Editor’s note: This article was originally posted in 2007.
In 1870, Julia Ward Howe responded to the horrors of the Civil War by issuing her “Mother’s Day Proclamation,” calling on women around the world to rise up and oppose war in all its forms.
It would be decades before Americans officially began celebrating Mother’s Day, and much of the original spirit of the proclamation has since been lost.
The Brave New Foundation, Code Pink and No More Victims are leading a movement to restore that spirit to the day, and for that we applaud them.
Watch Mother’s Day for Peace:
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No More Victims This organization works to find medical sponsorships for injured Iraqi children.
Mother’s Day for Peace The coalition working to restore the antiwar spirit of Mother’s Day.
More on Julia Ward Howe More information on the Mother’s Day Proclamation and Julia Ward Howe.
The Nation’s Take on Mother’s Day The Nation magazine has been around since the Civil War—here’s its take on the proclamation inspired by that conflict.
Beyond the “Battle Hymn” About.com Women’s History on the amazing Julia Ward Howe and the history of Mother’s Day.
Mother’s Day Proclamation (1870)
by Julia Ward Howe
Arise then ... women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
“We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”
From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: “Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.”
Blood does not wipe our dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace ...
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God—
In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.
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So its based on more sexist bigoted crap that says women are somehow more moral than men? The same crap that CodePINK and other women-only peace groups push.
Mothers & fathers, stop sending your sons & daughters
to fight never-ending wars for the Dept. of Slaughter
(they stopped “defending” 200 years ago) and, in
addition, organize to ban military recruiters from
putting one foot inside any school or university.
My blessing as a Mother is that my sons born in 1964 and 1965 did not get drafted into a war. They are the first generation in my family not to fight in a war. Sad to say the US has not changed. Now being a soldier is often the only economic option. My hope is that the economy will result in bringing the soldiers home and that the US will stop spending money on war and crushing social support systems to pay for them.
There is sure no disagreement with ‘Much of the original spirit of the Mother’s Day Proclamation has been lost’.
The final tallies are still being made, but it appears that The Boner, House Speaker, and ‘W’, ex-president, are running neck-and-neck for receiving the most Mother’s Day cards in the US. With a large group including Cheney, Ryan, Wolfowitz and the rest of the Neo-Con Cabal, AIPAC members, all the Wall Street thieves, and most corporate officers bunched-up in second place. Far ahead of any women, other than the few included in the groups above.
Wonder how Julia Ward Howe feels about that.
It is necessary not just to call for peace—eloquent as Howe’s statement is—but to learn specifically and in detail how alternatives to violence work step by step, what is involved in their use, and why they offer a way forward into international peace and justice. See Albert Einstein Institute.com, or study the works of Gene Sharp, or read Gandhi, Albert Schweitzer, Martin Luther King, Henry David Thoreau, the Berrigan Brothers, Dorothy Day and many more.
Background understanding is necessary and encouraging.
“It is my conviction that nothing enduring can be built on violence”...-Gandhi
“Be the change you wish to see in the world”...-Gandhi
God Is Love, war is hell…Strive On…Strive On…..-GrammaConcept
I am honored to be in such company within the warm, upward motion of this evolved thinking…...
Thank You to Truthdig, and to all the makers of this powerful and moving video for providing this Wonderful, educational opportunity, and for presenting so beautifully the POV of SOOOO many…........ We will all be back….....Strive On, Please.
Far too often statistics—American dead measured in the thousands, Iraqi death measured in the hundreds of thousands, four million Iraqis displaced (including 2 million now refugees in other countries)—inure us from the true measure of suffering.
On this Mother’s day—a day of peace—the banner headline in my local paper read, “Five troops dead, three missing in Iraq attack.”
I stopped to think of how scared my mother said she was the entire time I was serving in Vietnam. I stopped to think of Cindy Sheehan. I stopped to think of how, for the mothers of those five dead soldiers, “Mother’s Day” will never again serve as a day of celebration, but instead will prove a life-long reminder of their unbearable grief.
Each day that the so-called “leading Democrats” play politics by coming up with variable schemes to fund this illegal occupation is a day where more will die; where mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and spouses will learn of permanent loss; lasting grief.
It is past time for the People to join in supporting H.R. 1234 (Kucinich). Not one more cent for war and war-profiteers. Not one more day. Troops home, now!
By sharon ash, May 14, 2007 at 12:33 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
The seeds for peace which Julia Ward Howe planted in 1870 have not died. They will never die, for deep in the heart of the vast majority, is a desire for peace. There is a very strong effort taking place in our country to nuture the seeds of peace and make them grow. And, it has a real chance to bloom. To learn more please visit: http://www.dopcampaign.org then, find a way that you can be a part of making this a reality. Thanks!
Rise Up or Die
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By DavidByron, May 10, 2011 at 9:26 am Link to this comment
So its based on more sexist bigoted crap that says women are somehow more moral than men? The same crap that CodePINK and other women-only peace groups push.
Report thisBy LocalHero, May 10, 2011 at 3:52 am Link to this comment
Mothers & fathers, stop sending your sons & daughters
Report thisto fight never-ending wars for the Dept. of Slaughter
(they stopped “defending” 200 years ago) and, in
addition, organize to ban military recruiters from
putting one foot inside any school or university.
