Julia Grace Wales (14 July 1881 – 15 July 1957) was a Canadian academic known for authoring the Wisconsin Plan, a proposal to set up a conference of intellectuals from neutral nations who would work to find a solution for the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Early life

Wales was born on 14 July 1881 in

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

, Eastern Townships,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

to Benjamin Nathaniel Wales, a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

- graduate of McGill University in 1874 - and his wife Emma Theodosia (née Osgood), who had married in 1878. Benjamin Nathaniel Wales was the first president of the Historical Society of Argenteuil County, and the grandson of Benjamin Wales, founder of the first paper mill in Canada. The family was

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. Julia Grace Wales attended

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, earning a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in 1903. The following year, she received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

from Radcliffe College. In 1906, moved from Bury to St. Andrews East, Quebec. Wales was successively student, instructor and professor of English literature at the University of Wisconsin (now

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

). She taught at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

from 1919 until 1920, and then at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

until 1921. Specializing in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, she earned a doctorate in 1926.

Peace activism

By December 1914, Wales had become horrified and physically sickened by the

reports coming from Europe. A close friend of hers wrote that "the pity and horror of it seized upon her". Convinced that the war was both irrational and un-Christian, Wales published her views and a solution for the end of the war in a pamphlet entitled "Continuous Mediation Without Armistice", popularly known as the Wisconsin Plan. Her plan was to have the United States organize a conference of intellectual mediators from neutral nations, who would receive suggestions from the belligerent nations while at the same time discussing possible solutions to the war.Wisconsin Historical Society. Teachers' Lessons
"Teacher Background—Julia Grace Wales and the Peace Movement"
/ref> The plan was endorsed by several anti-war and

peace movement A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peac ...

s, as well as by the

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republica ...

. As a delegate, Wales represented the Wisconsin Peace Society at the

International Congress of Women The International Congress of Women was created so that groups of existing women's suffrage movements could come together with other women's groups around the world. It served as a way for women organizations across the nation to establish formal m ...

, held at

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

in April 1915. She thus became a founding member of the

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...

. As a member of the conference's embassy, Wales took her proposal, adopted as a resolution of the conference, to European governments. Her plan failed when the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

entered the war in April 1917, and she returned to North America to resume her academic career.

Later life

Wales never gave up her interest in the peace movement, and continued publishing pacifist articles. Along with her mother and younger sister, Anna Letitia, she co-authored a collection of poetry titled ''Argenteuil Lyrics'', which was published in 1935. She also wrote articles on religious themes. Her book, ''Democracy Needs Education'', was published in 1942. Having resided in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

from 1940 until her retirement in 1947, Wales returned to St. Andrews East. She died there on 15 July 1957, the day after her 76th birthday. She never married and had no children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wales Julia Grace 1881 births 1957 deaths 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian anti–World War I activists Canadian women in World War I Canadian women poets Canadian women academics Canadian Presbyterians Calvinist pacifists People from Estrie People from Laurentides McGill University alumni Radcliffe College alumni Shakespearean scholars University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Writers from Quebec Writers from Wisconsin 20th-century Canadian women writers Women's International League for Peace and Freedom people International Congress of Women people

Early life

Peace activism

Later life

See also

References

Further reading

External links