Uncovers the powerful effects of 20th-century Jewish women's social and political activism on contemporary American life
Winner of the 2013 National Jewish Book Award, Women's Studies
Ballots, Babies, and Banners of Peace explores the social and political activism of American Jewish women from 1890 to the beginnings of World War II.
Written in an engaging style, the book demonstrates that no history of the birth control, suffrage, or peace movements in the United States is complete without analyzing the impact of Jewish women's presence. The volume is based on years of extensive primary source research in more than a dozen archives and among hundreds of primary sources, many of which have previously never been seen. Voluminous personal papers and institutional records paint a vivid picture of a world in which both middle-class and working-class American Jewish women were consistently and publicly engaged in all the major issues of their day and worked closely with their non-Jewish counterparts on behalf of activist causes.
This extraordinarily well-researched volume makes a unique contribution to the study of modern women's history, modern Jewish history, and the history of American social movements.
Price: $30.00
Publisher: NYU Press
Imprint: NYU Press
Publication Date:
18 March 2013
ISBN: 9780814748954
Format: eBook
BISACs:
HISTORY / Jewish, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Women's Studies
By illuminating Jewish women's contributions to mainstream social and political activism, the book fills an important scholarly gap . . . Klapper's work provides a window onto the broader topography of turn-of-the-century progressive reform. This variegated lens on the way gender and ethnicity inflected Jewish women's progressive reform stands as a major contribution to the historical record, providing a compelling view on a broad constellation of activist foci and the manifold ways in which they were connected ideologically. That Klapper contextualizes her stories of individual activists with rich big-picture analysis makes this book an excellent choice for teaching. . . . The author ultimately provides an eloquent and detailed set of answers no only to the question, 'what's Jewish about American Jewish women's activism?' but also 'how are struggles for social justice forged in the politics of identity?' In other words, Klapper provides yet more eloquent historical proof that the personal has always been political.
Melissa R. Klapper is Professor of History and Director of Women’s & Gender Studies at Rowan University and author of many books, including Ballots, Babies, and Banners of Peace: American Jewish Women’s Activism, 1890-1940, winner of a National Jewish Book Award.
