Summary Information
Madison Veterans for Peace Records
1967-1972
- Madison Veterans for Peace (Wis.)
Mss 316; PH Mss 316
0.4 c.f. (1 archives box), 5 photographs, 4 negatives, 5 pieces of ephemera
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Records of the Madison, Wis., chapter of a loosely-knit national organization of veterans from all wars who opposed U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam. Present are minutes, correspondence, membership materials, and other organizational records; drafts and printed copies of flyers and publications; and files on a 1970 convention that drafted a national constitution. Photographs show protests by veterans and a veteran at an airport. The ephemera includes holiday cards made by the group.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00316 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Madison Veterans for Peace, an antiwar group active in Madison during the late 1960's and early 1970's, was organized in the fall of 1967 by veterans who were members of Madison's Committee to End the War. Its purpose was to inform the public that not all veterans supported American intervention in Vietnam and to protest glorification of war. They hoped to use the special consideration the public holds for veterans to refute the image of dissent as unpatriotic, cowardly, and unsupportive of the men stationed in the war zones.
The organization was open to veterans who had served more than 180 days active duty and who had received a discharge other than dishonorable, unless the dishonorable discharge resulted from opposition to the Vietnam War. About one-third of its members were students; at one time 35% of its members had served in Vietnam and 50% in other wars. In 1971, the group numbered about 200 veterans. There was no national policy-making body, but the Chicago chapter acted as coordinator, supplying information and materials. A 1970 national convention held in Madison drafted a constitution, but due to differing views over tactics and fear of too much organization, no nationwide unity resulted.
Although there was continuing debate over tactics within the Madison group, its activities remained non-violent and educational. They included: distributing leaflets, participating in local and national demonstrations and Veterans Day parades, serving as ushers at peace rallies, operating booths at county fairs, serving as volunteers at the Veterans Hospital, and issuing press releases responding to Vietnam policies. The veterans campaigned for Madison's peace referendum in 1968, participated in the Winter Soldier Investigation in Detroit, and conducted a campaign against the sale of war toys in 1971. They received permission from the commanding officer of Camp McCoy near Tomah to read the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights from the Constitution at the camp on July 24, 1971. This would have been the first authorized demonstration on a military base. After Headquarters, Fifth U.S. Army, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, cancelled the agreement, the group conducted a night “raid” on Camp McCoy distributing leaflets of the Declaration. A similar raid was conducted on Fort Sheridan in Illinois by the Madison group on August 9, 1971.
Scope and Content Note
The records consist of organizational material, publications publicizing the activities and goals of the organization, the records of the 1970 national convention held in Madison, miscellany, photographs, and emphemera. Among the organizational records is a five-page history, originally written as a handout, which outlines the goals and activities of the organization, 1967-1971. Correspondence, 1970-1972, appears incomplete, but includes some replies to peace-issue questionnaires sent to Wisconsin candidates for political office. Among the publications are form letters to veterans describing the organization, open letters to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, tabulated results of the peace questionnaires, posters protesting war toys, announcements of activities, and a leaflet of questions about Madison Veterans for Peace.
Related Material
Copies of the group's newsletter are held by the Historical Society's library.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Madison Veterans for Peace via Chuck Goranson, Madison, Wisconsin, 1973. Accession Number: M73-458
Processed by P. Fleek (Intern) and Joanne Hohler, November 25, 1974.
Contents List
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Mss 316
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Organization records
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Box
1
Folder
1
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History, by-laws
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Box
1
Folder
2
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Minutes, 1970, June - October
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Box
1
Folder
3
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Correspondence, 1970, May - 1972, August
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Box
1
Folder
4
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Membership records, 1971-1972
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Box
1
Folder
5
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Lists of other veterans for peace groups
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Box
1
Folder
6
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Membership cards, 1970-1971
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Publications
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Box
1
Folder
7
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Drafts of publications
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Box
1
Folder
8
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Handouts, “Vote Yes for Peace”
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National convention, 1970
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Box
1
Folder
9
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Agenda, attendance, officers
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Box
1
Folder
10
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Temporary constitution of National Veterans for Peace
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Box
1
Folder
11
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General meetings, tally sheets of motions
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Box
1
Folder
12
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Program-Recruiting workshop, tally sheets of motions
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Box
1
Folder
13
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Constitution workshop, tally sheets of motions
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Box
1
Folder
14
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Minority proposals for constitution
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Box
1
Folder
15
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States' organizations, statements of purpose
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Box
1
Folder
16
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Miscellany
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PH Mss 316
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Photographs and Ephemera
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