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Rosika Schwimmer
Schwimmer Rózsa
A black and white photograph of a standing woman with her hands placed on three books lying on a table.
Schwimmer, by fellow Hungarian suffragist,Olga Máté,circa 1914
Born(1877-09-11)11 September 1877
Budapest,Kingdom of Hungary
Died3 August 1948(1948-08-03)(aged 70)
New York City,U.S.
Nationality
Other namesRózsa Bédi-Schwimmer, Rózsa Bédy-Schwimmer,[1]Róza Schwimmer[2]
Occupation(s)Journalist, lecturer, activist
Years active1895–1948
Known for
Title
RelativesLeopold Katscher(maternal uncle)

Rosika Schwimmer(Hungarian:Schwimmer Rózsa;11 September 1877 – 3 August 1948) was a Hungarian-bornpacifist,feminist,world federalistandwomen's suffragist.A co-founder of theCampaign for World GovernmentwithLola Maverick Lloyd,[3]her radical vision of world peace led to the creation of several world federalist movements and organizations. Sixty years after she first envisaged it, the movement she helped to create indeed took a leading role in the creation of theInternational Criminal Court,[4][5][6]the first permanent international tribunal tasked with charging individuals with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Schwimmer was born into aJewishfamily inBudapestin 1877, she graduated from public school in 1891. An accomplished linguist, she spoke or read eight languages. In her early career, she had difficulty finding a job that paid a living wage and was sensitized by that experience to women's employment issues. Gathering data to provide statistics on working women, Schwimmer came into contact with members of the international women's suffrage movement and by 1904 became involved in the struggle. She co-founded the first national women's laborumbrella organizationin Hungary and the HungarianFeminist Association.She also assisted in organizing theSeventh Conference of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance,hosted in Budapest in 1913.

The following year, Schwimmer was hired as a press secretary of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance in London. WhenWorld War Ibroke out, she was branded anenemy alienand left Europe for the United States, where she spoke onsuffrageandpacifism.She was one of the founders of theWoman's Peace Partyand the organization which would become theWomen's International League for Peace and Freedom.

In 1915, after attending theInternational Congress of WomeninThe Hague,she worked with other feminists to persuade foreign ministers in Europe to support the creation of a body to peacefully mediate world affairs and was instrumental in convincingHenry Fordto charter thePeace Ship.From 1916 to 1918, Schwimmer lived in Europe working on various plans to end the war. With the establishment of theFirst Hungarian Republic,she was appointed as one of the world's first female ambassadors (from Hungary to Switzerland) in 1918. When the Republic was toppled by acoup d'état,she fled to the United States, renouncing her Hungarian citizenship.

Applying for naturalization, Schwimmer was rejected on the basis of her pacifism. The case was overturned on appeal in 1928, and the following year the appeal was overturned by theU.S. Supreme Courtin the decisionUnited States v. Schwimmer.For the remainder of her life, she remainedstateless.Unable to work because of ill-health and a smear campaign, she was supported by loyal friends.

In 1935, Schwimmer andMary Ritter Beardestablished theWorld Center for Women's Archivesto create an educational reference for women's history and document the individual and organizational achievements of influential women. She was one of the first world federalists, proposing aworld governmentin 1937. Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1948, she died before the committee decided not to award it that year. In 1952, naturalization laws in the United States were changed to allow forconscientious objection.

Early years[edit]

Rózsa Schwimmer was born inBudapest,Austria-Hungary,on 11 September 1877 to Bertha (née Katscher) and Max Bernat Schwimmer.[7][8]The eldest of three children, she was raised in an upper-middle-classJewishfamily inTemesvár,Transylvania(todayTimișoara,Romania).[8][3][9]Her father was an agricultural merchant, involved in trading grain, horses and other products,[10][11]who also ran an experimental farm. Her maternal uncle,Leopold Katscher,was a noted writer and peace activist, who was a strong influence on Schwimmer. She attended primary school briefly in Budapest and after the family moved to Transylvania was educated in a convent school.[8]Graduating from the public school in 1891, she studied music and languages[8]at the music school in Szabadka (todaySubotica).[11]Though she only attended eight grades, she spoke English, French, German, and Hungarian, and was able to read Dutch, Italian, Norwegian, and Swedish.[8]In 1893 and 1894, she took evening classes at a business school until her father's bankruptcy forced the family to return to Budapest.[10]

Career[edit]

Early career and politicization[edit]

