Why Women’s Peace Activism in World War I Matters Now
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.