Involuntary Community: Conscientious Objectors at Patapsco State Park During World War II

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.