Name/TitleBadge: Stop the Arms Race
About this objectCircular pin badge with blue background featuring the words 'Stop The Arms Race ~ 1 in a MILLION' in white lettering, with a star shape surrounding the number 1. This is likely to refer to a disarmament rally attended by over a million protesters in New York on 12th June 1982.
Date Madec.1982
Medium and MaterialsInorganic, metal and plastic
MeasurementsDia: 32 mm
Subject and Association KeywordsPeace movement
Subject and Association Keywordsanti-war
Subject and Association KeywordsEnvironment - ecology
Subject and Association Descriptionhttps://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nuclear-disarmament-rally-new-york-central-park:
A stunningly large and diverse crowd descends upon New York City’s Central Park on June 12, 1982, demanding nuclear disarmament and an end to the Cold War arms race. By the end of the day, estimates place the number of attendees at over a million, making it the largest disarmament rally in American history.
The United States and the Soviet Union had been in an arms race since World War II, and the Cold War felt particularly hot in the early 1980s. Taking office in 1981, President Ronald Reagan was a staunch proponent of building up America’s nuclear arsenal and vehemently opposed the idea of disarmament treaties. His rhetoric gave new life to the anti-war movement, which had been relatively quiet since its heyday in the late 1960s and early '70s, when protestors fought against the Vietnam War and accompanying draft. Fearing that Reagan would prefer nuclear war to nuclear disarmament, organizers got to work on a mass demonstration in Midtown Manhattan to coincide with the United Nations Second Special Session on Disarmament.
Named CollectionGlasgow Women's Library
Object TypeBadge
Object numberGWL-2015-112-11
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved