The Women's Joint Congressional Committee was an American

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

of existing

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

organizations formed after women gained the right to vote in 1920, with the aim of coordinating lobbying around women's issues at the national level. Active from 1920 to 1930, this

umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

included the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

, the

Women's Trade Union League The Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) (1903–1950) was a U.S. organization of both working class and more well-off women to support the efforts of women to organize labor unions and to eliminate sweatshop conditions. The WTUL played an important ...

, and the

National Consumers' League The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is an American consumer organization. The National Consumers League is a private, nonprofit advocacy group representing consumers on marketplace and workplace issues. The NCL provides government, bu ...

, eventually coming to represent 12 million women."The Women's Joint Congressional Committee and the Politics of Maternalism, 1920–30"

Formation

The committee was formed at the suggestion of

Maud Wood Park Maud Wood Park (January 25, 1871 – May 8, 1955) was an American suffragist and women's rights activist. Career overview She was born in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1887 she graduated from St. Agnes School in Albany, New York, after which she ta ...

, who was concerned that the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting any U.S. citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex might cause women to abandon the women's organizing groups and lead to greater political

partisanship A partisan is a committed member of a political party or army. In multi-party systems, the term is used for persons who strongly support their party's policies and are reluctant to compromise with political opponents. A political partisan is no ...

, and wanted instead to channel the existing organizing energy into continuing to lobby for women's interests.Women's Organizing after Suffrage: The Women's Joint Congressional Committee and the Sheppard-Towner Act"
As a national organization with members including both national organizations and local chapters, the committee formed several sub-committees around issues including infancy and maternity protection, independent citizenship for married women, regulation of the

meat packing industry The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally no ...

and

child labor Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...

social hygiene The social hygiene movement was an attempt by Progressive era reformers to control venereal disease, regulate prostitution and vice, and disseminate sexual education through the use of scientific research methods and modern media techniques. Socia ...

and education, and

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

Influence

Called "the most powerful lobby in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

", the committee used both

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

and congressional lobbying to achieve their aims. It was at one point accused (along with many other organizations) of being a part of an international conspiracy to promote

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

in the U.S.,"The Notorious Spider Chart: The Socialist-Pacifistic Movement in America Is an Absolutely Fundamental and Integral Part of International Socialism"
an accusation which was refuted at length by

Carrie Chapman Catt Carrie Chapman Catt (; January 9, 1859 Fowler, p. 3 – March 9, 1947) was an American women's suffrage leader who campaigned for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave U.S. women the right to vote in 1920. Catt ...

via an open letter in ''The Women Citizen''. Catt, Carrie Chapman (May 31, 1924)
"Poison Propaganda"
''The Woman Citizen''. 14, 32–33. In her letter, Catt describes the structure and function of the committee,

"The committee, as such, initiates no policy and supports no legislation and no organization joining it is committed to any policy except that of cooperation, whenever possible. The members bring to it the endorsements of their organizations. After a measure has been endorsed by five or more member organizations of the committee, a sub-committee of representatives of endorsing organizations is organized, elects its officers and carries out a campaign of action for the enactment of the measure by the
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
."

The committee successfully used the rhetoric of

maternalism Maternalism is the public expression of domestic values associated with motherhood. It centers on the language of motherhood to justify a women's political activities, actions and validate state or public policies. Maternalism is an extension of ...

to lobby for greater legal protections for women and children.

Legislation

An early success of the committee was the 1921 passage of the Promotion of the Welfare and Hygiene of Maternity and Infancy Act, also known as the

Sheppard–Towner Act The Promotion of the Welfare and Hygiene of Maternity and Infancy Act, more commonly known as the Sheppard–Towner Act, was a 1921 U.S. Act of Congress that provided federal funding for maternity and childcare. It was sponsored by Senator Morris ...

, which the committee was instrumental in getting passed. The committee resisted the passage of the

Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and ...

, concerned that it would undermine the protective labor legislation the committee had secured after years of work."Library of Congress Manuscripts: Women's History"

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Dissolution

The committee's influence and activity peaked in 1930, after which it lost most of its public and political support. It was dissolved in 1970.

References

Year of establishment missing 20th-century establishments in the United States 1970 disestablishments in the United States Committees Organizations disestablished in 1970 Organizations established in 1920 Women's political advocacy groups in the United States {{Authority control