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{{Short description|Proposed department of the U.S. federal government}} |
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{{distinguish|Ministry of Peace}} |
{{distinguish|Ministry of Peace (disambiguation){{!}}Ministry of Peace}} |
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The '''Department of Peace''' is a proposed [[United States Cabinet|cabinet]]-level department of the [[executive branch]] of the [[ |
The '''Department of Peace''' is a proposed [[United States Cabinet|cabinet]]-level department of the [[executive branch]] of the [[federal government of the United States]]. |
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==History== |
==History== |
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The [[peace movement]] in the United States has a proposed legislative history that dates to the first years of the republic: |
The [[peace movement]] in the United States has a proposed legislative history that dates to the first years of the republic: |
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* 1793: |
* 1793: [[Benjamin Rush]], [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father]] (signer of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]]), wrote an essay titled "A plan of a Peace-Office for the United States".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/essaysliterarym00rushgoog|quote=benjamin rush peace plan office.|chapter=A plan of a Peace-Office for the United States|title=Essays, Literary, Moral and Philosophical.|last=Rush|first=Benjamin, M.D.|year=1806|edition=2nd|pages=[https://archive.org/details/essaysliterarym00rushgoog/page/n197 183]–188|publisher=Thomas and William Bradford, Philadelphia|accessdate=2010-06-03}}</ref> Rush called for equal footing with the [[United States Department of War|Department of War]] and pointed out the effect of doing so for the welfare of the United States in promoting and preserving perpetual peace in the United States. First published in a 1793 almanac that [[Benjamin Banneker]] authored,<ref>{{cite book |last=Phillips |first=P. Lee |year=1917 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LSkkCeq5R1AC&q=Columbia+Historical+Society+1917+Banneker&pg=PA114 |chapter=The Negro, Benjamin Banneker; Astronomer and Mathematician, Plea for Universal Peace |title=Records of the Columbia Historical Society |publisher=Columbia Historical Society |location=Washington, D.C. |volume=20 |pages=114–120}}</ref> the plan stated: |
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<blockquote> |
<blockquote> |
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1. Let a Secretary of Peace be appointed to preside in this office; . . . let him be a genuine republican and a sincere Christian. . . . |
1. Let a Secretary of Peace be appointed to preside in this office; . . . let him be a genuine republican and a sincere Christian. . . . |
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</blockquote> |
</blockquote> |
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* 1925: [[Carrie Chapman Catt]], founder of the [[League of Women Voters]], at the Cause and Cure for War Conference, publicly suggested a cabinet-level Department of Peace and secretary of peace be established.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s2SkL2HNuwEC& |
* 1925: [[Carrie Chapman Catt]], founder of the [[League of Women Voters]], at the Cause and Cure for War Conference, publicly suggested a cabinet-level Department of Peace and secretary of peace be established.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s2SkL2HNuwEC&q=jacqueline+voris|title=Carrie Chapman Catt - A Public Life|author=Jacqueline Van Voris | isbn=978-1-55861-139-9 | year=1996 | publisher=Feminist Press}}</ref> |
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* 1926/1927: [[Kirby Page]], author of ''A National Peace Department'', wrote, published and distributed a proposal for a cabinet-level Department of Peace and secretary of peace.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.amazon.com/national-peace-department-proposal-study/dp/B0008D3YMU|title=A National Peace Department|author=Kirby Page}}</ref> |
* 1926/1927: [[Kirby Page]], author of ''A National Peace Department'', wrote, published and distributed a proposal for a cabinet-level Department of Peace and secretary of peace.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.amazon.com/national-peace-department-proposal-study/dp/B0008D3YMU|title=A National Peace Department|author=Kirby Page}}</ref> |
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* 1935: Senator [[Matthew M. Neely]] (D-West Virginia) wrote and introduced the first bill calling for the creation of a United States Department of Peace. Reintroduced in 1937 and 1939. |
* 1935: Senator [[Matthew M. Neely]] (D-West Virginia) wrote and introduced the first bill calling for the creation of a United States Department of Peace. Reintroduced in 1937 and 1939. |
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* 1946: Senator [[Jennings Randolph]] (D-West Virginia) re-introduced a bill to create a United States Department of Peace. |
