Misplaced Pages

#396603

74-1023: The Universal Peace Union was a pacifist organization founded by former members of the American Peace Society in Providence, Rhode Island with the adoption of its constitution on 16 May 1866; it was chartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , on 9 April 1888. It ceased operations in 1913, shortly after the death of Alfred H. Love , who served as the organization's president from its founding. Other founders and officers included ministers and reformers Adin Ballou and Walter Walsh , American Red Cross founder Clara Barton , politician and author Belva Ann Lockwood , reformer Lucretia Mott , Nobel Peace Prize winner Frédéric Passy , editor Mary L. F. Ormsby , and politician and educator John Wesley Hoyt . Ella B. Ensor Wilson served as president of

148-430: A brand of nonviolence (or ahimsa ) which he called satyagraha  – translated literally as "truth force". This was the resistance of tyranny through civil disobedience that was not only nonviolent but also sought to change the heart of the opponent. He contrasted this with duragraha , "resistant force", which sought only to change behaviour with stubborn protest. During his 30 years of work (1917–1947) for

222-500: A broad moral guideline against violence between individuals. No philosophical program of rejecting violence between states, or rejecting all forms of violence, seems to have existed. Aristophanes , in his play Lysistrata , creates the scenario of an Athenian woman's anti-war sex strike during the Peloponnesian War of 431–404 BCE, and the play has gained an international reputation for its anti-war message. Nevertheless, it

296-484: A campaign of nonviolent resistance in the event of a fascist invasion or takeover. As the prospect of a second major war began to seem increasingly inevitable, much of France adopted pacifist views, though some historians argue that France felt more war anxiety than a moral objection to a second war. Hitler's spreading influence and territory posed an enormous threat to French livelihood from their neighbors. The French countryside had been devastated during World War I and

370-638: A doctorate in history in 1950. But, unlike many of us, Peter was not content to specialize in the history of just one country. He received a second doctoral degree in history from Oxford University in 1954 with a study that resulted in the publication of The Political and Social Doctrines of the Unity of Czech Brethren in the Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth Centuries (1957), which married his interest in pacifism to his interest in east central Europe, something he would continue with studies of examples of pacifism in

444-715: A former British ambassador to the United States. These and other initiatives were pivotal in the change in attitudes that gave birth to the League of Nations after the war. In addition to the traditional peace churches, some of the many groups that protested against the war were the Woman's Peace Party (which was organized in 1915 and led by noted reformer Jane Addams ), the International Committee of Women for Permanent Peace (ICWPP) (also organized in 1915),

518-420: A leading figure in the peace movement with the publication of her novel, Die Waffen nieder! ("Lay Down Your Arms!") in 1889 and founded an Austrian pacifist organization in 1891. In colonial New Zealand , during the latter half of the 19th century European settlers used numerous tactics to confiscate land from the indigenous Māori , including warfare . In the 1870s and 1880s, Parihaka , then reported to be

592-437: A strictly pacifist interpretation of Christianity . They stated their beliefs in a declaration to King Charles II : "We utterly deny all outward wars and strife, and fightings with outward weapons, for any end, or under any pretense whatever; this is our testimony to the whole world. The Spirit of Christ ... which leads us into all truth, will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for

666-413: Is Luke 22:36: "He said to them, 'But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one .'" Pacifists have typically explained that verse as Jesus fulfilling prophecy, since in the next verse, Jesus continues to say: "It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors'; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what

740-588: Is Within You , Tolstoy provides a detailed history, account and defense of pacifism. Tolstoy's work inspired a movement named after him advocating pacifism to arise in Russia and elsewhere. The book was a major early influence on Mahatma Gandhi , and the two engaged in regular correspondence while Gandhi was active in South Africa. Bertha von Suttner , the first woman to be a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, became