The photograph of a woman wearing pince-nez glasses seated on an outdoor bench holding a lorgnette
Rosika Schwimmer, 1890s

Schwimmer first worked as agoverness,[10]and then had several short-term jobs in Temesvár and Szabadka.[11]In 1895, she found work as abookkeeperand correspondent clerk.[9][10]She began working for theNőtisztviselők Országos Egyesülete(National Association of Women Office Workers) in 1897[9]and by 1901 had become president of the organization.[10]Having experienced the difficulty of finding a job which paid a living wage, in an era when women were discouraged from seeking economic independence, Schwimmer chose to make a real difference for working women. Finding no acceptance or interest in addressing the issues women laborers encountered from national trade unions, she began collecting data to compile statistics. She wrote to the Department of Commerce to acquire data on women's employment and sought archived copies ofNemzeti Nőnevelés(National Women's Education), the most important journal of the era which analyzed the condition of women in education and labor. To compare the situation in Hungary with that of working women elsewhere, Schwimmer began writing to international feminist organizations to collect statistics on women's working conditions in other countries.[11]

Through her correspondence to collect data, Schwimmer came in contact with influential figures of the international women's movement, likeAletta Jacobs,Marie LangandAdelheid Popp,who encouraged her to found a women's organization that would unite various associations dealing with varied women's issues. When she lost her job at the National Association of Women Office Workers, Schwimmer began working as a journalist in late 1901. She wrote forExport Reviewand then was employed at Lloyd's News Agency, before becoming a regular contributor to international feminist magazines.[11]She also worked as a translator, creating Hungarian versions of such works asWomen and EconomicsbyCharlotte Perkins Gilman.[12]In 1903, she co-founded withMariska Gárdos,theMagyarországi Munkásnő Egyesület(Hungarian Women Workers Association), the first national women's laborumbrella organization.[7][10][11]The following year, as part of the press, she attended the inauguralconferenceof theInternational Woman Suffrage Alliance.[9]She was asked to speak at the conference on labor conditions of industrial workers in Hungary.[11]While there, she met many of the leading feminists of the international movement. Attracted to her charismatic personality, American suffragistCarrie Chapman Cattrecruited Schwimmer to help in the efforts forwomen's suffrage.[12]The two developed a deep friendship with Catt mentoring her younger companion.[13]

Upon her return home,[9]Schwimmer co-founded the HungarianFeminist Association(Hungarian:Feministák Egyesülete (FE)) withVilma Glücklich.[10]They were joined by other prominent feminists likeEugénia Miskolczy Meller.[14]The radical organization set out to work for gender equality in all aspects of women's lives,[11]including education, employment, access to birth control,[9]reform of laws governing married women's socioeconomic status,[15]enfranchisement, and women's inheritance rights,[16]as well as curtailing child labor.[15]In 1907, to counteract the unfavorable press they received from the media at large, the Feminist Association founded the journalA Nő és a Társadalom(Women and Society), with Schwimmer as editor-in-chief. It published articles on careers, child care, domestic work, labor, legal issues and sexual abuse. She gained national prominence that year for a dispute with law professor and MP,Károly Kmety[hu],who introduced a measure to implement stricter limits for women's admission to higher education. Kmety dubbed educated women as "female monsters", who aimed to destroy families. Schwimmer's rebuttal to his claims disclosed the fact that Kmety's wife had graduated from anormal school.Though she had won the argument, criticism of the Feminist Association continued.[16]

A black and white photograph depicting the head table at a women's conference surrounded by seated delegates above whom are suspended flags of various nations
Presidential table during the Seventh congress of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance IWSA, Budapest, 1913

In 1911, Schwimmer married a journalist, Pál Bédy and took his name (Bédy-Schwimmer) but he either died in 1912, or they divorced in 1913.[Notes 1]After their breakup she removed his surname and returned to using Schwimmer,[8][15]keeping the fact that she had ever been married a life-long secret.[15][19]

In 1913, she helped the Feminist Association organize theSeventh Conference of the International Woman Suffrage Alliancewhich ran from 15 to 21 June in Budapest.[20]Garnering support from both the national and city government, the convention was the first such large-scale event to be held in Austria-Hungary, attracting around 3,000 international delegates. Schwimmer arranged for university students to provide translation services[21][22]and presented an update on the progress of suffrage in Hungary.[23]Trips were also organized toDebrecen,Nagyvárad (todayOradea) andSzeged,as well as smaller villages, so that the feminists could see more of the country. The behavior of the feminists at the conference significantly changed the stereotypes that had previously been ascribed to women's rights advocates. After the close of the conference, Schwimmer changed the name of the Feminist Association's journal toA Nő(The Woman).[16]In August 1913, she attended theUniversal Peace CongressinThe Hague,which deepened her interest inpacifism.[3]