* 1946: Senator [[Jennings Randolph]] (D-West Virginia) re-introduced a bill to create a United States Department of Peace. |
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* 1947: Representative [[Everett Dirksen]] (R-Illinois) introduced a bill for “A Peace Division in the State Department”. |
* 1947: Representative [[Everett Dirksen]] (R-Illinois) introduced a bill for “A Peace Division in the State Department”. |
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* 1955 to 1968: Eighty-five Senate and House of Representative bills were introduced calling for a United States Department of Peace.<ref>{{cite |
* 1955 to 1968: Eighty-five Senate and House of Representative bills were introduced calling for a United States Department of Peace.<ref>{{cite book|title=Why a Department of Peace?|author=Frederick L. Schuman|oclc = 339785}}</ref> |
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* 1969: Senator [[Vance Hartke]] (D-Indiana) and Representative [[Seymour Halpern]] (R-New York) re-introduced bills to create a U.S. Department of Peace in the House of Representatives and the Senate. The 14 Senate cosponsors of S. 953, the "Peace Act",<ref>115 Cong. Rec. 3154 (1969)</ref> included [[Birch Bayh]] (D-IN), [[Robert Byrd]] (D-WV), [[Alan Cranston]] (D-CA), [[Daniel Inouye]] (D-HI) and [[Edmund Muskie]] (D-ME). The 67 House cosponsors included [[Ed Koch]] of New York, [[Donald M. Fraser|Donald Fraser]] of Minnesota, and [[Abner Mikva]] of Illinois, as well as Republican [[Pete McCloskey]] of California. |
* 1969: Senator [[Vance Hartke]] (D-Indiana) and Representative [[Seymour Halpern]] (R-New York) re-introduced bills to create a U.S. Department of Peace in the House of Representatives and the Senate. The 14 Senate cosponsors of S. 953, the "Peace Act",<ref>115 Cong. Rec. 3154 (1969)</ref> included [[Birch Bayh]] (D-IN), [[Robert Byrd]] (D-WV), [[Alan Cranston]] (D-CA), [[Daniel Inouye]] (D-HI) and [[Edmund Muskie]] (D-ME). The 67 House cosponsors included [[Ed Koch]] of New York, [[Donald M. Fraser|Donald Fraser]] of Minnesota, and [[Abner Mikva]] of Illinois, as well as Republican [[Pete McCloskey]] of California. The bill would have established a cabinet-level called for the new department to develop "plans, policies and programs designed to foster peace," coordinate all U.S. government activities affecting "the preservation or promotion of peace," to cooperate with other governments in planning for peaceful conflict resolution, and promote the exchange of ideas between private parties in the U.S. and other countries. The bill further provided for establishment of an International Peace Institute that would train citizens for service, a Peace by Investment Corporation, and the transfer of agencies such as the [[Peace Corps]], [[United States Agency for International Development|Agency for International Development]], and the International Agricultural Development Service, to the new department. The bill received popular support from anti-war groups, Catholic and Baptist publications, author [[Norman Cousins]], and others.<ref>{{cite book|title=Why a Department of Peace?|author=Frederick L. Schuman|oclc = 339785}}</ref> |
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* 1979: Senator [[Spark Matsunaga]] (D-Hawaii) re-introduced a bill, S. 2103, "Department of Peace Organization Act of 1979" to create a U.S. Department of Peace.<ref>125 Cong. Rec. 35111 (1979)</ref> |
* 1979: Senator [[Spark Matsunaga]] (D-Hawaii) re-introduced a bill, S. 2103, "Department of Peace Organization Act of 1979" to create a U.S. Department of Peace.<ref>125 Cong. Rec. 35111 (1979)</ref> |
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* 2001: Representative [[Dennis Kucinich]] (D-Ohio) |
* 2001: Representative [[Dennis Kucinich]] (D-Ohio) introduced a bill to create a U.S. Department of Peace. A version of this bill was introduced in each session of Congress from 2001 to 2011. The bill was cosponsored by 76 members of Congress in 2007. In July 2008, the first Republican cosponsor, Rep. [[Wayne Gilchrest]] (R-MD) signed on. |
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* 2005: Senator [[Mark Dayton]] (D-Minnesota) introduced legislation in the Senate to create a cabinet-level |
* 2005: Senator [[Mark Dayton]] (D-Minnesota) introduced legislation in the Senate to create a cabinet-level DepartmentofPeace a week after Dennis Kucinich introduced a similar bill in the House. |
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* 2013: Representative Barbara Lee (D-California) introduced a substantially similar bill to the Kucinich bill. She has introduced updated versions in each session of Congress since then |
* 2013: Representative [[Barbara Lee]] (D-California) introduced a substantially similar bill to the Kucinich bill. She has introduced updated versions in each session of Congress since then. |
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==Support== |
==Support== |
