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The Peace Movement By Brendan Cobb
Early Movements Early anti-war movements in the US lacked cohesions and formal organization with the exception of the United Word Federalists which hoped to establish world peace through a unified global government, needless to say this organization never achieved its goals and eventually morphed into the modern group Citizens For Global Solutions. For the most part early anti-war efforts were limited to personal acts of civil disobedience such as Henry David Thoreau’s refusal to pay taxes during the Mexican American war.
Early 20th Century US policies of imperialism during the early 20th century spawned various groups opposed to the foreign policy practices in place in the Philippines And Hawaii. With the begging of World War I US opposition was limited with the majority of anti-war efforts being focused on isolationism rather than actively opposing the fighting in Europe. In the wake of the most devastating war the world had ever seen and the writings of The Lost Generation the anti-war movement gained considerable momentum which garnered support for appeasement policies prior to World War II.
Vietnam and the Cold War Perhaps the greatest symbol of the anti-war movement in the US is the opposition to the Vietnam war and the corresponding counterculture that followed. The war generated a great deal of protest and acted as a thorn in the side of any president who took office during the war. The protests which initially began on college campuses expanded into the hippy counterculture and protests songs still used to this day. With the cold going moving into a perilous balance of nuclear deterrence and negotiations groups formed calling for nuclear disarmament and supporting negotiations between the Soviet Union and the United States.
Modern Protests The largest amount of protest in modern America is a result of the Iraq War and the expanded War on Terror. Modern protest groups include United for Peace and Justice, CODEPINK and Military Families Speak Out. These groups have staged rallies and organized numerous petitions and marches against the US military involvement in Iraq.