By this time, Schwimmer had traveled widely throughout Europe on lecture tours. An extrovert and experienced journalist, she knew how to appeal to her audience.[24]Known for her comedic wit and clever satire, she was able to convince men to support women's rights and caused women to laugh at men using pointed attacks laced with humor.[19]Thanks to her strong, energetic personality, which some described as stubborn, she often went beyond the limitations women were expected to observe.[15][19]She was an "uncompromising pacifist", ahumanist,and anatheist.[25]With her Jewish heritage and foreign status, she often experiencedanti-Semiticandxenophobicattacks.[26]She smoked and drank wine, which was unusual at the time, and wore loose-fitting,corsetless dresseswith her trademarkpince-nezglasses. Of stocky build, she typically wore her black, frizzy hair in a bun at the nape of her neck. She described herself as a "very, very radical feminist" and was known to elicit either love or hate from others— "frequently people did both at different times".[15][19]

Internationalism[edit]

Schwimmer's international contacts resulted in an invitation for her to become the press secretary of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, leading her to move to London for the job.[7]She also worked as a correspondent of various European newspapers.[27]WhenWorld War Ibroke out, she could not return home and began to agitate for the end of hostilities.[7]She resigned from her post with the Suffrage Alliance, fearing her nationality would cause problems for the women's movement and her own ability to continue pressing for peace.[28][29]Branded as anenemy alienin 1914, she left Britain[30]to tour the United States and press for an end to the war.[7]Schwimmer spoke in 22 different states, urging women to press for diplomatic mediation of the European conflict.[31]She met with PresidentWoodrow WilsonandSecretary of StateWilliam Jennings Bryan,but was unsuccessful in her attempts to organize a neutral conference to bring both sides of the conflict together.[7]

A black and white photograph of thirteen women delegates seated at a head table of a conference
International Congress of Women in 1915.
left to right:1.Lucy Thoumaian- Armenia, 2.Leopoldine Kulka,3.Laura Hughes- Canada, 4.Rosika Schwimmer- Hungary, 5.Anika Augspurg- Germany, 6.Jane Addams- USA, 7.Eugenie Hanner,8.Aletta Jacobs- Netherlands, 9.Chrystal Macmillan- UK, 10.Rosa Genoni- Italy, 11.Anna Kleman- Sweden, 12.Thora Daugaard- Denmark, 13.Louise Keilhau- Norway

Schwimmer took part in the formation of theWoman's Peace Partyin 1915, becoming a secretary of the organization.[7]Because of the war, the biennial conference of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance was postponed.Chrystal Macmillanproposed that suffragists should hold a conference to discuss international peace principles and Aletta Jacobs suggested that the Netherlands, as a neutral nation, could host the event.[32]Schwimmer was asked to secure Catt as the chair of the conference but, unable to convince her, she approached social reformer,Jane Addams,who agreed to serve as conference chair.[33]At theInternational Congress of Women,held in The Hague from 28 April, Schwimmer andJulia Grace Wales,a Canadian academic, proposed a "continuous conference of neutrals" between governments be formed to mediate conflicts and restore peace.[34]During the conference the International Committee of Women for Permanent Peace was established, which would become theWomen's International League for Peace and Freedom(WILPF).[35]Schwimmer was selected as one of its board members.[8]

After the conference closed on 3 May 1915, Schwimmer, Addams and Jacobs, along with Macmillan,Emily Greene Balch,Mien van Wulfften Palthe[36][37]and others, formed two delegations of women who met with European heads of state over the next several months. The women secured agreement from reluctant foreign ministers, who overall felt that a mediating body would be ineffective. In spite of their hesitancy, the ministers agreed to participate, or at least not impede, the creation of a neutral assembly, if other nations agreed and if U.S. PresidentWoodrow Wilsonwould initiate its establishment. In the midst of the war, Wilson refused.[38][39]By the time Schwimmer returned from Europe in the fall, sentiment had changed in the United States and many feminists believed that pacifism would hurt the cause for suffrage.[40]Disagreeing with them, Schwimmer did not think the struggle for women's rights should focus solely on attaining suffrage. She strongly believed broader changes were needed and women's voices were crucial for ending violence against humanity.[41]She also felt that neither Catt nor Addams worked hard enough to secure the broad support needed for peace work from reform-minded women.[42]Determined to continue pressing for a mediation conference, she decided that if politicians and feminists would not act, it would fall on individuals to work to end the war.[43]

