Why Women’s Peace Activism in World War I Matters Now. By Anya Jabour
A
hundred years ago, soon after winning reelection on the campaign slogan “He kept us
out of war,” President Woodrow Wilson called on the U.S. Congress to
authorize “a
war to end all wars.”
The U.S. entry into
World War I abruptly ended a different campaign to end war. Between the onset
of hostilities in Europe in July 1914 and the U.S. declaration of war in April
1917, a determined group of women activists lobbied the president and Congress
to maintain American neutrality and
mediate a “negotiated
peace.”
Although these women’s
efforts proved futile, their persistence and passion still resonate today. By
insisting that all citizens – even women, who did not yet have the right to
vote – could and should participate in the highest levels of politics, they
helped create a civic culture of engaged citizenship that continues to inform
American politics today. The idea of
arbitrating World War I may seem naive in hindsight. Yet for nearly three
years, numerous pacifist groups and individuals in both the United States and
Europe advanced proposals for neutral mediation.
Proponents of
international mediation hoped diplomatic intervention could bring the war to a
swift end and prevent additional loss of life. They also hoped to pave the way
for a new type of diplomacy, based on international law and voluntary
arbitration, that would ensure lasting peace. Men and women on both
sides of the Atlantic participated in the campaign for neutral arbitration.
Most memorably, American automobile magnate
Henry Ford collaborated
with Hungarian feminist pacifist Rosika Schwimmer to
charter a “Peace
Ship” to take a private delegation to Europe to broker peace talks. The “Peace Ship”
attracted media attention. However, my research on Sophonisba
Breckinridge, a founding member of the Woman’s
Peace Party, suggests that Breckinridge and other members of this feminist
pacifist organization – including future Nobel Laureates Jane
Addams and Emily
Greene Balch – had a more lasting impact.
The Woman’s Peace
Party
While not the first or
the only peace organization in the United States, the Woman’s Peace Party,
founded in January 1915, was distinctive in its focus on “peace
as a women’s issue.” .. read more
https://www.juancole.com/2018/11/womens-activism-matters.html
