Barbara Avedon, a former writer for The Donna Reed Show who would later co-create the series Cagney and Lacey, had invited friends to her southern California home to celebrate the birthday of her son, Josh.

"We were not 'bearded, sandaled youths,' 'wild-eyed radicals' or dyed in the wool 'old line freedom fighters' and we wanted the Congress to know that they were dealing with an awakening and enraged middle class.

Their plan was to send then-President Lyndon B. Johnson and members of Congress Mother's Day cards expressing their yearning for peace.

[7][8][9][10][11] Los Angeles artist Lorraine Schneider[12][13][14] donated the use of her illustration Primer[15][16][17] for the Mother's Day peace cards.

[21] AMP's founding mission was "to educate women to take an active role in eliminating war as a means of solving disputes between nations, people and ideologies.

In 1971, co-chairmen Barbara Avedon and Dorothy B. Jones testified before the U.S. House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee in opposition to the military budget.

[23][24] The group published a 56-page pamphlet by political scientist Frederick L. Schuman in support of House and Senate bills introduced in the 91st Congress, 1st Session (1969) proposing a cabinet level Department of Peace.

[23] In its June 1970 newsletter,[25] AMP launched a letter writing campaign targeting eight weapons manufacturers who also sold goods in the consumer market.

[26] The campaign's purpose was to pressure the manufacturers into ending their participation in the war industry by threatening to boycott their consumer products if they did not.

These include former Miss America Bess Myerson; and actors Debbie Reynolds, Joanne Woodward, Paul Newman, Dick van Dyke,[1] Lauren Bacall, Janice Rule, Whitney Blake and Donna Winters [5] Associated Press reporter George Zucker later described visiting the AMP office in the early years: "On the day I visited their rented office in Beverly Hills, actor Robert Vaughn, then star of the TV series, Man from U.N.C.L.E., sat at a long table stuffing envelopes.

"[5][9][11] Founded by Barbara Avedon a successful screenwriter and other friends including Lenore Breslauer the group grew to expand its reach nationally.

[5] AMP operates as a not-for-profit, non-partisan, 501(c)(3) organization, offering "peace homework" and distributing educational materials, seeking to engage citizens in pursuing alternatives to armed conflict.