By Free Instrumentals, May 9, 2011 at 3:50 pm Link to this comment
good for her! its nice when people use these occasions to make a statement for something important
Report thisBy LillithMc, May 9, 2011 at 9:59 am Link to this comment
My blessing as a Mother is that my sons born in 1964 and 1965 did not get drafted into a war. They are the first generation in my family not to fight in a war. Sad to say the US has not changed. Now being a soldier is often the only economic option. My hope is that the economy will result in bringing the soldiers home and that the US will stop spending money on war and crushing social support systems to pay for them.
Report thisBy michael cadec, May 9, 2011 at 7:20 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Shame on me! I thought it was a hallmark holiday.
Report thisBy christian96, May 9, 2011 at 2:22 am Link to this comment
I was raised in a coal mining town approximately
Report this25 miles from Grafton, West Virginia. Mother’s Day
was started by Anne Jarvis of Grafton. Look it up.
By TDoff, May 8, 2011 at 5:07 pm Link to this comment
There is sure no disagreement with ‘Much of the original spirit of the Mother’s Day Proclamation has been lost’.
The final tallies are still being made, but it appears that The Boner, House Speaker, and ‘W’, ex-president, are running neck-and-neck for receiving the most Mother’s Day cards in the US. With a large group including Cheney, Ryan, Wolfowitz and the rest of the Neo-Con Cabal, AIPAC members, all the Wall Street thieves, and most corporate officers bunched-up in second place. Far ahead of any women, other than the few included in the groups above.
Report thisWonder how Julia Ward Howe feels about that.
By gerard, May 8, 2011 at 1:22 pm Link to this comment
It is necessary not just to call for peace—eloquent as Howe’s statement is—but to learn specifically and in detail how alternatives to violence work step by step, what is involved in their use, and why they offer a way forward into international peace and justice. See Albert Einstein Institute.com, or study the works of Gene Sharp, or read Gandhi, Albert Schweitzer, Martin Luther King, Henry David Thoreau, the Berrigan Brothers, Dorothy Day and many more.
Background understanding is necessary and encouraging.
Report thisBy GrammaConcept, May 14, 2007 at 6:35 pm Link to this comment
“It is my conviction that nothing enduring can be built on violence”...-Gandhi
“Be the change you wish to see in the world”...-Gandhi
God Is Love, war is hell…Strive On…Strive On…..-GrammaConcept
I am honored to be in such company within the warm, upward motion of this evolved thinking…...
Thank You to Truthdig, and to all the makers of this powerful and moving video for providing this Wonderful, educational opportunity, and for presenting so beautifully the POV of SOOOO many…........ We will all be back….....Strive On, Please.
Report thisBy cann4ing, May 14, 2007 at 6:08 pm Link to this comment
Far too often statistics—American dead measured in the thousands, Iraqi death measured in the hundreds of thousands, four million Iraqis displaced (including 2 million now refugees in other countries)—inure us from the true measure of suffering.
On this Mother’s day—a day of peace—the banner headline in my local paper read, “Five troops dead, three missing in Iraq attack.”
I stopped to think of how scared my mother said she was the entire time I was serving in Vietnam. I stopped to think of Cindy Sheehan. I stopped to think of how, for the mothers of those five dead soldiers, “Mother’s Day” will never again serve as a day of celebration, but instead will prove a life-long reminder of their unbearable grief.
Each day that the so-called “leading Democrats” play politics by coming up with variable schemes to fund this illegal occupation is a day where more will die; where mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and spouses will learn of permanent loss; lasting grief.
It is past time for the People to join in supporting H.R. 1234 (Kucinich). Not one more cent for war and war-profiteers. Not one more day. Troops home, now!
Report thisBy PatrickHenry, May 14, 2007 at 5:20 pm Link to this comment
Ms. Howe’s statement was obviously made before “Your mama wears combat boots” became a reality.
Report thisBy sharon ash, May 14, 2007 at 12:33 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
The seeds for peace which Julia Ward Howe planted in 1870 have not died. They will never die, for deep in the heart of the vast majority, is a desire for peace. There is a very strong effort taking place in our country to nuture the seeds of peace and make them grow. And, it has a real chance to bloom. To learn more please visit: http://www.dopcampaign.org then, find a way that you can be a part of making this a reality. Thanks!
Report thisBy Michael Boldin, May 14, 2007 at 11:54 am Link to this comment
Definitely something for all of us to learn here. Violence and force does not solve problems. It didn’t back then, and it doesn’t today.
Only when we change course in this country can we ever have peace and prosperity.
At minimum, we must stop waging aggressive wars, killing innocent people, propping up dictators, overthrowing governments and the like.
That would be a start. Some further reading:
“A Foreign Policy for America”
Report thishttp://www.populistamerica.com/a_foreign_policy_for_america
By Verne Arnold, May 14, 2007 at 4:46 am Link to this comment
Shame on me…I never knew this.
God…what a human!!!
Report thisBy QuyTran, May 13, 2007 at 8:02 pm Link to this comment
With Bush/Cheney and all of their subordinates there’re absolutely no Mother Day because they love to create wars without legal condition.
Report this