Chapter 10 - An Era of Reform
- In response to the War of 1812, where British troops burned down part of Washington DC, and the Napoleonic Wars, which inflicted dreadful suffering and waste upon Europe and the European empires, some reformers began arguing for peaceful methods to settle international conflicts.
- In 1828 local peace groups united to form the American Peace Society. From the beginning members were split. Some supported a form of world government to interpret international law, and an international court to apply that law. Most members still supported the use of force for self-defense.
- In 1838 the split became real when radical elements formed the Non-Resistance Society, which opposed any violence whatsoever. The idea was that this would lead to a Christian world, peaceful, united, and ready for the reign of Jesus Chris on Earth.
- During the 1850s, growing sectional divides weakened all factions of the peace movement. When these divides led to the Civil War, the peace movement collapsed completely.