Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Whatcom County Nuclear Arms Freeze records, 1981-1986
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Whatcom County Nuclear Arms Freeze
- Title
- Whatcom County Nuclear Arms Freeze records
- Dates
- 1981-1986 (inclusive)19811986
- Quantity
- 1 cubic ft.
- Collection Number
- XOE_CPNWS0106WhatNukeFreeze (collection)
- Summary
- Whatcom County Nuclear Arms Freeze records document the activities of this local branch of the national anti-nuclear proliferation organization that was active in the early to mid 1980s. Material includes newsletters, newspaper clippings, information regarding the pairing relationship with Bellingham's sister city, Nakhodka USSR, as well as informational articles that pertain to nuclear weapons.
- Repository
-
Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Archives Building
808 25th St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
Telephone: (360) 650-7534
cpnws@wwu.edu - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public.
- Languages
- English.
- Sponsor
- Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding the finding aid was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
The Whatcom County Nuclear Arms Freeze (WCNAF) was a part of the national Nuclear Freeze Campaign. The seeds of this campaign were sown in 1979 with the circulation of Randall Forsberg's paper, "The Call to Halt the Nuclear Arms Race." The Nuclear Freeze Campaign held its first national conference at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., in 1981. The non-partisan campaign quickly spread to include all fifty states, and saw the emergence of county-level groups such as the WCNAF. Their 1983 by-laws record WCNAF's aim to be "the worldwide elimination of nuclear weapons." The organization sought to achieve this aim through community education, outreach work, and political action. In addition to its concern with nuclear arms policies, the WCNAF focused on other aspects of global foreign policy, such as U.S. involvement in Nicaragua. Members coordinated peace marches, held vigils and pot-luck dinners, and presented films and educational slide shows. WCNAF was involved in the successful 1984 campaign to declare Whatcom County a Nuclear Free Zone, as well as the formation of a Peace Center in Bellingham. The Whatcom County Nuclear Arms Freeze disbanded in 1986.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Whatcom County Nuclear Arms Freeze (WCNAF) records document a county wide campaign in Washington State against national nuclear arms proliferation from 1981 to 1986. The collection comprises administrative records, newsletters, project files, and also a small amount of reference material, ephemera and publicity records. Administrative records include memos and organizing strategies circulated by the campaign's national clearing house in St Louis, Missouri, as well as the state office in Seattle, membership and meeting records for the regional and local peace movement, and by-laws documenting the organizational structure and goals of the state campaign. Newsletters encompassing the years 1982-1986 provide a valuable overview of the objectives, activities, and accomplishments of the WCNAF. The collection also contains newsletters from other regional peace groups, including Sky Valley Peace Council, Skagit Citizens for Nuclear Disarmament, Thurston County Freeze, Snohomish County Freeze, Fraser Valley Peace Council, and University of British Columbia Students for Peace and Mutual Disarmament. Anti-nuclear activities and project files portion of the WCNAF records document some of the specific actions of the local and state nuclear freeze movement. These files include records regarding the 1984 decision to make Whatcom County a Nuclear Free Zone, information about Nakhodka, Bellingham's "paired city" in the USSR, and meeting minutes, newsletters, correspondence and other materials produced by the North Puget Sound Coalition for a Nuclear Freeze based in Freeland, Washington. National reference material includes newspaper clippings and articles regarding nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons policies. Ephemera and publicity files include peace movement buttons, publicity fliers and advertisements pertaining to WCNAF activities.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
The Whatcom County Nuclear Arms Freeze records, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Heritage Resources, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The Whatcom County Nuclear Arms Freeze records are organized in accordance with the following series:
- Series I: Administrative records, 1981-1986
- Series II: Newsletters, 1982-1986
- Series III: Anti-Nuclear Activities and Project Files, 1982-1986
- Series IV: National Reference Material, 1982-1984
- Series V: Ephemera and Publicity, undated
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Series I: Administrative records, 1981-1986 Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/1 | Membership and Meeting
Information |
1983-1985 |
| 1/2 | National and State Organizing
Strategies |
1981-1983 |
Series II: Newsletters, 1982-1986Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/3 | Whatcom County Nuclear Arm Freeze
Newsletters |
1982-1986 |
| 1/4 | Other state-wide Freeze and peace
movement group Newsletter |
1983-1985 |
Series III: Anti-Nuclear Activities and Project Files, 1982-1986Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/5 | Congressional Action |
1982-1984 |
| 1/6 | Referenda in Thurston
County |
1982 |
| 1/7 | Nuclear Free Zones |
1982-1983 |
| 1/8 | Other Peace Movement
Activities |
1984 |
| 1/9 |
Dear Mr.
President: Letters on the Nuclear Arms Race by Dr. Arthur C. Hicks
|
1985 |
| 1/10 | Bellingham – Nakhodka Sister City
Tour |
1985 August 24 |
| 1/11 | Pairing Project, Bellingham, WA –
Nakhodka USSR |
1984 |
| 2/1 | Educational Resource
Material |
1983 |
| 2/2 | North Puget Sound Coalition for a
Nuclear Weapons Freeze |
1982-1985 |
Series IV: National Reference Material, 1982-1984 Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2/3 | Build Down vs. Freeze |
1982-1983 |
| 2/4 | United Nations |
1984 |
| 2/5 | Nuclear Weapons
Economics |
1982-1983 |
| 2/6 | Negotiations for Arms Control
Newspaper Clippings |
1983 |
| 2/7 | Nuclear Weapons Articles and
Information |
1982 |
| 2/8 | Information on United States
Administrative Policy |
1982-1984 |
Series V: Ephemera and Publicity, undatedReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2/9 | Publicity |
undated |
| 2/10 | Buttons |
undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Antinuclear movement -- Northwest, Pacific -- History -- Sources.
- Antinuclear movement -- Washington (State) -- Whatcom County -- History -- Sources.
- Community education -- Washington (State) -- Whatcom County -- History -- Sources.
- Nuclear arms control -- Government policy -- United States -- History -- Sources.
- Nuclear disarmament -- Moral and ethical aspects -- Northwest, Pacific -- History -- Sources.
- Nuclear disarmament -- Moral and ethical aspects -- Washington (State) -- Whatcom County -- History -- Sources.
- Nuclear warfare -- Moral and ethical aspects -- Northwest, Pacific -- History -- Sources.
- Nuclear warfare -- Moral and ethical aspects -- Washington (State) -- Whatcom County -- History -- Sources.
- Nuclear-weapon-free zones -- Washington (State) -- Whatcom County -- History -- Sources.
Corporate Names
- Whatcom County Nuclear Arms Freeze.
Other Creators
-
Corporate Names
- North Puget Sound Coalition for a Nuclear Freeze. (creator)
- Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign. (creator)
Finding aid prepared by Joshua
Zimmerman
2007
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
