Born in 1897, Dorothy Day contributed heavily to normalizing the concept of conscientious objection and pacifism at a time when both ideas were on the fringe of political and philosophical thinking in the U.S.. A Catholic convert, Day spent her days writing newspaper columns for The Catholic Worker (which she co-founded) as well as participating in protests that landed her in jail seven times.
LIPW Weekly Pacifist Spotlight: Dorothy Day (1867-1980)
Sold for a penny, The Catholic Worker distributed articles by Day and others that denounced corporate greed and government violence, while emphasizing socially conscious messages in the bible. The paper itself took a strictly pacifist stance, which Day herself echoed in her message that oppressors can be conquered through spiritual values rather than violence.
At it’s height, the paper had a circulation of approximately 150,000.
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