Summary Information
Student Peace Union Records 1958-1964
- Student Peace Union (U.S.)
Mss 514
3.8 cubic feet (9 archives boxes)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Records of the Student Peace Union, a national organization of students and youth (1959-1964) opposed to the nuclear arms race that bridged the gap between the “old peace movement” and the opposition to the war in Vietnam. Included are minutes, convention papers, correspondence, publications, miscellaneous local records, and miscellany. Both the collection as a whole, and the correspondence which comprises two-thirds of the collection, are most complete for the period 1961 through 1963. Subjects treated range from routine communications with local chapters to exchanges over policy with many of the individuals and organizations then most important in the peace movement. English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00514
Biography/History
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.
Scope and Content Note
The collection is a group of records from the national office donated to the Historical Society in 1973 by Philip Altbach via the University of Chicago Archives, together with a small amount of material culled from a 1975 donation of personal papers donated directly to the Society by Altbach. The records are best for the years 1961 through 1963; consequently they contain virtually no information on either the formation or dissolution of SPU. Also disappointing are materials on some of the most important issues in the organization's history: its “third camp” position during the Cuban missile crisis, support of civil rights, and opposition to the war in Vietnam. The collection includes internal administrative records, correspondence, publications, local records, and miscellany. Many of SPU's official records (particularly resolution statements, officers' reports, and financial reports) were published in the Discussion Bulletin; when such material could be identified, duplication within the office files was eliminated.
ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS, 1959-1964, include an early version of SPU's constitution (later versions are included within the convention papers); minutes of the National Council and the National Steering Committee; papers of the policy-making national conventions; and miscellaneous membership lists, statements of candidates for the National Council, and officers' reports. The minutes of the National Steering Committee, which was responsible for much of the routine administration of SPU, are fairly complete for the years 1961-1963; the National Council, however, is represented by minutes or notes of only four meetings. Convention papers cover a similar time period and variously include minutes, notes, resolutions and statements, and reports.
Chronologically-arranged CORRESPONDENCE, 1958-1964, is largely a file created by National Chairman Philip Altbach, though letters to and from other officers are also included. Subjects discussed range from routine requests for information, concerns related to publication of the Bulletin and the Discussion Bulletin, and communications with local chapters to high-level explorations of policy options with some of the most important individuals and organizations then active in the peace movement. Among the most frequent of these are Alfred Hassler, Brad Lyttle, David McReynolds, Linus Pauling, Robert Pickus, David Riesman, Bayard Rustin, Norman Thomas, and other representatives of the American Friends Service Committee, the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy, the Committee for Nonviolent Action, the National Student Association, Turn Toward Peace, and the War Resisters League.
The remaining sections of the collection are quite fragmentary. Runs of the Bulletin and the Discussion Bulletin and several monographs have been separated from PUBLICATIONS, 1959-1964; files of handbills and pamphlets (and a few drafts of the latter) remain with the manuscript material. Also included are drafts of several published articles and two folders of articles probably intended for the Discussion Bulletin, but whose publication could not be established. Also of note is a collection of statements and official resolutions which could not be interfiled with the convention papers. Included here is SPU's statement on Vietnam. LOCAL RECORDS, 1959-1964, chiefly consist of fragmentary minutes, constitutions, and statements of purpose. The MISCELLANY, 1955-1964, includes a file of clippings about SPU, its activities, and members, and miscellaneous financial records not available in published form.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Philip Altbach, Madison, Wisconsin, 1973 and 1975. Accession Number: M73-184, M75-175
Processed by Carolyn J. Mattern, January 1980.
