Committee for Non-Violent Action
Encyclopedia
The Committee for Non-Violent Action (CNVA), formed in 1957 to resist the US government's program of nuclear weapons testing, was one of the first organizations to employ nonviolent direct action
to protest against the nuclear arms race
.
The CNVA's immediate antecedent, a committee known as Non-Violent Action Against Nuclear Weapons, was formed by radical Quaker Lawrence Scott
. Other leaders of the CNVA included A.J. Muste, Albert Bigelow
, Bayard Rustin
and George Willoughby
.
In August, 1957, CNVA members were arrested when they attempted to enter the Camp Mercury nuclear testing grounds near Las Vegas
, Nevada
. In February 1958, Albert Bigelow and the crew of the Golden Rule were intercepted by the US Coast Guard five nautical miles (9 km) from Honolulu
, Hawaii
as they attempted to sail their vessel into the Eniwetok Proving Grounds, the US test site in the Marshall Islands
. Two further attempts to defy a hastily enacted regulation banning US citizens from sailing to the test site led to the arrest and 60 day imprisonment of the crew.
The voyage of the Golden Rule inspired anthropologist Earle L. Reynolds
and his family to undertake a similar journey, and on July 1, 1958, their yacht, Phoenix of Hiroshima
, entered the test zone at Bikini Atoll
. The Phoenix penetrated 65 nautical miles (120 km) into the test area before the vessel was boarded by the Coast Guard and ordered to sail to Kwajalein
atoll, where Reynolds was charged with violating the Atomic Energy Commission
's new regulation.
In 1959, CNVA sponsored protests at the construction site of an intercontinental ballistic missile
near Omaha, Nebraska
. Around 15 protestors, including A.J. Muste and Karl H. Meyer, the son of Vermont
Senator
William Meyer, were arrested and handcuffed as they climbed the fence to invade the site. They were each sentenced to six months in jail. In 1960, the group co-ordinated nonviolent protests against construction of the nuclear weapons equipped Polaris
submarine in New London
.
During the early 1960s, the CNVA organised two epic 'Walks for Peace', including a 6000 miles (9,656 km) march from San Francisco
to Moscow
, during which the walkers called on the governments of the world to disarm. During a Walk for Peace from Quebec
to Cuba
, via Washington
, walkers were attacked and jailed as black and white activists walked together through Macon, Georgia
. Both walks were led by peace activist Bradford Lyttle
.
In the mid-1960s, CNVA began to focus on the Vietnam War
. Activists traveled to Hanoi
in Vietnam
and picketed the US embassy, and the CNVA advocated tax refusal as a method of resistance.
In 1968, after the death of leader A.J. Muste, the CNVA merged with the pacifist War Resisters League
.
While never a mass-membership organization, the CNVA's pioneering use of nonviolent direct action would have a significant influence on movements to follow. Notably, it was the example set by the voyages of the Golden Rule and the Phoenix that would inspire the first Greenpeace
activists to use similar methods in their campaigns to halt nuclear testing at the island of Amchitka
, Alaska
, and at Muraroa Atoll in the Pacific.
Direct action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
to protest against the nuclear arms race
Nuclear arms race
The nuclear arms race was a competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War...
.
The CNVA's immediate antecedent, a committee known as Non-Violent Action Against Nuclear Weapons, was formed by radical Quaker Lawrence Scott
Lawrence Scott
Lawrence Scott is a novelist from Trinidad & Tobago, currently living in London and Trinidad. He is presently a Senior Research Fellow at The Academy for the Arts, Letters, Culture and Public Affairs at the University of Trinidad & Tobago ....
. Other leaders of the CNVA included A.J. Muste, Albert Bigelow
Albert Bigelow
Albert S. Bigelow was a pacifist and former United States Navy Commander, who came to prominence in the 1950s as the skipper of the Golden Rule, the first vessel to attempt disruption of a nuclear test in protest against nuclear weapons.-Peace Movement:Prior to his involvement in the peace...
, Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin was an American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, pacifism and non-violence, and gay rights.In the pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation , Rustin practiced nonviolence...
and George Willoughby
George Willoughby
George Willoughby was a Quaker activist who advocated for world peace, and conducted nonviolent protests against war and preparations for war.-Biography:...
.
