About the Project
In the early 1930s, Jane Addams donated her books and papers about peace and social justice to Swarthmore College. That donation led to the establishment of The Swarthmore College Peace Collection, which documents non-governmental efforts for nonviolent social change, disarmament, and conflict resolution. The collection is the nation’s most extensive research library and archive collection solely dedicated to movements for peace around the world. The collection includes primary resource materials such as manuscripts, photographs, posters, audiovisual items, stamps, bumper stickers, political buttons, flags, and ephemera, along with books, periodicals, and academic journals that record community-based efforts toward social change and peace.
As part of the celebration of the Peace Collection’s 100th anniversary in the second week of October 2025, this site has been created to spotlight the collection’s “Greatest Hits.” These artifacts are the most popular of the collection, each representative of remarkable events and actions that contributed to the enduring peace movement that dates back to about 1815. These items have been digitized into 2D and 3D formats in the interest of greater longevity, sustainability, and accessibility by allowing virtual visitors to interact with them more than ever before.