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 means of communication and to provide more opportunities for women to ask the big questions relating to feminism at the time. The congress has been utilized by a number of feminist and pacifist events since 1878. A few groups that participated in the early conferences were The International Council of Women (ICW), The International Alliance of Women (IAW) and The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).

Paris, 1878

The First International Congress of Women's Rights convened in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

in 1878 upon the occasion of the third Paris World's Fair. An historic event attended by many representatives, seven resolutions were passed at the meeting, beginning with the idea that "the adult woman is the equal of the adult man". The subject of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

was deliberately avoided at the Congress, as it was too controversial and not supported by all the attendees.

Hubertine Auclert Hubertine Auclert (; 10 April 1848 – 4 August 1914) was a leading French feminist and a campaigner for women's suffrage. Early life Born in the Allier ''département'' in the Auvergne area of France into a middle-class family, Hubertine Aucler ...

wrote a speech calling for the right to vote for French women, but was not allowed to present it to the Congress. Instead, she published it later. Emily Venturi gave a memorable closing speech, in which she declared

London, June 26 - July 7, 1899

In 1899, the International Congress of Women convened alongside the

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's rights organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington, D.C., wit ...

in conjunction with its 2nd Quinquennial Meeting. The Congress was divided into 5 sections—each with their own individual area of focus for programming: Education, Professional, Political, Social, and Industrial and Legislative. The transactions of the Congress were edited by the then Countess of Aberdeen, who was president of the International Council of Women at the time of the congress, and published in a set along with the Report of Council Transactions from the International Congress of Women's 2nd Quinquennial meeting.

Berlin, June 1904

This conference aimed its focus on four main sections; education, social work/institutions, the legal position of women (especially suffrage), and professions/job opportunities available to women. Officers of the German Council of Women were put in charge of this conference. At this conference, the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWSA) was founded.

Mary Church Terrell Mary Church Terrell (born Mary Eliza Church; September 23, 1863 – July 24, 1954) was one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree, and became known as a national activist for civil rights and suffrage. She taught in the Lati ...

—cofounder and first president of the National Association of Colored Women in Washington D.C.—was the only black women present at and spoke at this conference, she also went to the conference in Zurich in 1919. At the Berlin conference,

gave her speech titled “Progress and Problems of Colored Women."

Amsterdam, June 1908

Among the many attendees at the Amsterdam convening of the International Congress of Women was

Isabella Ford Isabella Ormston Ford (23 May 1855 – 14 July 1924) was an English social reformer, suffragist and writer. She became a public speaker and wrote pamphlets on issues related to socialism, feminism and worker's rights. After becoming concerned wi ...

. Another important figure of the women's movement during the early 1900s who spoke at that conference was, Carrie Chapman Catt. During her discussion at the conference she spoke of the importance of women's history being part of the world's history. Women traveled from South Africa and Australia to attend this conference in Amsterdam and to hear all about the success of the International Congress of Women. A male delegate from "Great Britain's Men's League for Women's Enfranchisement also attended. (see Men's League for Women's Suffrage)

Toronto, June 24–30, 1909

This congress was held under the auspices of the National Council of Women of Canada immediately following the 4th Quinquennial Meeting of the

. Sessions were held on education, art, health, industries, laws concerning women and children, literature, professions for women, social work, and moral reform. Notable speakers included

Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 May 21, 1935) was an American Settlement movement, settlement activist, Social reform, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, and author. She was an important leader in the history of s ...

, Elizabeth Cadbury, Anna Hvoslef, Millicent Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland,

Rosalie Slaughter Morton Rosalie Slaughter Morton (born Blanche Rosalie Slaughter; October 16, 1872 – May 5, 1968) was an American physician, surgeon, and author. In addition to running her own medical practices, she became the first woman appointed as Attending Surge ...

Eliza Ritchie Dr. Eliza Ritchie (20 May 1856 – 5 September 1933) was a prominent suffragist in Nova Scotia, Canada. Biography Ritchie was born on 20 May 1856 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was the daughter of John William Ritchie and Amelia Almon. She atte ...

Alice Salomon Alice Salomon (19 April 1872, in Berlin – 30 August 1948, in New York City) was a German social reformer and pioneer of social work as an academic discipline. Her role was so important to German social work that the ''Deutsche Bundespost'' (Ge ...

, and

May Wright Sewall May Wright Sewall (May 27, 1844 – July 22, 1920) was an American reformer, who was known for her service to the causes of education, women's rights, and world peace. She was born in Greenfield, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Sewall served as cha ...

Stockholm, June 1911

This conference was led by Carrie Chapman Catt. It was at this conference in Stockholm (1911) that eight men joined together and formed the Men's International Alliance for Women's Suffrage. The eight men who formed that alliance came from Great Britain, the U.S., France, Germany, and Holland.

