Peace as a Women's Issue: A History of the U.S. Movement for World Peace and Women's Rights / Edition 1

by Harriet Alonso

Overview

A history of the ideologies and personalities of the feminist peace movement in the US. This study explores: connections between militarism and violence against women; women as the mothers of society; women as naturally responsible citizens; and the desire to be independent of male control.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780815602699
Publisher:	Syracuse University Press
Publication date:	02/01/1993
Series:	Peace and Conflict Resolution Series
Edition description:	1st ed
Pages:	340
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.74(d)
Lexile:	1490L (what's this?)

Editorial Reviews

Ranging from the abolitionist movement of the 19th century to the peace encampments of the 1980s, this broad, detailed history tracks the relationship between the movements for peace and for women's rights, noting how certain themes--``motherhood, the connections between militarism and violence against women, responsible citizenship, and independence from male control''--persist through the years. Alonso ( The Women's Peace Union and the Outlawry of War ) writes in style and detail that will appeal mainly to specialists, but she has dug up some interesting information: how Jewish women were at the forefront of activism in New York as fascism grew in Europe; how members of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom debated about neutrality during World War II; how the activists of the 1980s, working outside the political mainstream, were influenced by radical feminism. Enlivening the book are examples of peace literature over the years, such as a dialogue from the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in the late 1890s and an anti-Vietnam War flier from Women Strike for Peace. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

This important book fills a gap in the history of American women. Using archival and secondary sources, Alonso (Fitchburg State Coll.) traces the growth of the feminist peace movement from its 19th-century roots to the present. The first comprehensive history of this topic, the book analyzes and discusses the numerous organizations through which women have worked for peace, most prominently the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Alonso also focuses on local organizations like the New York branch of the Woman's Peace Party and highlights the leadership roles of women like Emily Balch, Carrie Catt, and Jane Addams. Uniting the narrative with key themes such as the connection between militarism and violence against women, Alonso concludes with an illuminating discussion of contemporary developments, e.g., the 1980s peace encampments and the role of the United Nations in fostering global feminist consciousness on this issue. For academic and large public libraries.-- Marie Marmo Mullaney, Caldwell Coll., N.J.

Library Journal