pioneering for peaceby w. freeman galpin
Post on 12-Jan-2017
217 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
North Carolina Office of Archives and History
Pioneering For Peace by W. Freeman GalpinReview by: M. L. SkaggsThe North Carolina Historical Review, Vol. 12, No. 1 (January, 1935), pp. 64-67Published by: North Carolina Office of Archives and HistoryStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23515154 .
Accessed: 15/06/2014 08:02
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
.
North Carolina Office of Archives and History is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extendaccess to The North Carolina Historical Review.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:02:44 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
64 The North Carolina Historical Review
the others engineered one of the most effective lobbies in the his
tory of Congress. Adams became bolder and bolder, but an effort
of the Whig leaders to censure him failed dismally. A little later
Giddings, when actually censured by vote of the House, resigned
his seat and ran for reelection in his district in the Western Re
serve, the heart of the region where Finney, Weld, and "the Sev
enty" had worked. He was overwhelmingly victorious, and this
marked a turning point in the history of the campaign. The
insurgent bloc in Congress was certain to grow, and "inevitably the time must come when this broadening impulse would escape its party bounds and divide the nation. The victory of insur
gency was thus . . . the nucleus of a new movement in national
affairs." As time passed, the campaign more and more broad
ened out into a Northern sectional crusade against the South. In
1860 the antislavery host "gave Abraham Lincoln the votes
which made him President."
A few flaws may be noted. The author, perhaps taking it for
granted that their part in the agitation is already well known,
pays too little attention to the rôle of certain prominent figures.
The style, while nearly always technically correct, is too con
densed ; the work, already interesting, could have been made con
siderably more so had the writer not been so intent on the process of distillation. There is a good bit of jumping about from one
character and place to another, although admittedly the problem of carrying along at once several interweaving threads is a diffi
cult one.
Fundamentally, however, the study is of great significance. He who would acquire a full knowledge of the Middle Period
will be compelled to read it; in its light much of the history of
these years will have to be rewritten.
University of North Carolina. C. C. Crittenden.
Pioneebing Fob Peace, by W. Freeman Galpin. (Syracuse: The Bardeen Press. 1933. Pp. ix, 233.)
Professor Galpin's earlier work on monographs pertaining to
local organizations has acquainted him thoroughly with the na
ture and value of source materials bearing on the development of
This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:02:44 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Book Reviews 65
the peace ideal. The present work is a general treatise on the
subject. Writing under the auspices of the School of Citizenship
and Public Relations of Syracuse University, the author attempts,
as he states in his preface, "to investigate the genesis and growth
of the peace crusade [in America] as a problem of historical and
social interest." The work covers the period down to the Mexi
can War.
Two factors are mentioned as having given rise to the peace
movement in America: the European influences and the "much
more complicated" American contributions. A sketchy account
of the European influences is given in the first chapter. The au
thor then gives a careful and detailed account of peace activities
in various states and localities, beginning with the work in New
York and Massachusetts. He informs us that "A steady flow of
anti-war literature, sermons, prayers and speeches" appeared
after 1815 in various sections of the country. An account of the
appearance of a fanatical non-resistance faction, whose advocacy
of complete submission to national injuries of any description
caused a split in the peace forces, is given fairly and impartially.
In fact, the whole treatise is factual rather than interpretative.
The writer does not give chief credit for the origin of the peace
movement in America to Quakers, as do other writers on the sub
ject of peace. To cite a few instances, Moritzen (The Peace Move
ment of America, pp. 210-211) says they "laid the foundation for
the movement" ; and Beales (The History of Peace, chap. Ill, cited
by the author) says it "was largely Quaker in origin." {Cf. Bas
sett, The Lost Fruits of Waterloo, pp. 26, 82.) Some students of
the subject will probably take issue with Professor Galpin when
he implies that Quaker activities were simply one among the
causes of the rise of a demand for the abolition of the war
system.
