Involuntary Community: Conscientious Objectors at Patapsco State Park During World War II
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Author/Creator ORCID
Date
1977
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Citation of Original Publication
Orser, Edward. “Involuntary Community: A Case History of a Civilian Public Service Camp During World War II,” Maryland Historical Magazine, Spring, 1977, 132-146.
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Abstract
IN MAY 1941 TWENTY-SIX IDEALISTS RETREATED INTO THE WOODS OF PATAPSCO
State Park near Baltimore to form a community of pacifists in a nation on the
verge of war. While the camp they established resembled many experiments in
intentional community, these men were conscientious objectors who had been
assigned as draftees under the Selective Service Act of 1940 to do "work of
national importance under civilian direction." The Patapsco camp, the first for
conscientious objectors in American history, lasted for slightly over one year
until it was transferred to the Maryland Eastern Shore in August 1942. By that
time the Civilian Public Service system was in full operation, with other camps
spread throughout the country. For its one year of existence the Patapsco camp
(C.P.S. #3) represented an unusual experiment in cooperative pacifist living
and service within the context of wartime compulsory service, a fascinating
instance of involuntary community.