ABSTRACT
The peace movement of the 1980s, led by SANE and the Freeze, emerged at a time when we felt deeply connected to countless other activists many zip codes and time zones away. The peace movement and their association first with SANE/Freeze and later Peace Action gave grassroots activists like a sense of power and connection that made all their work seem valuable and significant. The two largest and most powerful national peace organizations of the time SANE and the Freeze Campaign gave the movement its clearest agenda and offered a sense of cohesion and connection to the grassroots groups that sprang up across the country as excitement about the peace movement grew and spread. These two national groups shared similar goals: stop the production and deployment of nuclear weapons, reduce the growing aggression and fear-mongering of the Cold War. For some people, direct action or civil disobedience is something they would like to participate in with the right preparation.
