A Brief History of Dispute Resolution Skills

This July 4th week, it’s fitting to review how our national dispute resolution skills developed throughout history.

In 1793, Founding Father Benjamin Rush proposed a peace office for the country on equal footing with the Department of War. In the decades following several representatives and senators, including Everett Dirksen, Daniel Inouye, Edmund Muske, Ed Koch, and Dennis Kucinich, have introduced legislation to create a Department of Peace. Military veterans Mark Hatfield and Spark Matsunaga led Congress in the passage of the United States Institute Peace Act signed into law by President Reagan, which established an institute to promote the peaceful resolution of conflicts among nations and peoples.

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) was formed under the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 to provide mediation during labor disputes. Over the years the FMCS had several notable mediators as director, including Cyrus S. Ching, William E. Simkin, and W. J. “Bill” Usery. Today, FMCS mediators are also available to provide training on a variety of dispute resolution skills.

In the public sector, community mediation centers developed from two concerns. One was in response to growing dissatisfaction with the legal justice system and the other a product of the social activism of the 1960s. Today’s centers provide mediation in both the courts and the community, as well as mediation training.

In public schools, peer programs trained a limited amount of students in mediation skills. Additionally, a small number of colleges, universities and law schools began offering courses in mediation and conflict management.

John W. Gardner, former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, founder of Common Cause, and author wrote about conflict resolution in his book, “On Leadership.” He surmised we have an infinite capacity for disputes within our families, businesses, and goverments, suggesting that Conflict Resolution be a subject commonly taught in our schools.