814-484: Is both fictional and comical, and though it offers a pragmatic opposition to the destructiveness of war, its message seems to stem from frustration with the existing conflict (then in its twentieth year) rather than from a philosophical position against violence or war. Equally fictional is the nonviolent protest of Hegetorides of Thasos . Euripides also expressed strong anti-war ideas in his work, especially The Trojan Women . In Plato's Republic Socrates makes

SECTION 10

#1732765220397

888-445: Is described as difficult to abide by consistently, due to violence not being available as a tool to aid a person who is being harmed or killed. It is further claimed that such a pacifist could logically argue that violence leads to more undesirable results than non-violence. Tapping into just war theory conditional pacifism represents a spectrum of positions departing from positions of absolute pacifism. One such conditional pacifism

962-752: Is named for pacifism : " lemba, lemba " (peace, peace), describes the action of the plant lemba-lemba ( Brillantaisia patula T. Anders ). Likewise in Cabinda, " Lemba is the spirit of peace, as its name indicates." The Moriori , of the Chatham Islands , practiced pacifism by order of their ancestor Nunuku-whenua . This enabled the Moriori to preserve what limited resources they had in their harsh climate, avoiding waste through warfare. In turn, this led to their almost complete annihilation in 1835 by invading Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Tama Māori from

1036-498: Is of Jesus, besides preaching these words, surrendering himself freely to an enemy intent on having him killed and proscribing his followers from defending him. There are those, however, who deny that Jesus was a pacifist and state that Jesus never said not to fight, citing examples from the New Testament. One such instance portrays an angry Jesus driving dishonest market traders from the temple . A frequently quoted passage

1110-422: Is the common pacificism , which may allow defense but is not advocating a default defensivism or even interventionism . Institutional pacifists object to the foundation and continued existence of institutions that enable and encourage war, similarly to those who criticise the influence of the military–industrial complex . The term may have been coined by American sociologist Charles A. Ellwood , writing for

1184-507: Is written about me is reaching its fulfillment." Others have interpreted the non-pacifist statements in the New Testament to be related to self-defense or to be metaphorical and state that on no occasion did Jesus shed blood or urge others to shed blood. Beginning in the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation gave rise to a variety of new Christian sects, including the historic peace churches . Foremost among them were

1258-676: The Three Strategies of Huang Shigong says: "As for the military, it is not an auspicious instrument; it is the way of heaven to despise it", and the Wei Liaozi writes: "As for the military, it is an inauspicious instrument; as for conflict and contention, it runs counter to virtue". The Taoist scripture " Classic of Great Peace ( Taiping jing )" foretells "the coming Age of Great Peace ( Taiping )". The Taiping Jing advocates "a world full of peace". The Lemba religion of southern French Congo, along with its symbolic herb,

1332-754: The American Union Against Militarism , the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the American Friends Service Committee . Jeannette Rankin , the first woman elected to Congress, was another fierce advocate of pacifism, the only person to vote against American entrance into both wars. After the immense loss of nearly ten million men to trench warfare , a sweeping change of attitude toward militarism crashed over Europe, particularly in nations such as Great Britain, where many questioned its involvement in

1406-480: The Fellowship of Reconciliation in 1943. Since the 2010s, some authors have expressed a renewed interest in institutional pacifism , often contrasting it with the more individually-oriented types of personal pacifism , and highlighting the role of human institutions in permitting accumulation of military resources. One writer suggested that institutional pacifism can be further categorised into juridicial pacifism and social pacifism, while another attempted to cite

1480-510: The French Revolutionary Wars based on Christian ideals of peace and brotherhood. Bohemian Bernard Bolzano taught about the social waste of militarism and the needlessness of war. He urged a total reform of the educational, social, and economic systems that would direct the nation's interests toward peace rather than toward armed conflict between nations. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, pacifism

1554-734: The League to Enforce Peace was established in the U.S. to promote similar goals. Hamilton Holt published a 28 September 1914, editorial in his magazine the Independent called "The Way to Disarm: A Practical Proposal" that called for an international organization to agree upon the arbitration of disputes and to guarantee the territorial integrity of its members by maintaining military forces sufficient to defeat those of any non-member. The ensuing debate among prominent internationalists modified Holt's plan to align it more closely with proposals offered in Great Britain by Viscount James Bryce ,

