Pacifism, Peace Activism, and Gender

American peace activism and women's rights have been linked since the early nineteenth century. Reform-minded women sought to enter the political arena to crusade against slavery, alcohol consumption, and militarism – particularly opposing male aggression and gender-based violence at home and abroad. Pacifism, which stood at the heart of women-led peace movements through the twentieth century, often fared poorly as activists broke away to support particular wars. Many women activists across the centuries have come from middle-class and evangelical Protestant and pacifist Quaker backgrounds. Whether in the nineteenth or twentieth century, women peace activists have had to struggle to enter a male-dominated political debate over American foreign policy. Keywords: gender-based violence; history; militarism; movements; politics