Synopsis
A fascinating bilingual English/Welsh popular history recounting the amazing story of women from all backgrounds in Wales coming together to challenge the system. Under the shadow of the unprecedented slaughter of the First World War, the Welsh League of Nations Union gathered the signatures of approximately three-quarters of all the women in Wales on ‘The Appeal,’ a petition that eventually stretched for seven miles, calling upon America to join the League of Nations to prevent further international conflict.
Led by the incomparable Annie Jane Hughes Griffiths of Cwrt Mawr, a delegation from Wales presented the petition to President Calvin Coolidge and the National League of Women Voters, which represented millions of American women, in March 1924. The petition – still in the Welsh oak chest built to house it safely as the women carried it to the other side of the world – was sent back to Wales by the Smithsonian in March 2023.
Published as part of the petition’s centenary celebrations, this authoritative but readable history, with contributions from multiple eminent academics and illustrated by 16 pages of photographs, tells a story of vision and determination which will warm your heart. Of particular interest to anyone interested in US history, Welsh history, women’s history, the League of Nations, and the campaign for peace.