SECTION 20

#1732765220397

1628-609: The Peace Pledge Union in 1934, which totally renounced war and aggression. The idea of collective security was also popular; instead of outright pacifism, the public generally exhibited a determination to stand up to aggression, but preferably with the use of economic sanctions and multilateral negotiations. Many members of the Peace Pledge Union later joined the Bruderhof during its period of residence in

1702-641: The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Amish , Mennonites , Hutterites , and Church of the Brethren . The humanist writer Desiderius Erasmus was one of the most outspoken pacifists of the Renaissance , arguing strongly against warfare in his essays The Praise of Folly (1509) and The Complaint of Peace (1517). The Quakers were prominent advocates of pacifism, who as early as 1660 had repudiated violence in all forms and adhered to

1776-742: The Service Civil International and the Peace Pledge Union (PPU). The League of Nations also convened several disarmament conferences in the interbellum period such as the Geneva Conference , though the support that pacifist policy and idealism received varied across European nations. These organizations and movements attracted tens of thousands of Europeans, spanning most professions including "scientists, artists, musicians, politicians, clerks, students, activists and thinkers." Pacifism and revulsion with war were very popular sentiments in 1920s Britain. Novels and poems on

1850-616: The Taranaki region of the North Island of New Zealand. The invading Māori killed, enslaved and cannibalised the Moriori. A Moriori survivor recalled : "[The Maori] commenced to kill us like sheep ... [We] were terrified, fled to the bush, concealed ourselves in holes underground, and in any place to escape our enemies. It was of no avail; we were discovered and killed – men, women and children indiscriminately." In Ancient Greece , pacifism seems not to have existed except as

1924-773: The Union 's military campaign, arguing they were carrying out a " police action " against the Confederacy , whose act of Secession they regarded as criminal. Following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War , French pacifist René Gérin urged support for the Spanish Republic . Gérin argued that the Spanish Nationalists were "comparable to an individual enemy" and the Republic's war effort

1998-465: The Warring States period , the pacifist Mohist School opposed aggressive war between the feudal states. They took this belief into action by using their famed defensive strategies to defend smaller states from invasion from larger states, hoping to dissuade feudal lords from costly warfare. The Seven Military Classics of ancient China view warfare negatively, and as a last resort. For example,

2072-610: The Yoshida Doctrine as an example of institutional pacifism. Although all pacifists are opposed to war between nation states , there have been occasions where pacifists have supported military conflict in the case of civil war or revolution . For instance, during the American Civil War , both the American Peace Society and some former members of the Non-Resistance Society supported

2146-421: The civil rights movement . Pacifism covers a spectrum of views, including the belief that international disputes can and should be peacefully resolved, calls for the abolition of the institutions of the military and war, opposition to any organization of society through governmental force ( anarchist or libertarian pacifism ), rejection of the use of physical violence to obtain political, economic or social goals,

2220-586: The fascists of Germany , Italy and Japan . During the period of the Napoleonic Wars , although no formal peace movement was established until the end of hostilities, a significant peace movement animated by universalist ideals did emerge, due to the perception of Britain fighting in a reactionary role and the increasingly visible impact of the war on the welfare of the nation in the form of higher taxation levels and high casualty rates. Sixteen peace petitions to Parliament were signed by members of

2294-718: The 19th century, ancient references abound. In modern times, interest was revived by Leo Tolstoy in his late works, particularly in The Kingdom of God Is Within You . Mahatma Gandhi propounded the practice of steadfast nonviolent opposition which he called " satyagraha ", instrumental in its role in the Indian Independence Movement . Its effectiveness served as inspiration to Martin Luther King Jr. , James Lawson , Mary and Charles Beard , James Bevel , Thich Nhat Hanh , and many others in

