ABSTRACT
The introduction of conscription in Britain, early in 1916, threatened the activity of anti-war militants. This occurred at the time when Russell was finalising his arrangements with Harvard to lecture there from February 1917. In April 1916, Russell had written a leaflet for the No-Conscription Fellowship protesting against the imprisonment of a conscientious objector. 1 When six pacifists were in their turn imprisoned for distributing the leaflet, Russell, in a famous letter to The Times of 17 May 1916, declared himself to be the author and invited his own prosecution as the ‘person primarily responsible’. 2
