@article{885784,
      recid = {885784},
      title = {Records of the Women's Peace Union : 1921-1940.},
      pages = {1 online resource (269 manuscripts).},
      note = {Date range of documents: 1921-1940.},
      abstract = {The Women's Peace Union (WPU), founded in 1921, consisted  of suffrage leaders and pacifists who advocated for the  total elimination of war. The materials in this collection  consist of administrative records and correspondence dating  from the organization's founding through its gradual  dissolution around 1940. In 1923, WPU members Elinor Byrns,  a lawyer, and Caroline Lexow Babcock wrote a constitutional  amendment that declared preparing for, spending money on,  and waging war to be illegal and unconstitutional. Passing  this amendment became the WPU's sole focus. Populist North  Dakota senator Lynn Frazier introduced the amendment in  Congress every year from 1927 to 1940. On behalf of the  amendment, WPU members lobbied Congress; gave speeches;  solicited letters and petitions from supporters across the  country; and collaborated with other pacifist groups. The  WPU was run by a committee and kept no membership lists. In  addition to Byrns and Babcock, the most active members  included Jeanette Rankin and Tracy D. Mygatt. The majority  of the collection is correspondence, with an abundance from  the first decade of the WPU's existence. Administrative  records include meeting minutes from 1922 to 1939, press  releases, and form letters. Other documents include  literature and bulletins; speeches; newspaper clippings;  peace plans; petitions; materials relating to Congressional  hearings and resolutions, especially regarding the Frazier  Amendment; and correspondence with Frazier himself. The  correspondence with Frazier, mostly from 1926 to 1931,  illustrates the group's close collaboration with the  senator. There are also letters to and from other  individuals, including Senator Robert La Follette, Jr. and  Hungarian pacifist and suffragist Rosika Schwimmer. Other  correspondence involves pacifist groups no longer in  existence; institutions such as churches and colleges; and  events such as Mobilization Day. This collection will  interest those researching pacifist movements in the United  States and worldwide; twentieth-century women's movements;  populism; and the era between the two world wars.},
      url = {http://library.usi.edu/record/885784},
}