Universal Peace Union - Misplaced Pages Continue

2368-707: The Cotswolds, where Englishmen and Germans, many of whom were Jewish, lived side by side despite local persecution. The British Labour Party had a strong pacifist wing in the early 1930s, and between 1931 and 1935 it was led by George Lansbury , a Christian pacifist who later chaired the No More War Movement and was president of the PPU. The 1933 annual conference resolved unanimously to "pledge itself to take no part in war". Researcher Richard Toye writes that "Labour's official position, however, although based on

2442-624: The French economist Frédéric Passy was also the founding father of the first international organisation for the arbitration of conflicts in 1889, the Inter-Parliamentary Union . The National Peace Council was founded in after the 17th Universal Peace Congress in London (July August 1908). An important thinker who contributed to pacifist ideology was Russian writer Leo Tolstoy . In one of his latter works, The Kingdom of God

2516-602: The French politician Duc de Sully , the philosophers Émeric Crucé and the Abbe de Saint-Pierre , and the English Quakers William Penn and John Bellers . Pacifist ideals emerged from two strands of thought that coalesced at the end of the 18th century. One, rooted in the secular Enlightenment , promoted peace as the rational antidote to the world's ills, while the other was a part of the evangelical religious revival that had played an important part in

2590-503: The Māori, which proved more successful in preventing land confiscations than acts of violent resistance. Mahatma Gandhi was a major political and spiritual leader of India, instrumental in the Indian independence movement . The Nobel prize winning great poet Rabindranath Tagore , who was also an Indian, gave him the honorific " Mahatma ", usually translated "Great Soul". He was the pioneer of

2664-714: The Peace Society in 1850 on a full-time basis, a position which he would keep for the next 40 years, earning himself a reputation as the 'Apostle of Peace'. He helped secure one of the earliest victories for the peace movement by securing a commitment from the Great Powers in the Treaty of Paris (1856) at the end of the Crimean War , in favour of arbitration. On the European continent, wracked by social upheaval ,

2738-652: The Peaceable Kingdom (1970), and Twentieth-Century Pacifism (1970). The last book, appearing as the Vietnam War protests had revived public interest in pacifism, was "a critical and popular success". By 1973, historian Robert Scharf said that "Professor Brock has become a recognised authority on pacifism in our Western civilization", while political scientist Martin Ceadel stated "[n]o ideology owes more to one academic than pacifism owes to Peter Brock. That

2812-410: The U.S. In Britain, the prominent activist Stephen Henry Hobhouse was jailed for refusing military service, citing his convictions as a "socialist and a Christian". Many socialist groups and movements were antimilitarist , arguing that war by its nature was a type of governmental coercion of the working class for the benefit of capitalist elites. The French socialist pacifist leader Jean Jaurès

2886-782: The Western world after 1900, often focusing on treaties that would settle disputes through arbitration, and efforts to support the Hague conventions. The sudden outbreak of the First World War in July 1914 dismayed the peace movement. Socialist parties in every industrial nation had committed themselves to antiwar policies, but when the war came, all of them, except in Russia and the United States, supported their own governments. There were highly publicized dissidents, some of whom were imprisoned for opposing draft laws, such as Eugene Debs in

2960-610: The Wilsonton (Kansas) branch of the UPU. The UPU's motto was: "Remove the causes and abolish the custom of war, establish and live the principles of peace." On a hill overlooking the Mystic River near Mystic, Connecticut , the UPU owned a grove and built a "Peace Temple" that could seat 1,000 people for annual summer gatherings that attracted such noted speakers as William Lloyd Garrison and Julia Ward Howe . The grove eventually

3034-519: The Younger criticised warfare in his book Naturales quaestiones (c. 65 CE). Maximilian of Tebessa was a Christian conscientious objector. He was killed for refusing to be conscripted. Throughout history many have understood Jesus of Nazareth to have been a pacifist, drawing on his Sermon on the Mount . In the sermon Jesus stated that one should "not resist an evildoer" and promoted his turn

