10 x 14"
Watercolor, ink, chalk |
Julia Ward Howe1819-1921
Early one November morning in 1861, soon after the Civil War had started, Julia Ward Howe woke up with the words of the “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” formed in her mind. Rising while it was still dark, she wrote them down. Her still sleeping husband had wanted a wife who lived for him, not a wife with a life outside the home, who spoke in public, and whose poetry had been published. However, that February “The Battle Hymn” appeared in the Atlantic Monthly and brought Mrs. Howe into public life. From then on, in spite of her husband, she lectured, wrote, published, organized, founded, and presided for the Union cause, to advance women's welfare, and to help the victims of Europe’s many wars. To this last she determined to institute Mother's Day, for Peace, proclaiming: Arise, then, women of this day! . . . As men have often forsaken the plow 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. . . . For several years she continued trying to organize women for world peace. However, her cause never acquired momentum, and today she is remembered for the inspiration of that one early morning. |