The Student Peace Union (SPU) was an independent national organization of students and youth opposed to nuclear armament. Although it differed from both the “old peace movement” and the opponents of the Vietnam War in several important respects, SPU's ideology and tactics bridged the two and its youthful membership heralded the student activism of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
SPU was formed in April 1959 as the result of a meeting of students on the campus of the University of Chicago. These students expressed an interest in an ongoing regional organization to make individual disarmament activities more effective. SPU membership was limited until 1960, numbering only 300 members on 45 campuses, but in the following years it grew rapidly to a 1962 peak of 3200. A portion of this increase occurred in 1960 with the merger with the College Peace Union, a similar group in New England.
SPU's organization consisted of an annual national convention of the member-ship which determined overall policy, the National Council elected by the membership, a National Steering Committee elected by the council for administration of the national office in Chicago, and a small staff. For most of its existence, Philip Altbach served as national chairman.
SPU had no precise statement of policy and was non-exclusive with regard to political philosophy. Despite this official non-sectarian posture, the national leadership came to be dominated by members of the Young People's Socialist League who espoused what is known as the “third camp” philosophy. An attempt to impose this ideology on the membership following the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 was one of the major factors contributing to the eventual demise of the union in 1964.[1]
Although the focus of its activity was education and the preparation and distribution of study materials, the Student Peace Union also had some tendency toward action. Among its major demonstrations were protests against the U.S. action during the Cuban missile crisis and a 1962 demonstration against atmospheric testing in Washington, D.C. SPU also espoused the cause of civil rights and late in its existence took the lead in protesting against U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam.