A photograph of a seated woman and man in front of a desk with a standing man behind them and to the right.
Schwimmer, Ford andLouis P. Lochneraboard the Peace ShipOskar II

Henry Ford,the automobile magnate, had pledged $10 million towards peace initiatives which would result in action to end the war. TeacherRebecca Shelleyand poetAngela Morganbecame convinced that Ford and Schwimmer should meet. They arranged a series of demonstrations and public meetings inDetroithoping that publicity would facilitate a meeting. When it did not have the desired effect, Shelley met with the editor of theDetroit Journaland a reporter, Ralph Yonker, who was a favorite of Ford, set up an interview for Schwimmer. Within three weeks, in early December, she set sail aboard aPeace ShiptoStockholm,chartered by Ford, with him and other pacifists.[44]TheOskar IIarrived inChristiania, Norwayon 18 December, but without a definite plan of how they would end the war.[45]Without strong leadership from Ford, the pacifists on board jockeyed for power positions, and Schwimmer was resented for having been entrusted with the international correspondence from heads of state. Confronted with ridicule and hostility by the press,[46][47]and in Schwimmer's case suspicion because of her Hungarian roots,[48]Ford returned to the United States abandoning the peace mission to the Women's International Peace Association on 24 December.[45]In January 1916 theNeutral Conference for Continuous Mediationbegan without Ford. Disappointed with Ford's efforts, Schwimmer persevered for several months, but exhaustion and a heart condition led her to resign and withdraw from the mission in March 1916.[46]Failure to secure the backing of the peace mission from the International Committee of Women for Permanent Peace and hurt by both Addams and Jacobs lack of support, she resigned from the committee.[49][3]She was unable to return to the United States until August[50]and stayed only about a month before she was back in Sweden, suffering from illness.[51][52]

Black and white image of a seated woman wearing pince nez glasses and a beaded dress
Schwimmer, 1914

According toBeth S. Wenger,chair of the history department at theUniversity of Pennsylvania,[53]the debacle of the Peace Ship "signaled the beginning of a smear campaign against [Schwimmer] and the eventual termination of her public career".[54]Though Henry Ford's anti-Semitic beliefs that German-Jewish bankers had caused the war predated his involvement with Schwimmer, she was portrayed in the American press as the reason for his prejudices.[55]She was also accused of swindling Ford out of money, being a German spy, and aBolshevikagent, though she was awarded $17,000 in a libel suit against theNew York Commercial Advertiserfor making those charges.[56][57]Until the end of the war she remained in Europe, returning to Hungary in 1918. Having gained the country'sindependence,Mihály Károlyiwas selected as the newHungarian prime minister.He appointed Schwimmer as the ambassador toSwitzerland,[58][59]making her one of the world's first female ambassadors.[60][3]Károlyi also tabled a bill guaranteeing women's suffrage[16]for literate women over the age of 24, which was passed by theParliamentlater that year.[61]In February 1919, inBern,Schwimmer organized a peace conference for the International Committee of Women for Permanent Peace; however, she was recalled from her post days before thecommunistcoup d'étatin March. Barred from leaving Hungary, Schwimmer was unable to attend the Zurich Peace Conference in May.[62]Béla Kun'scommunist governmentwas soon overthrown by anothercoup d'étatplacingIstván Friedrichas the head of the government.[58][63]Friedrich's inadequacy led AdmiralMiklós Horthy's forces to try to establish order by implementing a reign ofWhite Terrorby cleansing the country of Jews and communists.[63][64]In 1920, Schwimmer fled toViennawhere she lived as a refugee, financially supported by her friendLola Maverick Lloyd,until she secured permission to emigrate to the United States in 1921.[1][58]

Statelessness[edit]