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The [[Peace Alliance]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ThePeaceAlliance.org/|title= The Peace Alliance}}</ref> and the [[Student Peace Alliance]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.StudentPeaceAlliance.org/|title= Student Peace Alliance}}</ref> organizations support the creation of a U.S. Department of Peace. Both are national nonprofit organizations and independent grassroots political movements that operate autonomously. The ongoing movement is supported by several members of Congress, the late former ''[[CBS Evening News]]'' [[television anchor|anchor]] [[Walter Cronkite]] and author [[Marianne Williamson]]. Also joining the increasing list of national endorsements are [[Yoko Ono]], [[Joaquin Phoenix]], [[Frances Fisher]] and [[Willie Nelson]]. This movement actively lobbies for the endorsements of congressional leaders and is active in soliciting and receiving a growing list of bipartisan endorsements from city councils in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico and Ohio.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepeacealliance.org/content/view/147/464/|title=City, County and Governing Body Resolutions in support of a U.S. Department of Peace}}</ref> Local grassroots chapters have been formed in all 50 states.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepeacealliance.org/organize/|title=Get Active and Volunteer|publisher=The Peace Alliance|accessdate=2007-10-24}}</ref> |
The [[Peace Alliance]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ThePeaceAlliance.org/|title= The Peace Alliance}}</ref> and the [[Student Peace Alliance]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.StudentPeaceAlliance.org/|title= Student Peace Alliance}}</ref> organizations support the creation of a U.S. Department of Peace. Both are national nonprofit organizations and independent grassroots political movements that operate autonomously. The ongoing movement is supported by several members of Congress, the late former ''[[CBS Evening News]]'' [[television anchor|anchor]] [[Walter Cronkite]] and author [[Marianne Williamson]]. Also joining the increasing list of national endorsements are [[Yoko Ono]], [[Joaquin Phoenix]], [[Frances Fisher]] and [[Willie Nelson]]. This movement actively lobbies for the endorsements of congressional leaders and is active in soliciting and receiving a growing list of bipartisan endorsements from city councils in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico and Ohio.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepeacealliance.org/content/view/147/464/|title=City, County and Governing Body Resolutions in support of a U.S. Department of Peace|access-date=2009-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091109203521/http://www.thepeacealliance.org/content/view/147/464/|archive-date=2009-11-09|url-status=dead}}</ref> Local grassroots chapters have been formed in all 50 states.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepeacealliance.org/organize/|title=Get Active and Volunteer|publisher=The Peace Alliance|accessdate=2007-10-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071003221116/http://www.thepeacealliance.org/organize/|archive-date=2007-10-03|url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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==Provisions of the Kucinich Bill== |
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⚫ | The novel ''1988'' (a fictional work about the upcoming 1988 presidential election published in 1985) by then-[[Governor of Colorado]] [[Richard Lamm]], includes a very similar proposal where the third-party presidential candidate in the novel proposes a cabinet-level Agency for U.S. Peace and Conflict Resolution with a secretary of peace who could challenge the [[United States Secretary of Defense|secretary of defense]] when necessary. |
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Ohio Rep. [[Dennis Kucinich]] introduced U.S. Department of Peace legislation to Congress in July 2001, two months before the [[September 11 attacks]]. Kucinich has reintroduced the legislation every 2 years since. The bill currently has 52 cosponsors. Some of the numerous organizations endorsing the legislation include [[Amnesty International]] and the [[National Organization for Women]]. |
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==See also== |
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This bill includes several additional proposed mandates that would work in partnership with the [[United States Department of State|U.S. Department of State]] and go beyond the existing mandates of the [[United States Institute of Peace]]. Some highlights among the areas of proposed additional responsibility include: |
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*[[List of peace activists]] |
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* Provide violence prevention, conflict resolution skills and mediation to America's school children in classrooms as an elective or requirement, providing them with the communication tools they need to express themselves beginning in elementary school through high school. |