In August, 1957, CNVA members were arrested when they attempted to enter the Camp Mercury nuclear testing grounds near Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
. In February 1958, Albert Bigelow and the crew of the Golden Rule were intercepted by the US Coast Guard five nautical miles (9 km) from Honolulu
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
as they attempted to sail their vessel into the Eniwetok Proving Grounds, the US test site in the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
. Two further attempts to defy a hastily enacted regulation banning US citizens from sailing to the test site led to the arrest and 60 day imprisonment of the crew.
The voyage of the Golden Rule inspired anthropologist Earle L. Reynolds
Earle L. Reynolds
Earle L. Reynolds was an anthropologist, educator, author, Quaker, and peace activist. He was sent to Hiroshima by the Atomic Energy Commission in 1951 to study the effects of the first atomic bomb on the growth and development of exposed children...
and his family to undertake a similar journey, and on July 1, 1958, their yacht, Phoenix of Hiroshima
Phoenix of Hiroshima
The Phoenix of Hiroshima was a 50-foot, 30-ton yacht that circumnavigated the globe and was later involved in several famous protest voyages.-Construction and launch:...
, entered the test zone at Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
. The Phoenix penetrated 65 nautical miles (120 km) into the test area before the vessel was boarded by the Coast Guard and ordered to sail to Kwajalein
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
atoll, where Reynolds was charged with violating the Atomic Energy Commission
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
's new regulation.
In 1959, CNVA sponsored protests at the construction site of an intercontinental ballistic missile
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
near Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. Around 15 protestors, including A.J. Muste and Karl H. Meyer, the son of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
William Meyer, were arrested and handcuffed as they climbed the fence to invade the site. They were each sentenced to six months in jail. In 1960, the group co-ordinated nonviolent protests against construction of the nuclear weapons equipped Polaris
Polaris
Polaris |Alpha]] Ursae Minoris, commonly North Star or Pole Star, also Lodestar) is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor. It is very close to the north celestial pole, making it the current northern pole star....
submarine in New London
New London
-Places:In the United States:*New London, Connecticut, largest place with this name**New London County, Connecticut*New London, Indiana*New London, Iowa*New London, Maryland*New London, Minnesota*New London, Missouri*New London, New Hampshire...
.
During the early 1960s, the CNVA organised two epic 'Walks for Peace', including a 6000 miles (9,656 km) march from San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, during which the walkers called on the governments of the world to disarm. During a Walk for Peace from Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, via Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, walkers were attacked and jailed as black and white activists walked together through Macon, Georgia
Macon, Georgia
Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...
. Both walks were led by peace activist Bradford Lyttle
Bradford Lyttle
Bradford Lyttle is a prominent pacifist and peace activist, and organizer with the Committee for Non-Violent Action of several major campaigns against militarism, including "Omaha Action", against land-based nuclear missiles ; "Polaris Action" against submarine-based nuclear missiles ; the San...
.
In the mid-1960s, CNVA began to focus on the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Activists traveled to Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and picketed the US embassy, and the CNVA advocated tax refusal as a method of resistance.
In 1968, after the death of leader A.J. Muste, the CNVA merged with the pacifist War Resisters League
War Resisters League
The War Resisters League was formed in 1923 by men and women who had opposed World War I. It is a section of the London-based War Resisters' International.Many of the founders had been jailed during World War I for refusing military service...
.
While never a mass-membership organization, the CNVA's pioneering use of nonviolent direct action would have a significant influence on movements to follow. Notably, it was the example set by the voyages of the Golden Rule and the Phoenix that would inspire the first Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
activists to use similar methods in their campaigns to halt nuclear testing at the island of Amchitka
Amchitka
Amchitka is a volcanic, tectonically unstable island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. It is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The island is about long, and from wide...
, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, and at Muraroa Atoll in the Pacific.
See also
- Civil disobedienceCivil disobedienceCivil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
- NonviolenceNonviolenceNonviolence has two meanings. It can refer, first, to a general philosophy of abstention from violence because of moral or religious principle It can refer to the behaviour of people using nonviolent action Nonviolence has two (closely related) meanings. (1) It can refer, first, to a general...
- Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (SANE, Inc.)
- Timeline of riots and civil unrest in Omaha, Nebraska
External links
- Records of the Committee for Nonviolent Action, Swarthmore College Peace Collection
- In Pursuit of Peace
- Doom and Passion Along Rt. 45 by Thomas Morgan (Esquire, 1962)