Schwimmer renounced her Hungarian citizenship[65]and arrived in the United States on 26 August 1921, first settling inWinnetka, Illinois,nearChicagowith Lloyd.[66][67]She had every intention of resuming her journalistic and lecturing career, but soon found she was blacklisted.[58][68]In 1919, New York State had launched theLusk Investigationto examine the activities of radical people and organizations liable to threaten the nation's security. They included educators, journalists, reform organizations and religious institutions.[69]Feminists and pacifists were branded as subversives; in particular, the women involved in the creation of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom were accused of a lack of loyalty because of their international focus and for leaning toward communism. As Schwimmer was one of the founders, she was listed as a dangerous element in the Lusk Report.[70]Military officials and right-wing women's organizations, such as theDaughters of the American Revolution,joined in theRed Scaretactics to focus suspicion on the activities of pacifists and suffragists.[58]

Catt and Addams both drew criticism from anti-radical groups and because of her link to them, Schwimmer, and those who associated with her, became targets for those seeking to attack leaders in the feminist movement.[71]Schwimmer was accused of having prevented the United States from preparing sooner for the war,[68]was called a spy, and her peace initiatives were twisted from being humanitarian missions into strategic plots to aid the Germans and their allies. Other distortions accused her of having been a diplomat in Kun's brief communist regime and a member of an international Jewish conspiracy.[72]To prevent the attacks leveled at Schwimmer from harming the campaign for suffrage, Catt distanced herself, causing her pain and a feeling of abandonment.[73]The Jewish community which had welcomed her before the war largely blamed Schwimmer for Ford's anti-Semitic campaign published between 1920 and 1922 inThe Dearborn Independent,though Ford "never indicated that Schwimmer played any such role".[74]

In 1924, Schwimmer applied fornaturalizationas a U.S. citizen.[8]When she completed the questionnaire, she left both the question about whether she had registered for the draft and whether she would take up arms in defense of the country blank, assuming they did not apply to women. After review, her file was returned to the Chicago office with a directive for Schwimmer to answer if she would bear arms. Against the advice of Fred Schlotfeldt, the District Director of Naturalization, Schwimmer, believing that as no woman was compelled to fight in any country honesty was required, answered that she would not personally take up arms.[75]Two years later, her second interview was called and she explained in detail that defending the country did not necessarily require her physical action, but instead could be a verbal or written defense of principles.[76]She was also questioned about her atheism, her views of nationalism, and her commitment to pacifism. Schwimmer responded that faith was a personal choice and in line with the idea of separation of church and state. She also stated that nationalism was a choice, that she had given up her Hungarian citizenship to pursue U.S. naturalization, and she reiterated that she would not compromise her pacifism.[25]

After the interview, Schlotfeldt advised theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Illinoisthat Schwimmer qualified for citizenship, but that she might have mental reservations about taking an oath of allegiance. Her case was called on 13 October 1927 withJudgeGeorge A. Carpenterpresiding.[77]The pivotal question in her hearing was asked by Carpenter:

Q [Carpenter]. If you were called to the service, and the kind of work that women usually can perform better than the men can—say as a nurse or as someone to give cheer to the soldiers—and you were at some place in a war, which I hope will never come, and you saw someone coming in the headquarters or the barracks, wherever it was, with a pistol in his hand to shoot the back of an officer of our country, and you had a pistol handy by, would you kill him?

A [Schwimmer]. No I would not.
— Flowers & Lahutsky 1990, p. 348
Black and white photograph of a woman in a library, seated at a desk with her arm draped over a chair, holding a pencil in her right hand
Schwimmer, soon after she was denied citizenship in 1927

Her application was denied solely on the basis that Schwimmer refused to take up arms in defense of the country.[8][78]On the advice of her attorneys and Judge Carpenter, she immediately appealed the decision.[78]Notoriety and negative publicity made it difficult for her to earn a living or support her mother and sister, who lived with her.[79]She spent most of her remaining life fighting slander against her.[80][81]AfterFred Marvin,a Republican and anti-radical who was editor of theNew York Daily Commercial,accused her of being a German spy and a Bolshevik agent, she sued and received $17,000 in damages[82][83]in July 1928.[84]The following day, her case in theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuiton her denial of citizenship was unanimously overturned,[84][78]concluding that "women are considered incapable of bearing arms" and thus could not be forced under the law to do so.[85]

Acting Secretary of Labor,Robe Carl White,Attorney GeneralJohn G. Sargent,and theActing Solicitor GeneralOscar Raymond Luhringwere asked to review the decision for the Commissioner of Naturalization to determine if a petition for review should be sent to theUS Supreme Court.[86]Believing that Schwimmer's influence as a writer and public speaker could sway others to refuse to perform military service, Luhring and Sargent examined the court records, but were unable to find any point of law on which to base a review.[87]Urged by White to reconsider the opinion, Sargent replied that Schwimmer appeared to be a fanatical idealist of intelligence and ability and that there was no evidence that had been presented in court to substantiate that she had a sinister character. Nonetheless, he prepared thepetition for certiorari,which White clearly wanted.[88]In a 6 to 3 decision of theUnited States v. Schwimmer,handed down on 27 May 1929,Associate JusticePierce Butlerdetermined that pacifists should not be allowed to become citizens.[89][90]In a dissenting opinion, Associate JusticeOliver Wendell Holmes Jr.put forth that free thought was a tenet of the Constitution and had no bearing on whether someone should be admitted to or live in the country.[91]He also pointed out that as a woman over 50, even had she wanted to take up arms, she would not be allowed to do so.[92]

Later life[edit]

Having been denied citizenship, Schwimmer becamestatelessand remained so throughout the remainder of her life.[8]She proposed that the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom host a conference to address the issue of a lack of nationality. The event was held inGenevain 1930[93]and she drafted a plan for world citizens to be internationally recognized.[94]Because of poor health, which included complications fromdiabetes,[8]and an inability to work, she was supported by loyal friends.[95]In the early 1930s, she moved to New York City, where she lived with her sister, Franciska, a pianist, and her secretary, Edith Wynner.[18][96]In 1935, she formed theWorld Center for Women's ArchiveswithMary Ritter Beard.The purpose of the archive was to document the individual and organizational achievements of influential women as an educational reference for women to study the history other women.[97]Schwimmer received an honorary World Peace Prize in 1937, organized by Catt,Albert Einstein,Sylvia Pankhurst,Romain Rolland,Margaret Sanger,and others, which provided her with a prize of $7,000.[98]

Also in 1937, Schwimmer formed theCampaign for World Governmentwith Lloyd,[3]the firstWorld Federalistorganization of the 20th century.[99]The purpose of the organization was to establishworld governancewith a constitution, elected representation, asupranational legal systemto resolve conflicts between nations, and anInternational Criminal Courtto address human rights issues.[4][5][6]Schwimmer was one of the pioneers who backed creation of theInternational Court of Justice[16]as a means to provide equal participation and protection for all people regardless of ethnicity, race, or gender.[4]Between 1938 and 1945, Schwimmer campaigned to aid European colleagues, such asHelene Stöcker,escape fromNazi Germany.[3]In 1946,United States v. Schwimmerwas overturned inGirouard v. United States,which determined that the Supreme Court had used an incorrect rule of law inSchwimmer,as well as in the casesUnited States v. Macintosh, 283 U.S. 605 (1931)andUnited States v. Bland, 283 U.S. 636 (1931).[100]In 1948 she was nominated for theNobel Peace Prizebut had little chance of obtaining it, in spite of support from backers in Britain, France, Hungary, Italy, Sweden, and the United States.[16][68][101]No prize was given that year, the Nobel Committee concluding that "no one living deserved it", an allusion widely considered to be referring to the death of the Mahatma Gandhi.[8]

Death and legacy[edit]

Rosika Schwimmer died ofpneumoniaon 3 August 1948 inNew York City.[16][3]She was buried the following day atFerncliff Cemetery.[102]She is remembered as one of the primary spokespersons for Hungarian women in the era before World War I and as the co-founder of the Hungarian suffrage movement.[103]Schwimmer's unpopularity during her lifetime discouraged scholarship. Historians in the 21st century have begun to analyze her life and reassess her import.[104]After the World Centre for Women's Archives closed in 1940,[105]Schwimmer's papers have been held in various archives including the Benson Ford Research Center inDearborn, Michigan,[106]Hoover Institution Archivesat Stanford University,[107]the Peace Collection atSwarthmore College,[108]and in theSchwimmer-Lloyd Collectionof theNew York Public Library.[8]

Schwimmer's story illustrates the profound changes that occurred in the United States in theinterwar period.Although she was never granted American citizenship, her life paralleled shifts in American society and values. Upon her arrival in the United States there was optimism that World War I could end quickly. When she returned in 1921, her pacifism was seen as a sign of disloyalty. A rising conservatism affected feminist groups and transformed them.[109]

