American Women and Foreign Policy Between Wars
Presented by Dr. Martin Dubin
Wednesday, October 28, 1998, 7:30pm
Staff Lounge, Founders Memorial Library (Lower Level)
The second Friends program for the 1998-99 academic year was an interesting presentation entitled “American Women and Foreign Policy Between Wars” by Martin Dubin, long-time political science faculty member at Northern Illinois University. Professor Dubin’s presentation was on his research on American women’s activism between the two world wars. Much of the material for the topic was gathered from the archival records of women’s associations on deposit at Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Radcliffe colleges.
The conventional wisdom of the inter-war period was America as isolationist and inward looking. While there were strong isolationist forces at work during the 1920s and 1930s, a number of mainstream women’s organizations rejected both pacifism and isolationism. There were ten major women’s organizations during this period, including, for example, National Council of Women, YWCA, League of Women Voters, and Women’s Christian Temperance Movement.
The suffrage and temperance movements during World War I gave women a call to service. Through the 18 and 19 Amendments, women achieved political power. The League of Women Voters was exceptionally well equipped with resource persons and lobbying ability. Many of the women’s organizations were internationalist in orientation, and were energetic in lobbying in both Washington, D.C. and Geneva, Switzerland. For example, the Women’s Joint Congressional Caucus took the position that the U.S. should be in the League of Nations.
The organizations were widespread across the country, had a grassroots foundation, and involved approximately five million women. Fulfillment of their involvement required internationalist action. Their activities were carried out through legislative action, demonstrations, and gathering signatures on petitions. Prominent among the personalities were Carrie Chapman Catt, activist in the National Council of Women, and Alice Paul, founder of the National Women’s Party. The leadership of the national organizations brought gender equality to the international arena, and challenged the notion of isolationism. Professor Dubin concluded that to discount this internationalist impulse in America is to distort historiography. It is his goal to correct the pervasive gender-bias found in American foreign policy scholarship.
- Byron Anderson
For more information, please call (815) 753-9838 or e-mail libraryfriend@niu.edu.
Last Updated: August 23, 2007