Contents List
Mss 514
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Series: Administrative Records
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Box
1
Folder
1
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Constitution, 1959
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Minutes
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National Council
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Box
1
Folder
2
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(several versions), 1961 September 2, 3
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Box
1
Folder
2
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(agendas, minutes and notes), 1961 December 27-30
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Box
1
Folder
2
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(minutes), 1962 June 15-17
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Box
1
Folder
2
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(agenda and notes), 1962 September 7-9
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Box
1
Folder
3
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National Steering Committee, 1959 December 1-1964 May 24
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Officers
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Box
1
Folder
4
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National Council candidate statements, 1962-1963
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Box
1
Folder
5
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National officers reports, 1959, 1962
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Meetings and Conventions
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Box
1
Folder
6
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National Organizational meeting (agenda and reports), 1960 June 11
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Box
1
Folder
7
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National planning meeting (Nyack, New York) (minutes and constitution adopted), 1960 August 27 and 28
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Box
1
Folder
8
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National Convention (Oberlin, Ohio) (resolutions), 1961 May 6
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Box
1
Folder
9
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National Convention (Antioch College) (minutes and resolutions), 1962 April 27-29
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National Convention (Princeton), 1963 June 20-22
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Box
1
Folder
10
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Minutes and notes
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Box
1
Folder
11-12
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University of Chicago delegates' notes and voting material
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Box
1
Folder
13
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Registration materials
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Box
1
Folder
14
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Membership lists, undated
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Series: Correspondence
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Box
2
Folder
1
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1958 March, July, October-November; 1959 February-July, September-December
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Box
2
Folder
2-8
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1960-1961 April
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Box
3
Folder
1-6
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1961 May-1962 January 15
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Box
4
Folder
1-6
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1962 January 16-June
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Box
5
Folder
1-7
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1962 July-1963 February
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Box
6
Folder
1-6
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1963 March-1964 April, June-July, undated
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Box
7
Folder
1-2
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undated
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Box
7
Folder
3-5
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Form letters, 1959-1964
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Series: Publications
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Box
7
Folder
6
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Discussion Bulletin published article drafts, 1962
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Box
7
Folder
7
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Discussion Bulletin quotes, undated
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Box
7
Folder
8
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Discussion Memo, undated
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Box
7
Folder
9-10
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Handbills and pamphlets, 1959-1964
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Box
7
Folder
11
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Pamphlet drafts and ideas, 1962, undated
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Box
8
Folder
1
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Literature order forms, 1962-1963
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Box
8
Folder
2-3
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Miscellaneous articles, undated
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Box
8
Folder
4
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Miscellaneous mailings, undated
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Box
8
Folder
5
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Miscellaneous resolutions and statements, undated
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Box
8
Folder
6
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Organizers handbook, undated
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Box
8
Folder
7
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Peace song book material, undated
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Box
8
Folder
8
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Press releases, 1959-1963
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Box
8
Folder
9
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Speeches, undated
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Series: Affiliate Records
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Box
8
Folder
10
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Chicago Council, minutes, 1961 August 17
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Box
8
Folder
11
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College Peace Union, minutes, 1959 December 11 and 1960 February 12 : Includes statement of purpose.
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Box
8
Folder
12
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Delaware Valley Regional Council, minutes, 1961 December 17
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Box
8
Folder
13
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Midwest Regional conferences, 1962, undated
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Box
8
Folder
14
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Midwest Regional Council, minutes, 1959 November 27, 1960 January 30
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Box
8
Folder
15
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Ohio Valley Regional Council, minutes, 1962 May 12 : Includes constitution.
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Box
8
Folder
16
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Philadelphia Regional Council, minutes, 1961 November 20
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Box
8
Folder
17
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Washington, D.C. Regional Council, minutes, undated, November 19
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Box
8
Folder
18
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Miscellaneous regional and local constitutions, 1960, 1962
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Box
8
Folder
19
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Miscellaneous regional and local reports, 1961, 1964
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Series: Miscellany
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Clippings
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Box
8
Folder
20-21
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1958-1962
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Box
9
Folder
1
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1963-1964 March
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Box
9
Folder
2
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Financial records, 1959-1964
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Box
9
Folder
3
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Report on International Conference of Students and Youth for Disarmament, Peace, and National Independence, 1964 February
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Box
9
Folder
4
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Notes, undated
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Box
9
Folder
5
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Miscellany regarding other organizations, undated
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Notes:
[1]
This 1964 closing applied only to the Chicago national headquarters. Evidence suggests that an office continued to operate at 5 Beekman Place in New York City at least until 1966, but its relationship with the Chicago group is uncertain.
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