{"value"=>"<p>The Post War World Council was created in 1942 by Thomas and his associates as a successor to the Keep America Out of War Committee. Its initial goal was to bring about a democratic, non-imperialist peace settlement. The organization was so closely connected with Thomas and his views that it virtually became his political action office.</p> <p>All of Thomas' PWWC correspondence is in Series I (with the exception of that dealing with the conferences mentioned below). However, Subseries D does contain scattered minutes, form letters, press releases, and newsletters generated by the organization, and materials relating to the planning of the annual National Conference on World Disarmament and World Development, of which the PWWC was one of the many sponsors.</p> <p>Files II: D: 4 through II: D: 8 contain correspondence and printed material documenting the several conferences on disarmament arranged by the PWWC. The two Arden House conferences were held to draw up a program for disarmament and to develop procedures for alerting the world to the need for universal disarmament. The PWWC received a grant from the Christopher Reynolds Foundation, and Thomas secured the sponsorship of Senators John Sparkman of Alabama, Ralph Flanders of Vermont, and, for the second conference, Hubert H, Humphrey of Minnesota. A wide variety of prominent individuals from non-profit corporations, peace groups, and the fields of politics, religion, economics, education, and science were invited to attend. The conferences were held at Columbia University's Arden House, and final reports of the proceedings and the conferees' recommendations were published.</p> <p>Files II: D: 4 and II: D: 5 contain PWWC correspondence with the above-mentioned senators, those invited to participate, Columbia University, the Christopher Reynolds Foundation, and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Following the correspondence in each file is a variety of materials including a copy of the final conference report, lists of participants, budgets, drafts of discussion outlines and other papers sent to participants, room lists, copies of essays on disarmament, and other materials sent to Thomas by participants.</p> <p>Among the participants at one or both of the conferences were Erich Fromm, Clark Eichelberger, Eleanor Roosevelt, Representative Charles Porter, Jerome Spingarn, David Cavers, E. Raymond Wilson, Roy McCorkel, Benjamin V. Cohen, John Kenneth Galbraith, Representative Brooks Hays, Robert Reno, and James Warburg.</p> <p>File II: D: 6 consists of correspondence about a proposed international conference, never held, based on the Arden House model. Correspondents with Thomas include Michael Kahn of the Christopher Reynolds Foundation, Prynce Hopkins, Homer Jack, Arlo Tatum, the Fabian Society, The American Friends Service Committee, and the Society of Friends Peace Committee.</p> <p>File II: D: 7 contains the records for the cancelled Conference on Thermonuclear War, an attempt to call congressional-style hearings on the nature and consequences of such a war. An impressive list of panelists and witnesses was drawn up, including Paul Tillich, C. Wright Mills, Lewis Mumford, Herman Kahn, George Kennan, Henry Kissinger, Harold Urey, Linus Pauling, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Bentley Glass, Douglas MacArthur, and Bertrand Russell. The file includes lists of panelists and witnesses, a list of questions to be addressed, correspondence with prospective participants, and printed background materials on atomic energy, fallout, and related topics.</p> <p>File II: D: 8 concerns the Gould House conference, called by the PWWC in response to the often expressed opinion that the unpopularity of disarmament was based on people's fear that it would lead to economic disaster. Correspondence, mostly with those invited to participate, is alphabetical. Following the correspondence are form letters and all information and printed materials sent to participants, a draft of the conference report, the final report in booklet form, a summary of the transcript of the proceedings, and the transcript itself. Lastly, there are the planning records, including name lists, financial records, invoices, and drafts of reading lists.</p>"}