As someone who has written extensively about the history of peace movements in American history, I was particularly encouraged by the noted historian Larry Wittner’s piece “New York’s Long History of Peace Activism,” which appeared in the New York History Blog.
In his excellent overview he mentioned the role of the Committee on Militarism in Education (C.M.E.), an organization that was New York-based and played a vital role as a watchdog in its efforts to check the growth and establishment of the Reserve Officers Training Program (R.O.T.C.) between the world wars.
Although there have been some scholarly works that discuss its role in peace activism, what has been missing is the important and vital role that New Yorkers played in creating and supporting its efforts to check military training in both higher and secondary education. [Read more…] about How New Yorkers Challenged Militarism in Education