Peace Action
Encyclopedia
Peace Action is a peace organization formed through the merger of The Committee for a SANE Nuclear Policy and the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign (also known as "The Freeze"). The organization's focus is on preventing the deployment of nuclear weapons in space, thwarting weapons sales to countries with human rights
violations, and promoting a new United States
foreign policy based on common security and peaceful resolution to international conflicts.
Peace Action believes that every person has the right to live without the threat of nuclear weapons, that war is not a suitable response to conflict, and that the United States has the resources to both protect and provide for its citizens. Peace Action has over 100,000 members who belong to over 70 autonomous affiliate and chapter organizations.
Currently, Kevin M. Martin is the executive director and Paul Kawika Martin is the political director.
Peace Action opposes the U.S. occupation of Iraq as well as any potential future action within that state to impose permanent military bases, any attempt to control Iraqi oil through U.S. government or corporate institutions, or any action on the part of the U.S. government to further influence the domestic policy of elected Iraqi officials. They lobby their activist network to demand a complete withdrawal from Iraq as soon as possible.
To prevent future wars Peace Action lobbies its grassroots network to demand peaceful diplomacy with Iran. In December 2006 Peace Action began a petition to prevent war with Iran to date there are over 44,000 names.
On the nuclear front Peace Action took part in a coalition lobby effort with organizations like the Arms Control Association
and the Council for a Livable World to zero out funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead and Complex 2030. Efforts of the collation helped stir the Senate Arms Services Committee to zero out the Administration’s $15 million RRW request for Navy research and development.
. They also run a forum blog concerning issues of peace, nuclear abolition, and justice.
Their motto is "Peace Demands Action" and work on issues like Iraq, missile bases in Europe, or cutting the funding of new nuclear warheads . Peace Action’s goal is to organize the nation around issues of peace and justice through protests, congressional action, and lobby days. They recently organized a petition to let our leaders know that any war with Iran, particularly one that involves nuclear weapons, should not be an option.
Peace Action initiated the Student Peace Action Network (SPAN) in 1995 to bring the voices of young activists into the forefront of the peace movement. Youth actively engaged in peace issues lacked a systematic tool to unite and organize with other young people. SPAN addresses this problem by providing advocacy tools, a nationwide network of like-minded youth, information about the issues, and support for affiliate chapters. Through coordinated direct actions, demonstrations, teach-ins, letter-writing campaigns, dissemination of materials, and other tactics, SPAN activists all over the country challenge unjust policies and work for non-violent, constructive alternatives.
and Norman Cousins
and others in response to the nuclear arms race
and the Eisenhower
administration's policies on the production and testing of nuclear weapon
s. William Sloane Coffin
, former Pastor of Yale University and political activist, retired from Riverside Church to become President of SANE/FREEZE in 1987. The name "SANE" came from the concepts put forth by Erich Fromm
in his book The Sane Society. The group's aim was to alert Americans of the threat of nuclear weapons. A full-page advertisement placed in The New York Times
in November 1957 provoked a nationwide response, and by 1958 the membership of the organization had grown to 25,000. SANE was formally incorporated in July of that year.
Various influential people and celebrities began to get involved with the organization and show support for their cause . In 1959, Steve Allen
hosted a meeting that founded the Hollywood SANE. Members included Marlon Brando
, Henry Fonda
, Marilyn Monroe
, Arthur Miller
, Harry Belafonte
, and Ossie Davis
. In 1960, a SANE rally was held at Madison Square Garden
that attracted 20,000 to hear Eleanor Roosevelt
, Norman Cousins
, Norman Thomas
, A. Philip Randolph
, Walter Reuther
, and Harry Belafonte
call for an end to the arms race. International sponsors of SANE (including Martin Buber
, Pablo Casals
, Bertrand Russell
and Albert Schweitzer
) petitioned President John F. Kennedy
to maintain a moratorium on testing in the atmosphere. Graphic Artists for SANE was also organized, with members that included Jules Feiffer
, Ben Shahn
, and Edward Sorel
.