Universal Peace Union - Misplaced Pages Continue

3108-473: The aspiration towards a world socialist commonwealth and the outlawing of war, did not imply a renunciation of force under all circumstances, but rather support for the ill-defined concept of 'collective security' under the League of Nations. At the same time, on the party's left, Stafford Cripps 's small but vocal Socialist League opposed the official policy, on the non-pacifist ground that the League of Nations

3182-513: The campaign for the abolition of slavery . Representatives of the former included Jean-Jacques Rousseau , in Extrait du Projet de Paix Perpetuelle de Monsieur l'Abbe Saint-Pierre (1756), Immanuel Kant , in his Thoughts on Perpetual Peace , and Jeremy Bentham who proposed the formation of a peace association in 1789. Representative of the latter, was William Wilberforce who thought that strict limits should be imposed on British involvement in

3256-500: The civil rights movement's march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, they have called for armed protection. The interconnections between civil resistance and factors of force are numerous and complex. An absolute pacifist is generally described by the BBC as one who believes that human life is so valuable, that a human should never be killed and war should never be conducted, even in self-defense (except for non-violence type). The principle

3330-499: The colonies, Quakers chose to trade peacefully with the Native Americans , including for land. The colonial province was, for the 75 years from 1681 to 1756, essentially unarmed and experienced little or no warfare in that period. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, a number of thinkers devised plans for an international organisation that would promote peace, and reduce or even eliminate the occurrence of war. These included

3404-478: The costs of war and interpersonal violence are so substantial that better ways of resolving disputes must be found. Some pacifists follow principles of nonviolence , believing that nonviolent action is morally superior and/or most effective. Some however, support physical violence for emergency defence of self or others. Others support destruction of property in such emergencies or for conducting symbolic acts of resistance like pouring red paint to represent blood on

3478-516: The entire nation was reluctant to subject its territory to the same treatment. Though all countries in the First World War had suffered great losses, France was one of the most devastated and many did not want a second war. Peter Brock (historian) Peter Brock was born in 1920 on Guernsey , Channel Islands . Although he came from a military family, he rejected this tradition. While studying at Exeter College, Oxford , he came under

3552-521: The first peace congress was held in Brussels in 1848 followed by Paris a year later. After experiencing a recession in support due to the resurgence of militarism during the American Civil War and Crimean War , the movement began to spread across Europe and began to infiltrate the new socialist movements. In 1870, Randal Cremer formed the Workman's Peace Association in London. Cremer, alongside

3626-479: The independence of his country from British colonial rule , Gandhi led dozens of nonviolent campaigns, spent over seven years in prison, and fasted nearly to the death on several occasions to obtain British compliance with a demand or to stop inter-communal violence. His efforts helped lead India to independence in 1947, and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom worldwide. Peace movements became active in

3700-607: The influence of pacifist ideas, particularly those of Bart de Ligt . During the Second World War , he declared as a conscientious objector and was briefly imprisoned. He spent the rest of the war on alternative service, including working in a hospital. After the war, Brock worked with a Quaker relief mission to Germany and Poland, sparking his interest in Eastern Europe. After the mission ended, Brock took graduate study at Jagiellonian University , receiving

3774-526: The kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms of this world. Throughout the many 18th century wars in which Great Britain participated, the Quakers maintained a principled commitment not to serve in the army and militia or even to pay the alternative £10 fine. The English Quaker William Penn , who founded the Province of Pennsylvania , employed an anti-militarist public policy. Unlike residents of many of

SECTION 50

#1732765220397

3848-649: The largest Māori settlement in New Zealand, became the centre of a major campaign of non-violent resistance to land confiscations. One Māori leader, Te Whiti-o-Rongomai , quickly became the leading figure in the movement, stating in a speech that "Though some, in darkness of heart, seeing their land ravished, might wish to take arms and kill the aggressors, I say it must not be. Let not the Pakehas think to succeed by reason of their guns... I want not war". Te Whiti-o-Rongomai achieved renown for his non-violent tactics among

