Peace and Women's Issues in U.S. History

Abstract

Do women, peace and nonviolence really fit into a U.S. history cours ? Educators at all levels have long realized that women have been under-represented in history text books and supporting mate rials. In recent years, many high school teachers have been creating their own teaching tools in order to incorpo rate women into their curriculum. A similar situation, but on a smaller scale, exists for peace, nonviolence, and conflict resolution issues. The histories of women, peace, and non violence are particularly rich with tales to tell and lessons to learn. Together they often reinforce one another and open new dimensions for any history course. They in clude: 1) the role that women played in the political sphere, even while they were disfranchised; 2) women's interpretations of peace as an al ternative social process to war; 3) the work of women as organizers in peace and social justice movements; and 4) the ways that women have fostered an inter national sisterhood seeking worldwide gender equality. Incorporating women, peace, and nonviolence into U.S. history classes can involve intriguing issues and personalities (1). Women have had a long history of using assertive nonviolent techniques to achieve political aims. For example, in 1590 the women of the Hotinon Sionne Iroquois Confederacy in the area of Sen eca Falls, New York, gathered to demand an end to war among the local nations. This is just one example of native women's participation in government to achieve peace through conflict resolution. Of course, the most famous (although unveri