Linking a state to the world: Female internationalists, California, and the Pacific, 1919--1939

This dissertation examines an important network of California female internationalists between World War I and World War II. The devastating nature of the World War I profoundly affected California women and they wanted to prevent future conflicts. The most important mode of prevention, California female internationalists believed, was the United States maintaining a leadership role in world affairs. Women highlighted in the study include: Clara Burdette, president of the California Federation of Women's Clubs; Katherine Edson, Chief Executive Officer of the California Industrial Welfare Commission; Lou Henry Hoover, wife of Herbert Hoover; Emma McLaughlin, civic worker; Aurelia Reinhardt, president of Mills College; Viola Smith, United States Trade Representative; and Marguerite Blake Wilbur, civic activist.; This dissertation seeks to answer some key questions. First, what kinds of internationalist-type activities engaged California women? Second, why did these women participate in internationalist endeavors? Third, what did they expect to gain from their encounters? Fourth, what impact did the women have? Fifth, what role did woman suffrage play in California women's political activism with respect to international issues? Finally, to what degree did conceptions of race play a role in their international outlook?; Believing that knowledge about the world was essential for social and political change, California women became better educated in world affairs during the interwar era. They shifted their emphasis on domestic activism to the international arena. Despite the politically conservative atmosphere, female internationalists pursued their transnational agendas without interruption. They lobbied for world organization by inserting themselves in the 1920 California Republican Primary for president. Because they viewed themselves as part of the Pacific world, they formed transnational alliances with women in Pacific nations. Despite the strong anti-Asian sentiment against Asian Americans in California, several of these women worked to assist the state's anti-Asian movement. In the north, female internationalists were instrumental in the American Council for the Institute for Pacific Relations. One Californian even became the Trade Representative, part of the United States Department of Commerce's effort to enhance trade with China.