3922-532: The memory of the International Brigades and other militaristic interventions. Shortly after the war ended, Simone Weil , despite having volunteered for service on the republican side, went on to publish The Iliad or the Poem of Force , a work that has been described as a pacifist manifesto. In response to the threat of fascism, some pacifist thinkers, such as Richard B. Gregg , devised plans for

3996-409: The mid-nineteenth century. The London Peace Society, under the initiative of American consul Elihu Burritt and the reverend Henry Richard , convened the first International Peace Congress in London in 1843. The congress decided on two aims: the ideal of peaceable arbitration in the affairs of nations and the creation of an international institution to achieve that. Richard became the secretary of

4070-487: The necessity of learning another language deter him from using primary sources on a topic that interested him. When I once expressed admiration for his ability to learn Hungarian, he replied with characteristic self-deprecation but without a touch of irony that he could only read Hungarian, not speak it. Brock later emigrated to Canada and settled there, working at the University of Toronto from 1966. Brock's work on

4144-671: The obliteration of force, and opposition to violence under any circumstance, even defence of self and others. Historians of pacifism Peter Brock and Thomas Paul Socknat define pacifism "in the sense generally accepted in English-speaking areas" as "an unconditional rejection of all forms of warfare". Philosopher Jenny Teichman defines the main form of pacifism as "anti-warism", the rejection of all forms of warfare. Teichman's beliefs have been summarized by Brian Orend as "... A pacifist rejects war and believes there are no moral grounds which can justify resorting to war. War, for

4218-562: The opposition or resistance to war , militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence . The word pacifism was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ahimsa (to do no harm), which is a core philosophy in Indian religions such as Hinduism , Buddhism , and Jainism . While modern connotations are recent, having been explicated since

4292-407: The other cheek philosophy. "If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well ... Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." He also believed that murder is a sin and repeated the commandment of " Thou shalt not kill ". The New Testament story

4366-450: The outside of military recruiting offices or entering air force bases and hammering on military aircraft. Not all nonviolent resistance (sometimes also called civil resistance ) is based on a fundamental rejection of all violence in all circumstances. Many leaders and participants in such movements, while recognizing the importance of using non-violent methods in particular circumstances, have not been absolute pacifists. Sometimes, as with

4440-455: The pacifist, is always wrong." In a sense the philosophy is based on the idea that the ends do not justify the means. The word pacific denotes conciliatory. Pacifism may be based on moral principles (a deontological view) or pragmatism (a consequentialist view). Principled pacifism holds that at some point along the spectrum from war to interpersonal physical violence, such violence becomes morally wrong. Pragmatic pacifism holds that

4514-465: The pacifistic argument that a just person would not harm anyone. In Plato 's earlier work Crito Socrates asserts that it is not moral to return evil with further evil, an original moral conception, according to Gregory Vlastos , that undermines all justifications for war and violence. Several Roman writers rejected the militarism of Roman society and gave voice to anti-war sentiments, including Propertius , Tibullus and Ovid . The Stoic Seneca

SECTION 60

#1732765220397

4588-486: The party to oppose Neville Chamberlain 's policy of appeasement . The League of Nations attempted to play its role in ensuring world peace in the 1920s and 1930s. However, with the increasingly revisionist and aggressive behaviour of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan , it ultimately failed to maintain such a world order. Economic sanctions were used against states that committed aggression, such as those against Italy when it invaded Abyssinia , but there

4662-593: The public, anti-war and anti- Pitt demonstrations convened and peace literature was widely published and disseminated. The first peace movements appeared in 1815–16. In the United States the first such movement was the New York Peace Society , founded in 1815 by the theologian David Low Dodge , and the Massachusetts Peace Society . It became an active organization, holding regular weekly meetings, and producing literature which

