Tag Archives: Jane Addams

#AfghanistanTuesday ITRW 24/7

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While I was researching Jane Addams last week, I was fascinated by her attendance at a series of international peace conferences a century ago.  I wondered  if reviving the concept of international peace conferences was the missing piece in opposing all the US oil wars.  It seemed to me that we needed to make the peace movement more solid, the way the #OccupyWallStreet had done for the warping of our political system by a wealthy few.

Scarry Thoughts seemed to be thinking along the same track in proposing a  Virtual Antiwar University to provide continual education about peace.  He writes:  Continue reading #AfghanistanTuesday ITRW 24/7

First US Woman to Win the Nobel Peace Prize 10/17/11

The Power of Nonviolence Writings by Advocates of PeaceThe fifth chapter of The Power of Nonviolence: Writings by Advocates of Peace brings us into the 20th Century with a section from Jane Addams 1907 book Newer Ideals of Peace.  She is the first woman’s voice we hear in The Power of Nonviolence.  Her approach to peace work is informed by her work battling poverty, furthering feminism and engaging in  electoral politics.

Addams paid a dear price for her pacifism.  She was attacked by the newspapers of her day, including the New York Times, for her opposition to entering World War I.  Dr. King was similarly attacked the leading newspapers, including the Times, for his opposition to the Vietnam War.  Despite this she worked for peace internationally and became  founding president of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Some believe her opposition to participation in World War I, was the reason he Nobel Peace prize was delayed until 1931.

The first paragraph from the selection from Newer Ideals of Peace subtly brings forward her belief that women are needed in politics to bring forward peace to create a “change in men’s attitude toward war”.  This became the focus of her argument for women’s suffrage. Continue reading First US Woman to Win the Nobel Peace Prize 10/17/11