Guide to the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Emergency Ministry on Conscience and War Records

This collection contains correspondence, minutes, administrative records, financial records, reports, printed items, and ephemera collected and created by the Emergency Ministry on Conscience and War (EMCW) as it worked to address issues of the draft, conscientious objection, military counseling, alternate service, and amnesty during the Vietnam War. Executive secretary L. William Yolton and intern E. William D. Galvin (Bill Galvin) created and maintained the records.

The L. William Yolton Files series, circa 1958-1975, contains correspondence files, operation files, geographical files, and subject files which document EMCW's activities during Yolton's tenure as executive secretary (1969-1973).

The Correspondence Files subseries, 1969-1973, contains alphabetical correspondence files (arranged by sender) and chronological files of correspondence sent (chiefly carbon copies arranged loosely by year). The subseries documents EMCW's communications with other UPCUSA entities, church constituents, and external organizations.

The Operation Files subseries, circa 1968-1974, contains files of minutes, reports, budgets and other financial records, printed items, educational resources, case files, internship materials, and requests for EMCW resources (arranged in an alphabetic-subject filing system by folder title). This subseries chiefly documents EMCW's core function of disseminating information on the draft, draft counseling, and conscientious objection; EMCW's internal functions within the Board of Christian Education's Office of Church and Society; and EMCW staff's other activities nationally, regionally, and locally. Four folders (titled "Draft Counseling for African Americans") document EMCW's work with and financial support of the National Association of Black Students (NABS) and the National Black Draft Counselors and include several letters from Gwendolyn Patton. Two folders (titled "Draft Counseling for Spanish Language Speakers") document EMCW's efforts to procure Spanish language draft counseling materials. One folder (titled "Revolutionary People's Constitutional Convention (Black Panther Party, Philadelphia, Pa.)") includes a form from the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends designating Yolton as an observer in a "third party" role at the Black Panthers' convention. One folder (titled "York 5 Defense Case") includes correspondence documenting EMCW's use of its Fund for Conscience to contribute money to the York Five's defense fund.

Also included in the subseries are case files (arranged alphabetically by counselees' last names) documenting EMCW's draft counseling and outreach work with specific individuals. There are materials pertaining to Walter Collins, an African American draft resister and civil rights activist, including a letter from Yolton to Collins while he was imprisoned in Texarkana, Texas. There are also materials pertaining to John A. Gruneich's legal case against the Selective Service System.

The Geographical Files subseries, circa 1969-1975, contains files of correspondence and printed items documenting EMCW's communications and work with congregations, presbyteries, and synods throughout the United States. Files are arranged alphabetically by state or territory. Letters chiefly discuss the establishment and funding of draft information and counseling centers, seminars, workshops, programs, and services in specific states and cities. Printed items are chiefly ephemera created by draft counseling centers, congregations, and presbyteries.

Also included in the subseries are a set of files concerning international issues, arranged alphabetically by continent or country. There are four folders (titled "Japan - Legal counsel / lawyer in Japan (John Hedges)") regarding EMCW's participation in funding a lawyer to provide legal services for GIs on trial in Japan. There are also materials pertaining to individuals immigrating to Canada.

The Subject Files of Organizations subseries, circa 1964-1974, contains files of correspondence, printed items, minutes, reports, and studies, arranged first by subject and then by organization. Subject areas include amnesty, conscientious objection and objectors, draft counseling and counselors, draft legislation and reform, draft repeal and resistance, pacifism and peace, veterans and veteran support, and war resistance. While most materials in the files were created by external organizations, there are also materials created by EMCW as it worked with these external organizations. Organizations represented in the subject files include the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (CCCO), the National Interreligious Service Board for Conscientious Objectors (NISBCO), the Interfaith Committee on Draft Information (IFCDI), the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and the Emergency Ministries Concerning the War.

Also included in the subseries are files pertaining to Christian denominations' engagement with draft counseling, conscientious objectors, and peace work. There are two folders of materials created by Jewish groups and organizations on these subjects as well.

The E. William D. Galvin Files series, 1966-1979, contains operation files and subject files which document EMCW's activities during Galvin's internship tenure as head of the unit (1973-circa 1976).

The Operation Files subseries, 1966-1979, contains files of correspondence, minutes, reports, printed items, educational resources, and research materials (arranged in an alphabetic-subject filing system by folder title). The subseries chiefly document EMCW's work on amnesty for exiles and military deserters. Correspondence files include materials regarding Robert R. Warner, Jr., a Presbyterian minister who set fire to an ROTC building at the University of Hawaii as an act of resistance to the Vietnam War. Several folders contain materials pertaining to President Gerald Ford's "Earned Re-Entry" Plan (Ford's program for the return of Vietnam era draft evaders and military deserters). There are also Galvin's research files, which contain materials he used in writing "The United Presbyterian Church's Response to the Vietnam War" (published in 1978), and files containing materials of the Emergency Ministry for Veteran Services (EMVS).

The Subject Files of Organizations subseries, 1972-1978, contains files of correspondence, printed items, minutes, reports, and studies, arranged first by subject and then by organization. Subject areas include amnesty, conscientious objection and objectors, pacifism and peace, veterans and veteran support, volunteers and volunteerism, and war resistance. While most materials were created by external organizations, there are also materials created by EMCW as it worked with these external organizations. Organizations represented in the subject files include the National Council for Universal and Unconditional Amnesty (NCUUA) and the Special Ministries / Vietnam Generation.