4736-624: The region. From Czech history he went on to studies in the history of Lusatian Sorbs , Kashubs , Ukrainians , Slovaks , and Hungarians , some of which were collected in Folk Cultures and Little Peoples: Aspects of National Awakening in East Central Europe (1992) and The Slovak National Awakening: An Essay in the Intellectual History of East Central Europe (1976). As a dedicated historian, Peter did not let

4810-427: The study of peoples in Eastern Europe included detailed studies of the history and culture of the culture of the Poles , Czechs , and Ukrainians . Brock often learned the languages of the culture he was studying in order to read source material in these languages. Brock's studies on pacifism included a trilogy of books, Pacifism in the United States: From the Colonial Era to the First World War (1968), Pioneers of

4884-449: The theme of the futility of war and the slaughter of the youth by old fools were published, including, Death of a Hero by Richard Aldington , Erich Remarque 's translated All Quiet on the Western Front and Beverley Nichols 's expose Cry Havoc . A debate at the University of Oxford in 1933 on the motion 'one must fight for King and country' captured the changed mood when the motion was resoundingly defeated. Dick Sheppard established

4958-402: The war. After World War I's official end in 1918, peace movements across the continent and the United States renewed, gradually gaining popularity among young Europeans who grew up in the shadow of Europe's trauma over the Great War. Organizations formed in this period included the War Resisters' International , the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom , the No More War Movement ,

5032-442: Was 'nothing but the tool of the satiated imperialist powers'." Lansbury was eventually persuaded to resign as Labour leader by the non-pacifist wing of the party and was replaced by Clement Attlee . As the threat from Nazi Germany increased in the 1930s, the Labour Party abandoned its pacifist position and supported rearmament, largely as the result of the efforts of Ernest Bevin and Hugh Dalton , who by 1937 had also persuaded

5106-413: Was assassinated by a nationalist fanatic on 31 July 1914. The national parties in the Second International increasingly supported their respective nations in war, and the International was dissolved in 1916. In 1915, the League of Nations Society was formed by British liberal leaders to promote a strong international organisation that could enforce the peaceful resolution of conflict. Later that year,

5180-436: Was equivalent to the action of a domestic police force suppressing crime. In the 1960s, some pacifists associated with the New Left supported wars of national liberation and supported groups such as the Viet Cong and the Algerian FLN , arguing peaceful attempts to liberate such nations were no longer viable, and war was thus the only option. Advocacy of pacifism can be found far back in history and literature. During

5254-399: Was mortgaged to pay for UPU programs and publications and then sold in 1914 to Mary Jobe Akeley. The property is now maintained as the Peace Sanctuary nature preserve, open daily from dawn to dusk. Records of the UPU, including correspondence, minutes, financial records, publications, and memorabilia, are housed at the Swarthmore College Peace Collection. Pacifist Pacifism is

5328-506: Was no will on the part of the principal League powers, Britain and France, to subordinate their interests to a multilateral process or to disarm at all themselves. The Spanish Civil War proved a major test for international pacifism, and the work of pacifist organisations (such as War Resisters' International and the Fellowship of Reconciliation ) and individuals (such as José Brocca and Amparo Poch ) in that arena has until recently been ignored or forgotten by historians, overshadowed by

5402-604: Was not entirely frowned upon throughout Europe. It was considered a political stance against costly capitalist-imperialist wars, a notion particularly popular in the British Liberal Party of the twentieth century. However, during the eras of World War One and especially World War Two , public opinion on the ideology split. Those against the Second World War, some argued, were not fighting against unnecessary wars of imperialism but instead acquiescing to

5476-624: Was spread as far as Gibraltar and Malta, describing the horrors of war and advocating pacificism on Christian grounds. The London Peace Society (also known as the Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace) was formed in 1816 to promote permanent and universal peace by the philanthropist William Allen . In the 1840s, British women formed "Olive Leaf Circles", groups of around 15 to 20 women, to discuss and promote pacifist ideas. The peace movement began to grow in influence by

#396603