The U.S. Women's Jury Movements and Strategic Adaptation: A More Just Verdict (Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics)

When women won the vote in the United States in 1920 they were still routinely barred from serving as jurors, but some began vigorous campaigns for a place in the jury box. This book tells the story of how women mobilized in fifteen states to change jury laws so that women could gain this additional right of citizenship. Some campaigns quickly succeeded; others took substantially longer. The book reveals that when women strategically adapted their tactics to the broader political environment, they were able to speed up the pace of jury reform, while less strategic movements took longer. A comparison of the more strategic women's jury movements with those that were less strategic shows that the former built coalitions with other women's groups, took advantage of political opportunities, had more past experience in seeking legal reforms, and confronted tensions and even conflict within their ranks in ways that bolstered their action. Cover 1 The U.S. Women’s Jury Movements and Strategic Adaptation 2 Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics 4 Title 6 Copyright 7 Dedication 8 Contents 10 Figures 12 Tables 13 Preface 14 Organizational Abbreviations 18 1: Introduction: The Women’s Jury Movements and Strategic Adaptatiion 20 WINNING A PLACE FOR WOMEN ON JURIES 22 THE ROAD AHEAD 26 2: Theorizing Social Movement Strategic Adaptation 30 EXISTING THEORIES OF SOCIAL MOVEMENT OUTCOMES 32 Defining Movement Political Success 32 Causes of Movement Political Success 33 THEORIZING STRATEGIC ADAPTATION AND ITS CAUSES 37 Perceiving Signals, Opportunities, and Threats 39 Assessing Actions 45 Adapting Tactics 47 Implementing Changes 51 A SUMMARY OF THE MODEL 51 3: Broadening Women’s Citizenship: A History of U.S. