Womanhood In War Analysis

Jacoway, Peggy. “Womanhood in War”. The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Vol. 1, No.4, December 1942 For my second article review, I chose to read Peggy Jacoway’s article, titled, “Womanhood in War” At the time of this article, Ms. Jacoway lived in Kansas City, Missouri. Not much information was available about her, but I did discover that she had written a book, which was published in 1941, titled “First Ladies of Arkansas”.

When we think of war, often we think of the men who gave up home and family in order to fight abroad. This is especially the case when considering that every war fought prior to two thousand thirteen when the ban allowing women to see combat was lifted. However, Ms. Jacoway asserts that although women may not have seen

Soon other groups, catching the vision of “feminine loyalty,” would follow suit and bring their own brand of patriotism into the mix and include such groups as The National Society United States Daughters of 1812, War Mothers of America, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary to name a few. At the end of the Civil War, many women from southern states decided to form the organization called the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Their goal of banding together was to honor those who died in service of the Confederacy. Although these groups spent considerable time on the side of “Honoring and preserving the traditions of their ancestors and the spirit of patriotism,” many would shift their efforts to include the preservation of national memories as well as by “Acquainting the public with a true and complete history of the United States”. In order to reach the greater public, they awarded those in the public forum with medals for excelling in debates and essays over historical topics. They also taught flag etiquette as well as brought attention to the importance of taking part in national holidays and funneled much of their money into helping underprivileged children receive proper health

This benevolence would pour over into other areas like park beautification, the introduction of patriotic symbols, health and safety campaigns, and assistance to young and old who were injured during wartime efforts. Ms. Jacoway again, stresses that “America’s women’s patriotic organizations are largely a history of its war moves […] a remote role in war, in which proud descendants engage that springs from an appreciative insight into lives which taken as a whole, set the star of our land in the ascendency. American women’s eyes no less than men’s remain fastened upon that star of liberty”. This in my opinion gives credence to the impact that women have on the ability of a nation to remember its history and to continue to learn from