Days of Discontent

by Benowitz, June Melby

• ISBN13: 9780875802947
• ISBN10: 087580294X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-03-01
• Publisher: Northern Illinois Univ Pr

Summary

Holding fast to traditional values in the face of unprecedented economic hardship, nearly a million American women joined right-wing organizations during the Great Depression and World War II. Days of Discontentprovides a new perspective for understanding why the far right appealed to these women, whose political self-awareness grew with the tumultuous times. Influenced by the conventional image of women as mothers and nurturers, many women viewed the right-wing movement as a way to protect and maintain American morality. The radical right leaders, such as Elizabeth Dilling and Grace Wick, held ideas in common with European fascists but based their politics on a uniquely American mixture of nativism, anticommunism, anti-Semitism, and racism. Benowitz's insight into their motivations sheds new light on the interaction between women's daily lives and national politics.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	3	(6)
Mobilizing	9	(13)
Elizabeth Dilling, Right-Wing Evangelist	22	(32)
Grace Wick, Disillusioned Democrat	54	(26)
``This Sphere Is Woman's Home''	80	(21)
``It's Up to the Women''	101	(16)
Right-Wing Women Leaders	117	(20)
Political Action during the War Years	137	(21)
``I Enlisted in this Fight for Life''	158	(16)
Conclusion	174	(11)
Notes	185	(30)
Bibliography	215	(10)
Index	225