Summary Information
Wisconsin Draft Resistance Union Records
1967-1969
- Wisconsin Draft Resistance Union
Mss 382
0.2 c.f. (1 archives box)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Records of a statewide organization launched in 1967 by students of the University of Wisconsin whose opposition to the war in Vietnam focused upon the Selective Service system. Included are letters received from Wisconsin supporters and from individuals in other states as a result of WDRU's status as the national Draft Resistance Clearinghouse, form letters, Wisconsin field reports, a few minutes, broadsides and handouts, and materials on several community social service projects.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00382 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
The Wisconsin Draft Resistance Union (WDRU) began in the autumn of 1966 in the discussions of a group of University of Wisconsin students who were dissatisfied at the inability of demonstrations to bring an end to U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam. The students drafted a statement indicating their refusal to serve in the armed forces which they published in the Daily Cardinal on February 23, 1967. The same day they called a mass meeting to announce the formation of the Wisconsin Draft Resistance Union.
Although membership was limited to individuals willing to affirm the original statement, WDRU grew rapidly, eventually becoming a statewide organization. As WDRU developed, strategy and tactics underwent many changes. The original focus was upon activities to immobilize the Selective Service system, but under the influence of SDS, WDRU's opposition to the war became a broader social criticism and its goals became as much political as they were pacifist. Activities of the union included extensive draft counseling, research on draft laws and the composition of the Madison draft board, leafletting and demonstrations at induction centers, organizing among university and high school students, and various community service projects. WDRU also served as the national Draft Resistance Clearinghouse, which provided information for similar groups around the country.
Scope and Content Note
The records are made up of a file of correspondence that was transferred to the Archives from the Library, together with a group of broadsides and leaflets from the Social Action Collection vertical file. The largely-incoming correspondence was received from both national and Wisconsin supporters. Individual correspondents of note are Sidney Lens (August 30, 1967) and Bernardine Dohrn (August 31, 1967). Also present are form letters, a few minutes, and materials on several community projects. Perhaps the most interesting in the latter file is a group of field reports on activities in various Wisconsin cities. A number of publications printed or distributed by WDRU are available in the Society Library.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Accession Number: M78-502
Processed by Carolyn J. Mattern, January 1980.
Contents List
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Box
1
Folder
1-3
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Correspondence and form letters, 1967-1968, undated
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Box
1
Folder
4
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Community organizing projects, 1967-1968, undated
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Box
1
Folder
5
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Broadsides and handouts, 1967-1969
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Box
1
Folder
6
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Miscellany, 1967-1968
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