The group launched campaigns and rallies to drum up support for its cause and to put pressure on political figures. In 1961, SANE hosted an eight day, 109-mile march from McGuire Air Force Base
to the United Nations Plaza
that was attended by more than 25,000 people. They organized a rally of over 10,000 people on "Cuba Sunday" to express concern and outrage over the Cuban Missile Crisis
. Dr. Spock became a national sponsor and appeared in an ad stating "Dr. Spock is worried." The ad was printed in 700 papers worldwide.
from office. They went on to endorse Eugene McCarthy
as the Democratic presidential candidate in 1968.
SANE's Norman Cousins acted as an unofficial liaison between President Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
on the Partial Test Ban Treaty
negotiations. The organization helped secure the passage of the War Powers Resolution
. As the Vietnam War
began to escalate, SANE organized a rally at Madison Square Garden that attracted 18,000 people opposing the war, as well as a march on Washington in November 1965 drawing 35,000. Three days after the march, Vice-president Hubert Humphrey
met with SANE leaders Dr. Spock, Sanford Gottlieb, and Homer Jack "to openly, responsibly, and frankly discuss their proposals" to end the war. Many more SANE marches on Washington would occur throughout the war.
SANE would go on to criticize the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
and SALT
agreements for ignoring offensive strategic weapons. Following Richard Nixon
's re-election, SANE advocated Congressional cut-off of funds for the Vietnam war. After the end of the Vietnam War, SANE lobbied to have Congress end the bombing of Cambodia
, and helped lead a successful effort to pass the War Powers Act. SANE would also take on the military budget, and produced the "America Has a Tapeworm" ad. Despite the end of the war, SANE continued actions throughout the 1970s that promoted its purpose.
's call to "freeze and reverse the nuclear arms race." Many SANE leaders participated in the creation of 'the Freeze', as it was sometimes called, which was a grassroots-based confederation of groups spanning the country. Freeze leaders included Randall Forsberg
, Pam Solo
, and Randy Kehler
. Elected officials such as Rep. Patricia Schroeder
and Sen. Ted Kennedy
helped to lead the movement in Congress. The Freeze's grassroots network pushed for nuclear reductions through ballot initiatives in towns and cities across the nation.
Specifically, the Freeze's goal was to get the U.S. and the Soviet Union to simultaneously adopt a mutual freeze on the testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons and of missiles, as well as new aircraft designed primarily to deliver nuclear weapons. Much emphasis was put on the MX and Pershing II missiles. Randall Forsberg was the organizer who initiated this idea of the "mutual, verifiable" Freeze.
During 1982, the SANE political action committee
was formed for the political election year. Aside from working to get selected candidates elected it became a driving force behind many proposed nuclear freeze referendums. In a victory for both the Freeze campaign and SANE, Ronald Reagan
proposed START I
, part of a two phase treaty between the U.S. and the USSR
that would reduce overall warhead counts on any missile type.
In roughly the 1983-84 period, when the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign was planning expansively around mass-movement fund raising, lobbying, and Political Action Committees (PACs), SANE was merged into that entity, though local SANE chapters would continue to hold meetings for some time to come. Specific congressional races were targeted, and some of the pro-Freeze candidates credited the movement—and the grass-roots funds it raised—with their success in getting elected, or re-elected, to Congress. From 1984 on, the movement had three actual legal entities, the 'Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign', with both public education and lobbying arms (501.C-3 and 501.C-4 corporations), and the Freeze Voter PAC (501.C-5).
During the 1980s, SANE/FREEZE expanded its work to oppose U.S.
military intervention in El Salvador
and to end U.S. military aid to the Contras in Nicaragua
. The organization promoted its agenda in different ways. An ad was placed in Variety magazine
signed by over 250 celebrities including Jack Lemmon
, Burt Lancaster
, James Earl Jones
, Sally Field
, Shirley MacLaine
, and Ed Asner
supporting its causes. A weekly radio program by SANE/FREEZE, "Consider the Alternatives", reaches 140 radio stations. Their door canvassing campaign reached 250,000 households.
, SANE/FREEZE opposed the U.S. military buildup in the Persian Gulf
. Throughout the Gulf War
, the organization coordinated anti-war marches in Washington, DC, helping to mobilize 500,000 protesters. Soon after, In 1993, SANE/FREEZE renamed itself Peace Action.
