Mother's Day Proclamation 1870

Everyone of us have or have had a mother or step mother, at some point in our lives. Mothers day has been celebrated since the early 1900's. Although my own mother has passed away and I have no children of my own, I still remember her wonderful influence on my life.

In celebration of mother's day I wanted to learn about the history of mother's day and was surprised to find out that it was originally a woman's reaction to war. Julia Ward Howe, herself influenced by a one Anna Jarvis who sought to improve sanitation through "Mother's Work days" in the mid 1850's. So originally Mother's day was a day for Mothers to work to improve the lives of those around them. Julia Ward Howe, who lived through the Civil War, saw it as the only way to attempt to stop men from warring with each other. Call it what you will, but her idea was a day of peace. In 1870 she gave a proclamation (Read in full at: http://womenshistory.about.com/od/howejwriting/a/mothers_day.htm) for women to take counsel together after mourning their dead and to make an attempt to influence those around them, especially their family members, to do all they can to stop war and live at peace with their brothers and sisters around the globe. It was to be remembered that war has many other side effects than just the funerals during and afterward. There was an emotional effect upon women all over the world, crying for their dead, some who had depended upon those men for support, in societies that do not allow women to work. Some of these women with no men to depend on must get married to men they don't like, or go into prostitution for survival. The effect also was (and is) economic, men in the 1800's were the primary bread winners even here in America.