The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Peace Society

PEACE SOCIETY, an organization founded for the purpose of promoting universal peace on a permanent basis among the nations. William Allen and Joseph Price organized a peace society in London in 1816; but the first peace society on the European continent was established in Geneva in 1830. At the International Peace Congress held in London in 1843 there were present 294 British, 37 American and six Continental delegates. The society, more or less a religious movement, asked the support of all denominations as well as of persons who oppose war on any grounds. It has always advocated a gradual disarmament by all the nations of Europe, but its main contention is the necessity for adopting the principle of arbitration in international disputes. See American Peace Society; Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Peace Convention.