Of great concern to Peace Action in 1995 was the conference for review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
. The signatories to the treaty decided by consensus to extend the treaty indefinitely and without conditions. The year also marked the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The next year Peace Action launched Peace Voter '96, the organization's largest nationally-coordinated campaign since the mid-1980s. Over one million Peace Voter Guides were distributed for the November elections. Also that year, Peace Action joined human rights groups to stop major weapons sales to Indonesia
and Turkey
. In 1997, Indonesia withdrew its request for U.S. fighter jets due to "unwarranted criticism" of their human rights record.
In 1999, Peace Action opposed the NATO bombing of Kosovo
, which it described as "cruise missile humanitarianism", and founded the National Coalition for Peace and Justice, a body uniting most of the major peace groups in the country. Also that year, Peace Action commemorated the bombing of Nagasaki by staging a demonstration at Los Alamos National Laboratory
in New Mexico. The demonstration was led by actor Martin Sheen
.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks
, Peace Action responded to the war on terrorism and the bombing of Afghanistan
with a call for justice, not war. The group went on to participate in two national coalitions: Win Without War and United for Peace and Justice
.
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
violations, and promoting a new United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
foreign policy based on common security and peaceful resolution to international conflicts.
Peace Action believes that every person has the right to live without the threat of nuclear weapons, that war is not a suitable response to conflict, and that the United States has the resources to both protect and provide for its citizens. Peace Action has over 100,000 members who belong to over 70 autonomous affiliate and chapter organizations.
Currently, Kevin M. Martin is the executive director and Paul Kawika Martin is the political director.
Current campaigns
In 2003, Peace Action launched the Campaign for a New Foreign Policy, an initiative to build grassroots support and congressional pressure for a U.S. foreign policy based on human rights and democracy, nuclear disarmament and international cooperation.Peace Action opposes the U.S. occupation of Iraq as well as any potential future action within that state to impose permanent military bases, any attempt to control Iraqi oil through U.S. government or corporate institutions, or any action on the part of the U.S. government to further influence the domestic policy of elected Iraqi officials. They lobby their activist network to demand a complete withdrawal from Iraq as soon as possible.
To prevent future wars Peace Action lobbies its grassroots network to demand peaceful diplomacy with Iran. In December 2006 Peace Action began a petition to prevent war with Iran to date there are over 44,000 names.
On the nuclear front Peace Action took part in a coalition lobby effort with organizations like the Arms Control Association
Arms Control Association
The Arms Control Association is a US-based national nonpartisan membership organization founded in 1971 with the self-stated mission of promoting public understanding of and support for effective arms control policies...
and the Council for a Livable World to zero out funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead and Complex 2030. Efforts of the collation helped stir the Senate Arms Services Committee to zero out the Administration’s $15 million RRW request for Navy research and development.
Grassroots work
Peace Action has 100 chapters nationwide with a network of over 100,000 paying members. They send bi-weekly Action Alerts to almost 100,000 people worldwide, keeping them up to date on legislation regarding the Iraq war, nuclear disarmament, and preventing future wars with countries the Bush administration deems "rogue nations," like IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. They also run a forum blog concerning issues of peace, nuclear abolition, and justice.
Their motto is "Peace Demands Action" and work on issues like Iraq, missile bases in Europe, or cutting the funding of new nuclear warheads . Peace Action’s goal is to organize the nation around issues of peace and justice through protests, congressional action, and lobby days. They recently organized a petition to let our leaders know that any war with Iran, particularly one that involves nuclear weapons, should not be an option.
Peace Action initiated the Student Peace Action Network (SPAN) in 1995 to bring the voices of young activists into the forefront of the peace movement. Youth actively engaged in peace issues lacked a systematic tool to unite and organize with other young people. SPAN addresses this problem by providing advocacy tools, a nationwide network of like-minded youth, information about the issues, and support for affiliate chapters. Through coordinated direct actions, demonstrations, teach-ins, letter-writing campaigns, dissemination of materials, and other tactics, SPAN activists all over the country challenge unjust policies and work for non-violent, constructive alternatives.
History
Peace Action, was originally founded as SANE in 1957 by Lenore MarshallLenore Marshall
Lenore Guinzberg Marshall was an American poet, novelist, and activist.-Life:...
and Norman Cousins
Norman Cousins
Norman Cousins was an American political journalist, author, professor, and world peace advocate.-Early life and education:...
and others in response to 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...
and the Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
administration's policies on the production and testing of nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s. William Sloane Coffin
William Sloane Coffin
William Sloane Coffin, Jr. was an American liberal Christian clergyman and long-time peace activist. He was ordained in the Presbyterian church and later received ministerial standing in the United Church of Christ....
