Student Peace Union: An Introduction [with] What Went Wrong in Vietnam?

New York: Student Peace Union, [ca. 1965]. Offset. Single sheet, folded vertically in thirds to produce pamphlet, 3 ¾ x 8 ½ in. Tipped in: single sheet mimeographed on recto and verso, measuring 8 ½ x 11 in. and folded in thirds to fit in the pamphlet. A few small spots of toning, else near fine. Item #5534

Pamphlet produced by the early New Left organization at the end of its tenure. Organized in 1959 around anti-nuclear activism, the Student Peace Union led the charge in student organizing in the early 1960s. Their “Washington Action” in February 1962 was co-sponsored by the Students for a Democratic Society, at that time but a fraction of the size of the SPU.

When the partial test Ban Treaty was signed in 1963, the core of the group’s organizing effort was weakened and SDS and other organizations stepped in to take its place on college campuses around the country. This pamphlet was produced by the second incarnation of the group, after the first had disbanded in 1964. Members of the National Advisory Council listed on this pamphlet included James Baldwin, Glenn Smiley and Charles Osgood.

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