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America’S Mothers: How The Mobilized Women Of Berkeley Harnessed The Power Of Women To Support The Great War And Challenge The Government, Christy Gordon Baty

Graduate Review

This paper examines how middle-class and upper-class women of Berkeley, California harnessed their already-established roles as community organizers and leaders to support the United States Government and their efforts in World War I. These women used the imposed limitations of their role as domestic protector in order to change the scope of their sphere from private to public, and assert their political voice by highlighting their reciprocal relationship with the federal government. In their founding document, the Mobilized Women of Berkeley state that “All of the 151 women’s organizations of Berkeley are willing to give their sons, husbands and brothers …