The Universal Peace Union was a

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

organization founded by former members of the

American Peace Society The American Peace Society is a pacifist group founded upon the initiative of William Ladd, in New York City, May 8, 1828. It was formed by the merging of many state and local societies, from New York, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, of ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

with the adoption of its constitution on 16 May 1866; it was chartered in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, on 9 April 1888. It ceased operations in 1913, shortly after the death of Alfred H. Love, who served as the organization's president from its founding. Other founders and officers included minister and reformer

Adin Ballou Adin Ballou (1803–1890) was an American proponent of Christian nonresistance, Christian anarchism and socialism, abolitionism and the founder of the Hopedale Community. Through his long career as a Universalist and Unitarian minister, he ...

, American Red Cross founder

Clara Barton Clarissa Harlowe Barton (December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912) was an American nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and a patent clerk. Since nursing education was not then very ...

, politician and author

Belva Ann Lockwood Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood (October 24, 1830 – May 19, 1917) was an American lawyer, politician, educator, and author who was active in the women's rights and women's suffrage movements. She was one of the first women lawyers in the United Sta ...

, reformer

Lucretia Mott Lucretia Mott (''née'' Coffin; January 3, 1793 – November 11, 1880) was an American Quaker, abolitionist, women's rights activist, and social reformer. She had formed the idea of reforming the position of women in society when she was amongs ...

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

winner

Frédéric Passy Frédéric Passy (20 May 182212 June 1912) was a French economist and pacifist who was a founding member of several peace societies and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. He was also an author and politician, sitting in the Chamber of Deputies fro ...

, editor Mary L. F. Ormsby, and politician and educator

John Wesley Hoyt John Wesley Hoyt (October 13, 1831 – May 23, 1912) was an American politician and educator. Hoyt was the third Governor of Wyoming Territory. Early life Hoyt was born in Worthington, Ohio, and graduated from the Ohio Wesleyan University in ...

Ella B. Ensor Wilson Ella B. Ensor Wilson (, Ensor; also known as, Mrs. Augustus Wilson; 1838 – September 11, 1913) was an American social reformer and writer of the long nineteenth century associated with the women's suffrage and temperance movements. She was a stro ...

served as president of the Wilsonton (Kansas) branch of the UPU. The UPU's motto was: "Remove the causes and abolish the custom of war, establish and live the principles of peace." On a hill overlooking the

Mystic River The Mystic River is a riverU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in Massachusetts, in the United States. In Massachusett, means "large estuary," alluding to t ...

near

Mystic, Connecticut Mystic is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in Groton, Connecticut, Groton and Stonington, Connecticut, United States. Historically, Mystic was a significant Connecticut seaport with more than 600 ships built over 135 years starting in ...

, the UPU owned a grove and built a "Peace Temple" that could seat 1,000 people for annual summer gatherings that attracted such noted speakers as

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he found ...

and

Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe (; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the original 1870 pacifist Mother's Day Proclamation. She was also an advocate for abolitionism ...

. The grove eventually was mortgaged to pay for UPU programs and publications and then sold in 1914 to Mary Jobe Akeley. The property is now maintained as th
Peace Sanctuary
nature preserve, open daily from dawn to dusk. Records of the UPU, including correspondence, minutes, financial records, publications, and memorabilia, are housed at the

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

Peace Collection.

Notable people

* Ida Whipple Benham *

Amanda Deyo Amanda Deyo (October 24, 1838 – November 1, 1917) was an American Universalist minister, pacifist, and correspondent. She was also a founder of women's right societies. Early years and education Julia Amanda Halstead was born in Clinton, Dutche ...

* Maria Freeman Gray *

* Alfred H. Love * Clemence Sophia Harned Lozier *

Marguerite Moore Marguerite Moore (1846 – 6 February 1933) was an Irish-Catholic orator, patriot, and activist. A nationalist and suffragist, she was referred to as the "first suffragette". Early years and education Marguerite Moore was born in Waterford, Ire ...

* Mary L. F. Ormsby *

Ruth Hinshaw Spray Ruth Hinshaw Spray (February 16, 1848 – February 26, 1929) was an American peace activist. Spray was prominent as a teacher in the public schools and work for the protection of children and animals. She was also active in the work of child labo ...

Walter Walsh Walter Rudolph Walsh (May 4, 1907 – April 29, 2014) was an FBI agent, USMC shooting instructor and Olympic shooter. Walsh joined the FBI in 1934, serving during the Public enemy era, and was involved in several high-profile FBI case ...

Anna White Anna White (21 Jan. 1831 – 16 Dec. 1910) was a Shaker Eldress, social reformer, author, and hymn writer. Biography Anna White born in Brooklyn, New York, the third daughter of five children of Robert White and Hannah (Gibbs) White. Her paren ...

Notable people

References

Further reading