Records of the Women's Peace Union

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.