Although the Peace Ship mission was largely seen as a failure, it changed the war press coverage in Europe, which to that point had been highly censored. The conference that was established in Stockholm in February 1916 served as a clearinghouse for discussing the war and how to end it. It also helped neutral nations avoid bowing to the pressure to enter the war.[110]Her citizenship case became the basis for a lengthy campaign to change the naturalization laws to recognize that philosophical or religious belief were inadequate reasons for denial of citizenship.[111]In 1952, the law was finally changed to allowconscientious objectorsto take an oath that they agree to serve in a non-combatant capacity.[112]

See also[edit]

Selected works[edit]

  • Schwimmer, Rosika (1905).Ehe-Ideale und Ideal-Ehen: Aeusserungen moderner Frauen[Marriage Ideals and Ideal Marriages: Expressions of Modern Women] (in German). Berlin: Continent.OCLC246799896.
  • B.-Schwimmer, Rózsa (1907).A magyar nőmozgalom régi dokumentumai[Old Documents of the Hungarian Women's Movement](PDF)(in Hungarian). Budapest.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Schwimmer, Rosika (1907).Zentralhaushaltung[Central Housekeeping] (in German). Leipzig: Felix Dietrich.OCLC889838107.
  • Schwimmer, Rosika (1908).Ohne Frauen kein allgemeines Wahlrecht[Without Women No Universal Suffrage] (in German). Berlin: Druck von W. & S. Loewenthal.OCLC779072019.– viaASP: Women and Social Movements(subscription required)
  • Schwimmer, Rosika (1909).Staatlicher Kinderschutz in Ungarn[State Child Protection in Hungary] (in German). Leipzig: Felix Dietrich.OCLC253372884.
  • Schwimmer, Rosika; Pogány, Willy (illustrator) (1928).Tisza Tales(1st ed.). Garden City, New York:Doubleday Doran.OCLC2791128.
  • Schwimmer, Rosika (1941).Union Now for Peace Or War?: The Danger in the Plan of Clarence Streit(3rd printing ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Campaign for World Government.OCLC68427548.
  • Lloyd, Lola Maverick; Schwimmer, Rosika (1942).Chaos, War, or a New World Order: What We Must Do to Establish the All-inclusive, Non-military, Democratic Federation of Nations(2nd revision, 3rd printing ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Campaign for World Government.OCLC827302661.– viaASP: Women and Social Movements(subscription required)

Notes[edit]