, former Pastor of Yale University and political activist, retired from Riverside Church to become President of SANE/FREEZE in 1987. The name "SANE" came from the concepts put forth by Erich Fromm
Erich Fromm
Erich Seligmann Fromm was a Jewish German-American social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was associated with what became known as the Frankfurt School of critical theory.-Life:Erich Fromm was born on March 23, 1900, at Frankfurt am...
in his book The Sane Society. The group's aim was to alert Americans of the threat of nuclear weapons. A full-page advertisement placed in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
in November 1957 provoked a nationwide response, and by 1958 the membership of the organization had grown to 25,000. SANE was formally incorporated in July of that year.
Various influential people and celebrities began to get involved with the organization and show support for their cause . In 1959, Steve Allen
Steve Allen
Steve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen , American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3...
hosted a meeting that founded the Hollywood SANE. Members included Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
, Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
, Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
, Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
, Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
, and Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.-Early years:...
. In 1960, a SANE rally was held at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
that attracted 20,000 to hear Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
, Norman Cousins
Norman Cousins
Norman Cousins was an American political journalist, author, professor, and world peace advocate.-Early life and education:...
, Norman Thomas
Norman Thomas
Norman Mattoon Thomas was a leading American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America.-Early years:...
, A. Philip Randolph
A. Philip Randolph
Asa Philip Randolph was a leader in the African American civil-rights movement and the American labor movement. He organized and led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first predominantly Negro labor union. In the early civil-rights movement, Randolph led the March on Washington...
, Walter Reuther
Walter Reuther
Walter Philip Reuther was an American labor union leader, who made the United Automobile Workers a major force not only in the auto industry but also in the Democratic Party in the mid 20th century...
, and Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
call for an end to the arms race. International sponsors of SANE (including Martin Buber
Martin Buber
Martin Buber was an Austrian-born Jewish philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of religious existentialism centered on the distinction between the I-Thou relationship and the I-It relationship....
, Pablo Casals
Pablo Casals
Pau Casals i Defilló , known during his professional career as Pablo Casals, was a Spanish Catalan cellist and conductor. He is generally regarded as the pre-eminent cellist of the first half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest cellists of all time...
, Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
and Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...
) petitioned President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
to maintain a moratorium on testing in the atmosphere. Graphic Artists for SANE was also organized, with members that included Jules Feiffer
Jules Feiffer
Jules Ralph Feiffer is an American syndicated cartoonist, most notable for his long-run comic strip titled Feiffer. He has created more than 35 books, plays and screenplays...
, Ben Shahn
Ben Shahn
Ben Shahn was a Lithuanian-born American artist. He is best known for his works of social realism, his left-wing political views, and his series of lectures published as The Shape of Content.-Biography:...
, and Edward Sorel
Edward Sorel
Edward Sorel is an illustrator, caricaturist, cartoonist, and graphic designer.Sorel is noted for his wavy pen-and-ink style, which he describes as "spontaneous direct drawing," since he does not use pencil or tracing for guidance...
.
The group launched campaigns and rallies to drum up support for its cause and to put pressure on political figures. In 1961, SANE hosted an eight day, 109-mile march from McGuire Air Force Base
McGuire Air Force Base
JB MDL McGuire is a United States Air Force base located approximately south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. McGuire is under the jurisdiction of the USAF Air Mobility Command...
to the United Nations Plaza
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
that was attended by more than 25,000 people. They organized a rally of over 10,000 people on "Cuba Sunday" to express concern and outrage over the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
. Dr. Spock became a national sponsor and appeared in an ad stating "Dr. Spock is worried." The ad was printed in 700 papers worldwide.
Early political influence
As a way of seeing their goals archived, SANE began working through its political lobbying programs. The organization began by pushing for the election of congressional candidates whose positions reflected those of the organization. In 1966, SANE formed the "Voter's Peace Pledge Campaign" to urge Congressional candidates to work for peace in Vietnam. They became one of the first national organizations to advocate removal of President Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
from office. They went on to endorse Eugene McCarthy
Eugene McCarthy
Eugene Joseph "Gene" McCarthy was an American politician, poet, and a long-time member of the United States Congress from Minnesota. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 1971.In the 1968 presidential election, McCarthy was the first...
as the Democratic presidential candidate in 1968.
