Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom Protests Army “Spiderweb” Chart
The so-called “Spider Web Chart” was an illustration purporting to show the links between radical, pacifist, socialist, communist, civil liberties, feminist, and other organizations.
A unit of the U.S. Army reportedly developed the first one. From the 1920s onward, right-wing and anti-communist groups used variations of the spiderweb chart to smear the organizations on the chart as being pro-communist.
On this day, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) protested the Army’s involvement with the chart. The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom was founded on April 28, 1915, and continues its work today.
Learn about women political activists and the infamous spider web chart in the 1920s: http://womhist.alexanderstreet.com/wilpf/intro.htm
Learn about the woman who publicized the “Spider Web Chart”: http://en.metapedia.org/wiki/Lucia_R._Maxwell
Learn about the history of military spying on Americans: Joan Jensen, Army Surveillance in America, 1775–1980 (1991)
Learn about the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom today: http://wilpfus.org/