Archives
Eight Decades of History at Your Fingertips
Background
As early as 1929, the papers relating to the work of the American Friends Service Committee were being organized and collected at Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania. Mary Hoxie Jones helped arrange additional papers in the l930s while she was writing "Swords Into Ploughshares," a history of the AFSC up to that point.
Several temporary employees and volunteers kept the records in reasonable order until a part-time archivist was hired in the early 1950s. A full-time archivist has been on staff since 1969.
Now at AFSC's national headquarters in Philadelphia, there are more than 2,000 linear feet of material on file in the Archives.
All materials collected in the Archives are directly related to the activities of the AFSC - except for one record group. This is a collection of the private papers of Clarence E. Pickett, who served as executive secretary of the Service Committee from 1929 until 1950.
The Collections of AFSC's Archives
Letters, reports, statistical information and committee minutes are just some of the materials in the Archives' holdings. There is also an extensive collection of photographs, magazine and newspaper clippings, and a small collection of audio tapes - all pertaining to AFSC's work.
Recently, an introductory web page and online finding aids have been created for the collection of materials concerning AFSC work in the Prince Edward County, Virginia school closing issue, 1959 to 1965.
Here's a decade-by-decade summary of AFSC work that has been documented and filed in Archives:
1917: Work on behalf of conscientious objectors; reconstruction work in France; planning of major relief work undertaken later in Germany; 1919: Russia; work on behalf of conscientious objectors.
1920s : Continued relief work in Europe; peace efforts in the United States.
1930s: Programs in Appalachia; relief project during the Spanish Civil War; assistance to Jewish and other European refugees; Emergency Peace Campaign in the United States.
1940s: Assistance to Japanese-Americans relocated during WWII; relief work in Europe, India, and Japan; Civilian Public Service program to assist conscientious objectors.
1950s: Programs to encourage employment for minorities; activities in support of the anti-nuclear and anti-draft movements; relief work in Korea; work camps abroad and in the United States.
1960s: Efforts in support of the Civil Rights Movement; relief projects in Vietnam and support for domestic opposition to the war; international service assignments for college-age students; work in Nigeria during the Biafran-Nigerian Civil War. See the special colloction on Prince Edward County Virginia School closings.
1970s: Work in the Middle East; assistance to victims of drought in Africa; National Action/Research into the Military Industrial Complex project.
1980s: Disarmament efforts; work with young people being recruited by the military; continuing work at the United Nations (which dates from the founding of the League of Nations).
1990s: International relief and development programs; work with youth on militarism concerns; projects on U.S. immigration issues; antideath penalty work; facilitating dialogues and exchanges between communities in developing areas; education and interpretation on international concerns in such areas as Korea, Southern Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.
Accessing Archives
Individuals who are not affiliated with the Service Committee must fill out an application and submit a writing sample in order to gain access to the files. Is it worth your effort to pay us a visit? Decide by calling or writing to the following address:
AFSC Archivist
1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 241-7044
email: archives@afsc.org
The archivist can provide you with a more comprehensive description of the holdings, as well as more details about the established procedure for gaining access to our records.
For further information:
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