Schain, Josephine, 1886-1972

Josephine Schain was born in Browns Valley, Minnesota in 1886 to Irene Burdick Schain and Jacob Theodore Schain. She earned her LL.B. from the University of Minnesota in 1908 and was awarded an honorary LL.D. by Smith College in 1937. She began her career as a social worker in Minneapolis, and worked as a settlement house worker on New York's East Side from 1918 to 1924. Schain was also active in the suffrage and peace movements, both as an organizer of conferences and similar events, and as a much sought after speaker. She spoke during the women's suffrage campaign in New York City in 1915 and wrote Women and the Franchise in 1918. She served as director of the Department of International Relations for the National League of Women Voters from 1924 to 1928, and as the national director of the Girl Scouts of America from 1930 to 1935. Schain chaired the National Committee on the Cause and Cure of War from 1936 to 1941, the Peace and Disarmament Committee of the Women's International Organizations from 1933 to 1938, the executive committee of the Women's Centennial Congress in 1940 and the Pan-Pacific Women's Association from 1949 to 1955. Schain was also a member of the International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship from 1933 to 1938, the U.S. Delegation to the Conference on Food and Agriculture in 1943, and of the consultant group to the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Conference in San Francisco in 1945. To quote words spoken at Smith College when Schain was awarded an honorary degree there in 1937, she was "a devoted laborer and a valiant and effective leader in the cause of peace, freedom and justice among the peoples of the world." Josephine Schain died in 1972.

From the guide to the Josephine Schain Papers MS 139., 1907 - 1960, (Sophia Smith Collection)

Settlement house worker; Suffragist; Pacifist; International relations specialist.

Born in Browns Valley, Minnesota, 1886. LL. B., University of Minnesota, 1908, and LL. D., Smith College, 1937. Schain began her career as a social worker in Minneapolis, and worked as a settlement house worker on New York's East Side, 1918-24. Was also active in suffrage and peace movements; was a speaker for the women's suffrage campaign in New York City, 1915, and wrote Women and the Franchise (1918). She served as Director of the Department of International Relations for the National League of Women Voters, 1924-28; as National Director of the Girl Scouts of America, 1930-35; chaired the National Committee on the Cause and Cure of War, 1936-41; the Peace and Disarmament Committee, 1933-38; the executive committee of the Women's Centennial Congress, 1940; and the Pan-Pacific Women's Association, 1949 (of which she was also President, 1949-55). She was a member of the International Alliance of Women, 1933-38; the U.S. Delegation to the Conference on Food and Agriculture, 1943; and a member of a consultant group to the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Conference in San Francisco, 1945. Schain was also on the faculty at the School of Philosophy and Liberal Arts at the New School for Social Research, New York City, 1959-60.

From the description of Papers, 1907-1960. (Smith College). WorldCat record id: 49522795