"While the war was still in progress, I was visited by a sudden feeling of the cruel and unnecessary character of the contest. It seemed to me a return to barbarism, the issue having been one which might easily have been settled without bloodshed. The question forced itself upon me, "Why do not the mothers of mankind interfere in these matters, to prevent the waste of that human life of which they alone bear and know the cost?" I had never thought of this before. The august dignity of motherhood and its terrible responsibilities now appeared to me in a new aspect, and I could think of no better way of expressing my sense of these than that of sending forth an appeal to womanhood throughout the world, which I then and there composed."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Unitarians from the United StatesWomen authors from the United StatesActivists from New York CityWomen's rights activistsSongwriters from the United States
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
On the Franco-Prussian War as the inspiration for her "Mother's Day Proclamation" of 1870 calling for mothers to arise as a social force against war in general.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julia_Ward_Howe
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Julia Ward Howe
Julia Ward Howe (27 May 1819 – 17 October 1910) was an American writer, poet, and social activist.
35 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Julia Ward Howe →
Related Quotes
"Weave no more silks, ye Lyons looms, To deck our girls for gay delights! The crimson flower of battle blooms, And sol…"
"The flag of our stately battles, not struggles of wrath and greed, Its stripes were a holy lesson, its spangles a dea…"
"What is the harvest of thy saints, O God! who dost abide? Where grow the garlands of thy chiefs In blood and sorrow d…"
"The strokes of the pen need deliberation as much as the sword needs swiftness."
"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord: He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath ar…"
"I have seen him in the watchfires of a hundred circling camps They have builded him an altar in the evening dews and …"
"I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel: "As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shal…"
"He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgme…"
"In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me: A…"
"Charity is an unending self-discipline which always looks and leads towards the eternal affection. Therefore, its tri…"