SANE's Norman Cousins acted as an unofficial liaison between President Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
on the Partial Test Ban Treaty
Partial Test Ban Treaty
The treaty banning nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water, often abbreviated as the Partial Test Ban Treaty , Limited Test Ban Treaty , or Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is a treaty prohibiting all test detonations of nuclear weapons...
negotiations. The organization helped secure the passage of the War Powers Resolution
War Powers Resolution
The War Powers Resolution of 1973 is a federal law intended to check the power of the President in committing the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of Congress. The resolution was adopted in the form of a United States Congress joint resolution; this provides that the...
. As 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...
began to escalate, SANE organized a rally at Madison Square Garden that attracted 18,000 people opposing the war, as well as a march on Washington in November 1965 drawing 35,000. Three days after the march, Vice-president Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
met with SANE leaders Dr. Spock, Sanford Gottlieb, and Homer Jack "to openly, responsibly, and frankly discuss their proposals" to end the war. Many more SANE marches on Washington would occur throughout the war.
SANE would go on to criticize the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty was a treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union on the limitation of the anti-ballistic missile systems used in defending areas against missile-delivered nuclear weapons....
and SALT
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty refers to two rounds of bilateral talks and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union—the Cold War superpowers—on the issue of armament control. There were two rounds of talks and agreements: SALT I and SALT...
agreements for ignoring offensive strategic weapons. Following Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
's re-election, SANE advocated Congressional cut-off of funds for the Vietnam war. After the end of the Vietnam War, SANE lobbied to have Congress end the bombing of Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, and helped lead a successful effort to pass the War Powers Act. SANE would also take on the military budget, and produced the "America Has a Tapeworm" ad. Despite the end of the war, SANE continued actions throughout the 1970s that promoted its purpose.
Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign
During the 1980s, SANE continued to monitor the political and military actions of the U.S. government and beyond. In 1981, The Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign began with the purpose of pressuring the government to stop the nuclear arms build-up. The campaign was initiated by Randall ForsbergRandall Forsberg
Dr. Randall Caroline Forsberg led a lifetime of research and advocacy on ways to reduce the risk of war, minimize the burden of military spending, and promote democratic institutions. Her career started at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in 1968. In 1974 she moved to...
's call to "freeze and reverse the nuclear arms race." Many SANE leaders participated in the creation of 'the Freeze', as it was sometimes called, which was a grassroots-based confederation of groups spanning the country. Freeze leaders included Randall Forsberg
Randall Forsberg
Dr. Randall Caroline Forsberg led a lifetime of research and advocacy on ways to reduce the risk of war, minimize the burden of military spending, and promote democratic institutions. Her career started at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in 1968. In 1974 she moved to...
, Pam Solo
Pam Solo
Pam Solo is an arms control analyst, and Founder and President of the Civil Society Institute.-Life:She co-founded the Rocky Flats campaign.In 1978 she was co-director the national Nuclear Weapons Facilities Task Force....
, and Randy Kehler
Randy Kehler
Randy Kehler is an American pacifist activist and advocate for social justice. Kehler objected to America's involvement in the Vietnam war and refused to cooperate with the draft...
. Elected officials such as Rep. Patricia Schroeder
Patricia Schroeder
Patricia Nell Scott Schroeder , American politician, was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Colorado, serving from 1973 to 1997. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Colorado.- Early years :...
and Sen. Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
helped to lead the movement in Congress. The Freeze's grassroots network pushed for nuclear reductions through ballot initiatives in towns and cities across the nation.
Specifically, the Freeze's goal was to get the U.S. and the Soviet Union to simultaneously adopt a mutual freeze on the testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons and of missiles, as well as new aircraft designed primarily to deliver nuclear weapons. Much emphasis was put on the MX and Pershing II missiles. Randall Forsberg was the organizer who initiated this idea of the "mutual, verifiable" Freeze.