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* Provide support and grants for violence prevention programs addressing domestic violence, gang violence, drug- and alcohol-related violence, and the like. |
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* To effectively treat and dismantle gang psychology. |
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* To rehabilitate the prison population. |
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* To build peace making efforts among conflicting cultures both here and abroad. |
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* To support our military with complementary approaches to ending violence. |
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* Monitoring of all domestic [[weapon|arms]] production, including non-military arms, conventional military arms, and of [[weapons of mass destruction]]. |
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* Make expert recommendations on the latest techniques for diplomacy, mediation, conflict resolution to the U.S. President for various strategies. |
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* Assumption of a more proactive level of involvement in the establishment of international dialogues for international [[conflict resolution]] (as a [[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]] level department). |
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* Establishment of a U.S. Peace Academy, which among other things would train international [[Peacekeeping|peace-keepers]]. |
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* Development of an educational media program to promote [[nonviolence]] in the domestic media. |
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* Monitoring of [[human rights]], both domestically and abroad. |
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* Making regular recommendations to the President for the maintenance and improvement of these human rights. |
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* Receiving a timely mandatory advance consultation from the [[United States Secretary of State|Secretaries of State]], and of [[United States Secretary of Defense|Defense]], prior to any engagement of U.S. troops in any armed conflict with any other nation. |
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* Establishment of a national ''[[Peace Day]]''. |
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* Participation by the secretary of peace as a member of the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]]. |
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* Expansion of the national [[Twin towns and sister cities|Sister City]] program. |
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* Significant expansion of current Institute of Peace program involvement in educational affairs, in areas such as: |
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# [[Drug rehabilitation]], |
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# Policy reviews concerning [[crime prevention]], [[punishment]], and [[Rehabilitation (penology)|rehabilitation]], |
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# Implementation of violence prevention counseling programs and peer mediation programs in schools, |
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* Also, making recommendations regarding: |
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# Battered women's rights, |
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# Animal rights, |
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* Various other "peace related areas of responsibility". |
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Proposed funding for a U.S. Department of Peace would initially come from a budget that is defined by the prevention bill as, ''"at least 1 percent of the proposed federal discretionary budget, FY 2008 of which 53% is already allocated to the Department of Defense (budget)"''. Whether or not the U.S. Institute of Peace would be promoted to a cabinet-level position, is not addressed by this bill.The [[Peace Alliance]] is the National Organization spearheading the passage of the legislation. |
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==Previous proposals== |
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In 1969, Senator [[Vance Hartke]] (D-Indiana) introduced the Peace Act (S. 953), to establish a cabinet-level called for the new department to develop "plans, policies and programs designed to foster peace," coordinate all U.S. government activities affecting "the preservation or promotion of peace," to cooperate with other governments in planning for peaceful conflict resolution, and promote the exchange of ideas between private parties in the U.S. and other countries. The bill further provided for establishment of an International Peace Institute that would train citizens for service, a Peace by Investment Corporation, and the transfer of agencies such as the [[Peace Corps]], [[United States Agency for International Development|Agency for International Development]], and the International Agricultural Development Service, to the new Department. The bill received popular support from anti-war groups, Catholic and Baptist publications, author [[Norman Cousins]], and others.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/339785|title=Why a Department of Peace?|author=Frederick L. Schuman}}</ref> |
