Woman's National Socialist Union

WOMAN’S NATIONAL SOCIALIST UNION. Organized independently of the Socialist Party, the Woman’s National Socialist Union (WNSU) formed in 1901 to rally women to the cause of socialism. Initiated primarily by California women with roots in Bellamy Nationalism and the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, the WNSU agreed upon a distinct strategy for women’s emancipation while allying with the struggle to overthrow capitalism. Although the Socialist Party at its founding convention included in its platform a commitment to “equal civil and political rights for men and women,” the WNSU acted on the belief that women could achieve only second-class status in locals officiated by men. For both practical and theoretical reasons, they insisted on autonomy and formed their own independent organization.

Although the WNSU failed to make headway outside California and Kansas, its leaders managed to hold a special meeting prior to the Socialist Party’s national convention in 1904. Delegates to this first national meeting of socialist women discussed the role of women within the larger movement and the wisdom of separate organizations. Several delegates from the New York area criticized the WNSU for its potential role in discouraging women from joining regular party locals and thereby weakening the movement. The party press echoed this opinion, and the WNSU lingered for a few years as a regional network of California clubs. Many members relocated within the Socialist Party and pushed for more recognition of women’s issues.

Buhle Mari Jo. Women and American Socialism, 1870–1920. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1981.