Esther Pohl Lovejoy, M.D., the First World War, and a Feminist Critique of Wartime Violence

Abstract

For American physician Esther Pohl Lovejoy, the First World War was a vital bridge leading from local and national feminist activism to feminist activism and organization on an international scale. The conflict was also a turning point in her understanding of the impact of war and militarism on women; from it she created a new vision of the possibilities for social change on a transnational level. A suffragist and public health activist from Oregon, Lovejoy went to France for five months in 1917–1918 as a representative of American women’s organizations to study the public health needs of women and children in devastated areas. In France she found that wartime violence against women took the form of rape, dislocation, poverty, and disease, and she developed a strong critique of militarism and war. Her observations also underscored her belief that women were capable citizens who were equal with men and that women could cross national, class, and professional divides to unite for progressive action. When she returned to the United States, Lovejoy developed her views in the course of several speaking tours, written reports and published articles. She then provided a full account of these experiences and a critique of war’s violent effects on women in The House of the Good Neighbor.¹ Lovejoy subsequently transformed her critique into a post-war programme for action by organizing and directing visionary new international organizations for medical women and medical relief.

The author wishes to thank Sara Piasecki and Karen Peterson at the Oregon Health & Science University Historical Collections & Archives, Portland, Oregon, and Joanne Grossman and her staff at the Drexel University College of Medicine, Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine and Homeopathy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, archivists extraordinaire and guardians of the treasures. Thanks also to Alison Fell and Ingrid Sharp and to participants in ‘The Gentler Sex’ conference for their helpful comments and suggestions and to Linda Kerber, Erika Kuhlman, Karen Jensen, Todd Jarvis, and Jeanne Deane.