The Hague, Netherlands April 28–May 1, 1915

At the time that planning was in motion for this conference, the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

was well underway and the conference was meant to be held in Berlin of 1915 but the war altered those plans. While the war may have caused the relocation of the conference, it was the war that had inspired this congress meeting. This congress—more commonly known and referred to as the Women's Peace Congress or just the Hague CongressApr 28, 1915: International Congress of Women opens at The Hague
, ''history.com''—was a part of the emergent women's peace movement. More than 1,300 delegates from 12 countries came together at this conference to discuss and draft proposals—based in negotiation tactics— to end the

. Three major participants of the conference from the United States that attended were, Nobel Peace Prize winner

, who attended as the president of the

Woman's Peace Party The Woman's Peace Party (WPP) was an American Pacifism, pacifist and First-wave feminism, feminist organization formally established in January 1915 in response to World War I. The organization is remembered as the first American peace organizatio ...

(which was the precursor to the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom) and fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner, Professor

Emily Greene Balch Emily Greene Balch (January 8, 1867 – January 9, 1961) was an American economist, sociologist and pacifist. Balch combined an academic career at Wellesley College with a long-standing interest in social issues such as poverty, child labor, ...

, and

Alice Hamilton Alice Hamilton (February 27, 1869Corn, JHamilton, Alice''American National Biography'' – September 22, 1970) was an American physician, research scientist, and author. She was a leading expert in the field of occupational health and a pioneer i ...

. Other attendees included

Lida Gustava Heymann Lida Gustava Heymann (15 March 1868 – 31 July 1943) was a German feminist, pacifist and women's rights activist. Together with her partner Anita Augspurg she was one of the most prominent figures in the bourgeois women's movement. She wa ...

, one of 28 delegates from Germany;

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, Baroness Pethick-Lawrence (; 21 October 1867 – 11 March 1954) was a British women's rights activist and suffragette. Early life Pethick-Lawrence was born in Bristol as Emmeline Pethick. Her father, Henry Pethick, ...

, Emily Hobhouse and Chrystal Macmillan from Great Britain; Rosika Schwimmer a Hungarian pacifist and feminist who won the

World Peace Prize The World Peace Prize was established in 1989 by Robert L. Leggett, Suzi Leggett, and Dr. Han Min Su., and was registered the same year in Washington D.C. as the "World Peace Corps Mission, World Peace Corp Academy and World Peace Prize Awarding C ...

in 1937;

Aletta Jacobs Aletta Henriëtte Jacobs (; 9 February 1854 – 10 August 1929) was a Dutch physician and women's suffrage activist. As the first woman officially to attend a Dutch university, she became one of the first female physicians in the Netherlands. ...

from Holand was another voice during this conference that spoke with other European women about promoting peace and then

Emilia Fogelklou Emilia Maria Fogelklou-Norlind (20 July 1878 in Simrishamn - 26 September 1972 in Uppsala, Sweden) was a Swedish pacifist, theologian, feminist, author and lecturer. She was the first woman in Sweden to receive a bachelor’s degree in theology, a ...

became a big advocate against the war in 1914 and asked other woman around the world to do the same. She was the women who invited the Women's Peace Party to the conference in The Netherlands where

facilitated the meeting and recruited different groups of women to present their versions of peaceful resolutions to different countries.

Rosa Genoni Rosa Genoni (1867–1954) was an Italian seamstress, fashion designer, teacher, feminist and advocate for workers' rights. She had a successful fashion design career, with innovative designs such as her Tanagra dress. Rosa Genoni was the Italian de ...

was the sole delegate from Italy who attended this conference.

was representing a number of Italian women's organizations, and she was one of the delegates nominated as envoys to visit belligerent and non-belligerent governments after the Congress to advocate for a halt to the war. French women, during this time opted out of this event; they declared their intention not to attend nor support the Congress, and none attended. The planned 180-strong British delegation was severely reduced by the British government's suspension of the commercial ferry service between

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

and Flushing. and their reluctance to issue passports to proposed delegates. In September 1915 a delegation went to the United States to meet president

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

to present the proposal for a "League of Neutral Counties" that could help mediating to end the war.

Zurich, May 1919

This conference was held at the same time as the Paris Peace Conference in Versailles and hosted over 200 women coming in from 17 nations. One member commented that the German delegation was ‘scarred and shrivelled by hunger and privation, they were scarcely recognizable’. At this conference the women of the International Congress of Women regrouped to form a new organization, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. The main goals set forth by the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom at the Zurich Conference were based in the promotion of peace, creating equality, and establishing practices that work towards bringing the world together.

was the coordinator of the Zurich congress meeting. It was at this meeting that WILPF explained their view about how the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1 ...

may have ended the first World War but it was based in plans that could lead to another war.

Vienna, July 1921

This congress ended with a short resolution entitled "Revision of peace treaties": :''Believing that the Peace Treaties contain the seeds of new wars, this Congress declares that a revision of the Peace Terms is necessary, and resolves to make this object its principal task.''

References

{{reflist

External links

“Women in Every Country” The First International Congress of Women’s Rights Paris, 1878
Women's conferences Pacifist feminism 1878 establishments in Europe Women in London 1870s in women's history 1899 in women's history 1904 in women's history 1908 in women's history 1909 in women's history 1911 in women's history 1915 in women's history 1919 in women's history 1921 in women's history