During 1982, the SANE political action committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
was formed for the political election year. Aside from working to get selected candidates elected it became a driving force behind many proposed nuclear freeze referendums. In a victory for both the Freeze campaign and SANE, Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
proposed START I
START I
START was a bilateral treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. The treaty was signed on 31 July 1991 and entered into force on 5 December 1994...
, part of a two phase treaty between the U.S. and the USSR
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
that would reduce overall warhead counts on any missile type.
In roughly the 1983-84 period, when the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign was planning expansively around mass-movement fund raising, lobbying, and Political Action Committees (PACs), SANE was merged into that entity, though local SANE chapters would continue to hold meetings for some time to come. Specific congressional races were targeted, and some of the pro-Freeze candidates credited the movement—and the grass-roots funds it raised—with their success in getting elected, or re-elected, to Congress. From 1984 on, the movement had three actual legal entities, the 'Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign', with both public education and lobbying arms (501.C-3 and 501.C-4 corporations), and the Freeze Voter PAC (501.C-5).
During the 1980s, SANE/FREEZE expanded its work to oppose U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military intervention in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
and to end U.S. military aid to the Contras in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. The organization promoted its agenda in different ways. An ad was placed in Variety magazine
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
signed by over 250 celebrities including Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
, Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
, James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
, Sally Field
Sally Field
Sally Margaret Field is an American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter. In each decade of her career, she has been known for major roles in American TV/film culture, including: in the 1960s, for Gidget or Sister Bertrille on The Flying Nun ; in the 1970s, for Sybil , Smokey and...
, Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
, and Ed Asner
Ed Asner
Edward Asner , commonly known as Ed Asner, is an American film, television, stage, and voice actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild, primarily known for his Emmy Award-winning role as Lou Grant on both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off series, Lou Grant...
supporting its causes. A weekly radio program by SANE/FREEZE, "Consider the Alternatives", reaches 140 radio stations. Their door canvassing campaign reached 250,000 households.
The Gulf War and the War on Terror
Following Iraq's invasion of KuwaitInvasion of Kuwait
The Invasion of Kuwait, also known as the Iraq-Kuwait War, was a major conflict between the Republic of Iraq and the State of Kuwait, which resulted in the seven-month long Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, which subsequently led to direct military intervention by United States-led forces in the Gulf...
, SANE/FREEZE opposed the U.S. military buildup in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
. Throughout the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, the organization coordinated anti-war marches in Washington, DC, helping to mobilize 500,000 protesters. Soon after, In 1993, SANE/FREEZE renamed itself Peace Action.
Of great concern to Peace Action in 1995 was the conference for review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to...
. The signatories to the treaty decided by consensus to extend the treaty indefinitely and without conditions. The year also marked the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The next year Peace Action launched Peace Voter '96, the organization's largest nationally-coordinated campaign since the mid-1980s. Over one million Peace Voter Guides were distributed for the November elections. Also that year, Peace Action joined human rights groups to stop major weapons sales to Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. In 1997, Indonesia withdrew its request for U.S. fighter jets due to "unwarranted criticism" of their human rights record.
In 1999, Peace Action opposed the NATO bombing of Kosovo
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
, which it described as "cruise missile humanitarianism", and founded the National Coalition for Peace and Justice, a body uniting most of the major peace groups in the country. Also that year, Peace Action commemorated the bombing of Nagasaki by staging a demonstration at Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
in New Mexico. The demonstration was led by actor Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, Peace Action responded to the war on terrorism and the bombing of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
with a call for justice, not war. The group went on to participate in two national coalitions: Win Without War and United for Peace and Justice
United for Peace and Justice
United for Peace and Justice is a coalition of more than 1,300 international and U.S.-based organizations opposed to "our government's policy of permanent warfare and empire-building."...
.
Further reading
- Milton S. Katz, Ban the Bomb: A History of SANE, 1957-1985 (New York: Greenwood Press, 1986). ISBN 0-313-24167-8
- Pam Solo, From Protest to Policy: Beyond the Freeze to Common Security (Ballinger, 1988). ISBN 978-0-88730-112-4
- Glen Harold Stassen and Lawrence S. Wittner, eds., Peace Action: Past, Present and Future (Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2007). ISBN 978-1-59451-333-6
External links
- Official site
- Student Peace Action
- Peace Voter official site
- Peace Action West official site (formerly California Peace Action)
- Records of Sane Inc., Swarthmore College Peace Collection