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⚫ | |||
⚫ | The novel ''1988'' (a fictional work about the upcoming 1988 presidential election published in 1985) by then-[[Governor of Colorado]] [[Richard Lamm]], includes a very similar proposal where the third-party presidential candidate in the novel proposes a cabinet-level Agency for U.S. Peace and Conflict Resolution with a secretary of peace who could challenge the secretary of defense when necessary. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* [https://www.congress.gov/ |
* [https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1111/text/ Text of Federal bill HR-1111: To establish a Department of Peacebuilding] |
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* [https://peacealliance.org/issues-advocacy/department-of-peace/ Peace Alliance page with current links and information relating to the U.S. legislation and campaign] |
* [https://peacealliance.org/issues-advocacy/department-of-peace/ Peace Alliance page with current links and information relating to the U.S. legislation and campaign] |
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* [ |
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20210225022458/https://canadianpeaceinitiative.ca/ Canadian campaign for a Canadian Department of Peace] |
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* [ |
* [http://www.gamip.org/ Global Alliance for Ministries and Infrastructures for Peace] |
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[[Category:Peace |
[[Category:Peace organizations]] |
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[[Category:Proposals in the United States]] |
[[Category:Proposals in the United States]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Federal government of the United States]] |
The Department of Peace is a proposed cabinet-level department of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States.
The peace movement in the United States has a proposed legislative history that dates to the first years of the republic:
1. Let a Secretary of Peace be appointed to preside in this office; . . . let him be a genuine republican and a sincere Christian. . . .
2. Let a power be given to the Secretary to establish and maintain free schools in every city, village and township in the United States; . . . Let the youth of our country be instructed in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and in the doctrines of a religion of some kind; the Christian religion should be preferred to all others; for it belongs to this religion exclusively to teach us not only to cultivate peace with all men, but to forgive—nay more, to love our very enemies. . . .
3. Let every family be furnished at public expense, by the Secretary of this office, with an American edition of the Bible. . . .
4. Let the following sentence be inscribed in letters of gold over the door of every home in the United States: The Son of Man Came into the World, Not To Destroy Men's Lives, But To Save Them.
5. To inspire a veneration for human life, and a horror at the shedding of human blood, let all those laws be repealed which authorize juries, judges, sheriffs, or hangmen to assume the resentments of individuals, and to commit murder in cold blood in any case whatever. . . .
6. To subdue that passion for war . . . militia laws should everywhere be repealed, and military dresses and military titles should be laid aside. . . .
The Peace Alliance[10] and the Student Peace Alliance[11] organizations support the creation of a U.S. Department of Peace. Both are national nonprofit organizations and independent grassroots political movements that operate autonomously. The ongoing movement is supported by several members of Congress, the late former CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite and author Marianne Williamson. Also joining the increasing list of national endorsements are Yoko Ono, Joaquin Phoenix, Frances Fisher and Willie Nelson. This movement actively lobbies for the endorsements of congressional leaders and is active in soliciting and receiving a growing list of bipartisan endorsements from city councils in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico and Ohio.[12] Local grassroots chapters have been formed in all 50 states.[13]
The novel 1988 (a fictional work about the upcoming 1988 presidential election published in 1985) by then-Governor of Colorado Richard Lamm, includes a very similar proposal where the third-party presidential candidate in the novel proposes a cabinet-level Agency for U.S. Peace and Conflict Resolution with a secretary of peace who could challenge the secretary of defense when necessary.
benjamin rush peace plan office.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)