A Perfect Union: The Woman's Relief Corps and Women's Organizational Activism, 1861-1930

John Christopher Kennedy, Purdue University

Abstract

This dissertation explores Union women’s organizational activism and its connection with social and political reform during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. It does this by examining the Woman’s Relief Corps (WRC), which was the auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). Founded in 1883, the WRC began with a focus on commemorating Union memory and charity for destitute veterans. Using WRC and GAR Convention journals, newspapers, published organizational histories and manuscript sources, this dissertation addresses why members involved themselves in a diverse set of issues not always associated with the Civil War. “A More Perfect Union: The Woman’s Relief Corps and Women’s Organizational Activism, 1861-1930,” shows how the WRC’s patriotic identity and common set of values and goals spurred their advocacy. By the 1920s, in addition to their continued work in veteran relief and commemorating Union memory, the WRC had worked or lobbied for maternity care, child labor and education reform, women’s suffrage, immigration laws, assimilation and Americanization programs for immigrants, combating “radical” ideologies like anarchism and bolshevism, and many others issues. In so doing, the WRC resembled the many organizations interested in addressing social problems in American society between the Civil War and Great Depression. This dissertation intervenes in the scholarship on both Civil War women’s organizations and women’s organizational reform in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. It challenges the idea that the WRC was motivated simply to assist destitute veterans and remember the conflict. The values underpinning the legacy of Union women’s service for the war effort molded the WRC’s identity as an organization, which desired to protect and promote values such as loyalty, patriotism, and devotion to the nation. They continued their wartime work of relief by helping destitute veterans, their families, and former Union army nurses. Members emphasized their commitment to the nation by assisting those who sacrificed for the Union. They also vigorously commemorated the memory of Union victory and thereby promoted the values of the Union among Americans and protested counter-narratives about the conflict they considered treasonous. Members, though, saw other issues as important in the promotion of a patriotic and loyal population including teaching young Americans about the U.S. flag, Constitution, and the history of their nation. The WRC urged the Americanization of immigrants to assimilate them within the fabric of the body politic. These and other causes reflected the development of the organization over its first fifty years into one that resembled the work being done by progressive reformers. This work also contributes to the scholarship on social welfare and patriotic, civic activism. Scrutinizing the WRC’s charity work shows how it sought to create partnerships between it and state governments to expand the scope of Union veteran relief. Members tried to shape government welfare policy to reflect their views about who was worthy of public assistance, namely Union women as well as veterans. In addition, their actions in immigration, Americanization, and citizenship add to studies about how patriotic organizations attempted to mold a template of “Americaness” that reflected WRC’s beliefs.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Janney, Purdue University.

Subject Area

American history|Womens studies|History

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