  1. ^There is evidence to support that even though numerous sources confirm the dates of her marriage and dissolution, it may be incorrect. Some of her Hungarian writing indicates B.-Schwimmer from as early as 1907.[17]In the 1940 census, Schwimmer clearly indicates she is divorced, rather than widowed.[18]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^abZimmermann 2006,p. 484.
  2. ^Papp & Zimmermann 2006,p. 332.
  3. ^abcdefghCohen 2010.
  4. ^abcThrelkeld 2018,p. 475.
  5. ^abCortright 2008,p. 116.
  6. ^abGlasius 2006,pp. 8, 26–27.
  7. ^abcdefgWenger 2009.
  8. ^abcdefghijklmRuttum 2008,p. v.
  9. ^abcdefHannam, Auchterlonie & Holden 2000,p. 262.
  10. ^abcdefgFrojimovics 2010.
  11. ^abcdefghZimmermann 1996.
  12. ^abWenger 1990,p. 68.
  13. ^Wenger 1990,p. 69.
  14. ^Papp & Zimmermann 2006,pp. 331–335.
  15. ^abcdefWenger 1990,p. 66.
  16. ^abcdefgNyáry 2017.
  17. ^B.-Schwimmer 1907,p. 1.
  18. ^abU. S. Census 1940,p. 5A.
  19. ^abcdWiltsher 1985,p. 9.
  20. ^Harper 1922,p. 847.
  21. ^Harper 1922,pp. 849–850.
  22. ^Wiltsher 1985,p. 11.
  23. ^Harper 1922,p. 856.
  24. ^Wiltsher 1985,p. 8.
  25. ^abFlowers & Lahutsky 1990,p. 346.
  26. ^Wenger 1990,p. 67.
  27. ^von Leitner 1998,p. 99.
  28. ^Hannam, Auchterlonie & Holden 2000,p. 263.
  29. ^Wiltsher 1985,pp. 26–27.
  30. ^Wiltsher 1985,pp. 30–31.
  31. ^Wiltsher 1985,p. 46.
  32. ^Wiltsher 1985,p. 61.
  33. ^Wiltsher 1985,p. 87.
  34. ^Wiltsher 1985,p. 94.
  35. ^Jacobs 1996,p. 94.
  36. ^de Wilde 2018.
  37. ^Caravantes 2004,p. 102.
  38. ^Caravantes 2004,pp. 101–103.
  39. ^Wiltsher 1985,pp. 110–125.
  40. ^Wiltsher 1985,p. 123.
  41. ^Wenger 1990,p. 70.
  42. ^Wenger 1990,p. 71.
  43. ^Wiltsher 1985,p. 157.
  44. ^Wiltsher 1985,pp. 157–158.
  45. ^abThe Tampa Tribune1915,p. 1.
  46. ^abWiltsher 1985,pp. 160–161.
  47. ^Wenger 1990,p. 75.
  48. ^Wiltsher 1985,p. 162.
  49. ^Wiltsher 1985,p. 163.
  50. ^The Modern View1916,p. 3.
  51. ^Marshall 1916,p. 5.
  52. ^The Grand Forks Herald1916,p. 15.
  53. ^Israel 2015.
  54. ^Wenger 1990,p. 76.
  55. ^Wenger 1990,pp. 73–74.
  56. ^"Mme. Schwimmer Awarded $17,000 in Libel Suit", TheJewish Tribune,July 6, 1928
  57. ^Klotts 1937,p. 9.
  58. ^abcdeWenger 1990,p. 77.
  59. ^Glant 2002,p. 46.
  60. ^Pastor 1974,pp. 273–282.
  61. ^Acsády 2008,p. 242.
  62. ^Wiltsher 1985,p. 208.
  63. ^abPatai 2015,p. 468.
  64. ^Szegedy-Maszak 2013,p. 49.
  65. ^Tresolini 1963,p. 68.
  66. ^Immigration and Naturalization Service 1927,p. 3254.
  67. ^The Chicago Tribune1921,p. 1.
  68. ^abcWiltsher 1985,p. 216.
  69. ^Nielsen 2001,p. 15.
  70. ^Nielsen 2001,pp. 43, 79.
  71. ^Wenger 1990,p. 78.
  72. ^Wenger 1990,pp. 78–79.
  73. ^Wenger 1990,p. 80.
  74. ^Wenger 1990,p. 82.
  75. ^Flowers & Lahutsky 1990,p. 344.
  76. ^Flowers & Lahutsky 1990,p. 345.
  77. ^Flowers & Lahutsky 1990,p. 347.
  78. ^abcFlowers & Lahutsky 1990,p. 348.
  79. ^Wenger 1990,p. 84.
  80. ^Nielsen 2001,p. 137.
  81. ^Wenger 1990,p. 85.
  82. ^Nielsen 2001,p. 79.
  83. ^Snodgrass 2015,p. 307.
  84. ^abThe Pittsburgh Press1928,p. 2.
  85. ^Flowers & Lahutsky 1990,p. 349.
  86. ^Flowers & Lahutsky 1990,pp. 350, 352.
  87. ^Flowers & Lahutsky 1990,pp. 351–352.
  88. ^Flowers & Lahutsky 1990,pp. 353–354.
  89. ^Flowers & Lahutsky 1990,p. 357.
  90. ^The Miami Daily News1948,p. 10.
  91. ^Flowers & Lahutsky 1990,p. 358.
  92. ^Tresolini 1963,p. 73.
  93. ^Wiltsher 1985,p. 212.
  94. ^Baratta 2004,p. 160.
  95. ^Wenger 1990,p. 90.
  96. ^The Times Union1932,p. 4A.
  97. ^Relph 1979,pp. 597–598.
  98. ^Klotts 1937,p. 1.
  99. ^Ruttum 2005,p. vi.
  100. ^Flowers & Lahutsky 1990,pp. 361–362.
  101. ^Flowers & Lahutsky 1990,p. 366.
  102. ^Municipal Deaths 1948.
  103. ^Glant 2002,p. 43.
  104. ^Threlkeld 2018,pp. 475–476.
  105. ^Relph 1979,p. 602.
  106. ^Bisoski 2011.
  107. ^California Digital Library 1937.
  108. ^Yoder & Fulvio 2010.
  109. ^Wenger 1990,pp. 91–92.
  110. ^Wiltsher 1985,pp. 161–162.
  111. ^Flowers & Lahutsky 1990,pp. 358–359, 363.
  112. ^Flowers & Lahutsky 1990,p. 362.

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

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