An interesting account is given of the organization of the
American Peace Society in 1828 (chap. V) and its effective work
after the withdrawal of the "bothersome opposition" (p. 152) in
the persons of the non-resisters (chap. VIII). But the non-resist
ance movement died of its own weakness by 1843, leaving the
field open to the saner element.
This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:02:44 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
66 The North Carolina Historical Review
The motives behind the peace movement, it is stated, were pri
marily religious, "though economic, political, and social forces
were not overlooked" (p. 210). Those particularly active in
spreading the view that war is unchristian were the clergy and
members of the Unitarian, Quaker, Congregational, Baptist, and
Methodist groups, Catholics and Anglicans lending little assist
ance. The movement is shown as having faced the opposition of
military elements, just as it does today. These groups were ready
enough to give lip service to the cause of peace, but invariably ad
vanced the familiar argument that the world is not ready for
organized peace ; hence, military preparedness must continue for
the present. Opposition from the military element was not vocif
erous, however, because they regarded the peace movement as
weak and ineffective, constituting no real threat to their profes
sion. The conservative press, Congressional debates, and Amer
ican diplomacy echoed the same note.
Interested citizens outside the peace organizations must have
become disgusted with the factious bickerings and political
maneuvering in the peace conventions (pp. 126-7). The prestige of the organizations must have suffered greatly as a result of this
internal strife. Not until the radicals were weeded out of the
original peace groups and had organized the non-resistance move
ment were the moderate advocates of peace able to carry on un
molested.
The peace movement in America accomplished a great deal, we are told, in spite of all opposition and regardless of tactical blunders of its advocates. Organized peace efforts "had come to
stay," and "these men built so wisely and so well that the future was to see further growth and development" (p. 213). State
organizations born in the early period, such as that of Rhode
Island, are still alive and active. We might add here that the
American Peace Society of today, established in 1828, is exer
cising wide influence through its constant activities and its appeal to the reading public through the medium of its quarterly publi cation, World Affairs. Professor Galpin tells us that the ideas of
disarmament, arbitration, codification of international law, a world court, and a Congress of Nations were so ably argued and
presented that the Government recognized them, though it did
This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:02:44 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Book Reviews 67
little to advance their realization. Even elementary school books
emphasized the peace ideal. As the author expresses it, "The
peace banner . . . was not merely on high ; it was actually wav
ing and stirring a number of men and women to think, and some
to act in favor of a world order that would know of no inter
national war" (p. 213). As a result, individuals without num
ber are today engaged in the peace crusade and the United States
directly or indirectly participates in a "Congress of Nations" and
a World Court.
Without intending to detract from the earnest efforts of the
early crusaders for peace, one may raise the question, if their
accomplishments were great, why could the Mexican War not
have been forestalled through their influence ; why could the frat
ricidal war of the sixties not have been averted,' and why could
the imperialistic spirit of the close of the century not have been
suppressed? Furthermore, the disgraceful treatment accorded
the Indian tribes all through the period covered in this treatise
should have felt more of the effects of a movement as strong as
that pictured to us here. It is evident that, outside of New Eng
land where economic motives appear to have been stronger than
the author thinks, organized efforts for peace were not success
ful. The latter statement is conceded in the earlier part of his
book, but the point seems to be somewhat weakened in his con
clusion.
With the exception of a few passages, the monograph is quite
well written. For example, the expression, "Grimke was invited
to speak before a peace meeting in New Haven during the sum
mer of 1832, and Grimke accepted" (p. 88), might be improved
upon in construction. Also, the expression, "peace-like phi
losophy" of the Unitarians (p. 11), might be given better form.
However, the work is a scholarly and valuable contribution to the
subject. The author has examined an enormous amount of manu
script material and has given it scientific treatment. His exten
sive bibliography and numerous footnotes will constitute a val
uable aid to all interested students of the peace movement. After
reading this work, one only hopes that Professor Galpin will find
time to bring the study down to the present time. , .
Campbell College. M. L. Skaggs.
This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:02:44 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
top related