War Resisters

This theme represents resistance to two very different wars, separated by almost half a century: the First World War (1914-18) and The Vietnam War (1961-1975). "The Hound of Conscience" focuses on the work of the No-Conscription Fellowship and Bertrand Russell's brave stand for peace which resulted in his imprisonment. The second case study examines not only Russell's continuing commitment to the cause of peace, but includes anti Vietnam War materials, including film and audio, issued by groups from Hanoi to Toronto.

In addition to the two case studies of war resistance presented here, there are also two related case studies which have been placed under the theme Women for Peace: Claire Culhane: Canadian Peace Activist and Humanitarian and Working for Peace: Eva Sanderson and the Toronto Association for Peace. Culhane’s experiences as a nurse in Vietnam turned her an active campaigner against the War. Sanderson led the vocal TAP campaign against the Vietnam War.

Case Study: “The Hound of Conscience”: The No-Conscription Fellowship

No-Conscription Fellowship, Leaflet, [1916]

Widespread popular protest against war did not emerge for the first time in the 1960s. Active opposition to the First World War was mobilized in England by the No-Conscription Fellowship. Bertrand Russell’s involvement with the group cost him first his furniture and then his freedom.

Case Study: The Vietnam War: Popular Protest Comes of Age

Peace pin, [196-]

The protest movement which developed in opposition to the Vietnam War was unprecedented in its size and influence. Particularly vocal in the United States, where young men were forcibly conscripted for service, its influence was felt in Canada, Britain and around the world. Nor was it solely a peace crusade of the young; Bertrand Russell, by then in his nineties, worked against the war for as long as he lived.