Mother's Day: A Bit More Complicated Than You Think

Mother’s Day has several different mothers.  One was Julia Ward Howe, a 19^th century suffragette, pacifist, and abolitionist.  In 1870, Howe advocated for the formation of an international group of mothers who would fight for world peace. In 1873, Howe campaigned for a Mother’s Peace Day to be celebrated annually on June 2. 

Howe, the author of the lyrics to the Battle Hymn of the Republic, was not alone. Others advocated that women, especially mothers, were uniquely positioned to solve the intractable problems related to war and peace.   

Although Howe was initially unsuccessful, her efforts bore fruit when Anna Jarvis of West Virginia, inspired by her own mother’s work with Howe during the Civil War, called for an official Mother’s Day holiday.  She was ultimately successful, and in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

The initial promise of an official holiday honoring mothers was not fulfilled in the way Jarvis had hoped.  By the 1920s, she believed that the manufacturers of greeting cards and candy, as well as flower sellers, had corrupted and commercialized her earlier vision. She was arrested for protesting and picketing at a candy makers’ convention and an assembly of war mothers.  She organized boycotts of Mother’s Day, threatened lawsuits, and made her dissatisfaction with the event very clear.  

It is quite possible that Jarvis would have appreciated the more subdued Mother’s Day that we just celebrated during the COVID19 self-isolation period. With fewer elaborate brunches in upscale restaurants, more homemade cards, and drive-by or socially distanced gatherings, yesterday may have been closer to the original vision of Jarvis and Howe. 

A larger question, of course, is whether women and mothers are better suited to lead the world. I would argue that since men have made a hash of things for many generations, it is indeed time to let women give it a try.  They cannot do any worse.

Check out Wikipedia for additional information about these two strong women.