Cold Warriors? The Impact of the Cold War on American Women’s Organizations, 1945–60

The aftermath of the Second World War saw a renewed enthusiasm for internationalism amongst American women’s associations.  Groups such as the American Association of University Women, the League of Women Voters and the Young Women’s Christian Association made ringing announcements that the war had been evidence of the need for greater ties between nations, and proclaimed that women’s associations would have an important role to play in building bridges between nations. As Cold War tensions quickly intensified, however, such support for internationalism became problematic. When the post-war US government determined on an increasingly unilateral policy, organizations such as the AAUW and the LWV worked in close co-operation with their government on programmes in support of US cold war objectives. 
This paper will account for this move away from internationalism on the part of the mainstream women’s associations, assessing the significance of the Cold War as a factor. First, it will examine the extent to which initial support of increased international government through the United Nations, followed by support of US unilateralism reflected the genuine changing worldview of leaders and members of these organizations. Second, the paper will discuss the theory that loyalty to an international anti-communist policy was at least partly a response to domestic anti-communist campaigns, and the need to ‘prove’ organizational loyalty. Finally, the paper will argue that some members of mainstream women’s organizations saw moving away from internationalism and international fellowship as both a strategy towards and a declaration of their equal status as American citizens. This paper will argue that the Cold War, like the First and Second War, offered women’s groups an opportunity to improve their status and claim to equal citizenship through an expression of patriotic contribution and an identification with national, rather than international aims.