beans. These beans were roasted and therefore substantially changed and legal under the terms of the embargo.
In 1987, Peter Flaherty of the conservative Citizens For Reagan became aware of Trade For Peace, and he contacted the U.S. Justice Department and urged that TFP be prosecuted. In March 1988, Trade For Peace received notification that unless it ceased its activity federal charges would be brought. Trade For Peace continued its activities in defiance of the embargo. On August 30, 1988, six customs agents raided Cizewski's home and seized his Trade For Peace business files and Nicaraguan goods. Trade For Peace reacted by forming a defense fund, hiring an attorney, and contacting the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU filed a suit for civil forfeiture of confiscated goods. Later the customs office offered to drop the charges if Trade For Peace ceased its importation activities. TFP accepted the offer and thereafter concentrated on activities protected by the First Amendment. In March 1990, the U.S. Attorney closed the criminal investigation after the Sandinistas lost the Nicaraguan election and the embargo was lifted by President Bush. Trade For Peace then held a news conference and disbanded. The Dane County Pledge of Resistance merged with the Wisconsin Witness for Peace organization.
Since the dissolution of Trade For Peace Cizewski, who continues to reside in Madison, has been less active in social/political issues, although he did participate in the AIDS Memorial Project in 1992, as well as various school board campaigns.
