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 .

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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