Issues of Peace and War Pamphlet Collection

This open collection of primarily printed material centers on a core of pamphlets, reprints and notes donated to the Divinity Library by Professors Roland H. Bainton and Kenneth Scott Latourette and by Yale alumni Dana Dawson (MA 1942), Ernest Lefever (BD 1945) and Vernon H. Holloway (BD 1936, PhD 1949). Much of the material was apparently gathered by Lefever and Holloway in connection with their academic work. While the majority of the material is related to the issues of the Second World War, documents from as early as 1818 and as late as 1968 are also included. The collection is particularly valuable for its focus on the contributions of American religious organizations and church leaders to the discussion and action surrounding such issues as conscientious objection, civilian public service camps, military training, disarmament, and reconstruction.

The first series includes material from more than 170 organizations and is arranged alphabetically by the name of the organization. Series II contains topically arranged material which is not directly related to any particular organization. The topics of Series II include conscription, disarmament, international relations, Japanese American incarceration, and reconstruction, as well as a large "general" category which is subdivided by format.

The major American Protestant denominations are represented among the organizations of Series I, as well as prominent religious and secular peace organizations and various more eccentric groups. Most fully documented are the American Friends Service Committee and the Fellowship of Reconciliation. The views and activities of individuals such as Roland H. Bainton, John C. Bennett, John Foster Dulles, G. Sherwood Eddy, Harry Emerson Fosdick, John Haynes Holmes, Kenneth Scott Latourette, A.J. Muste, Reinhold Niebuhr, Kirby Page, Norman Thomas, Paul Tillich, and D. Elton Trueblood are documented in the collection.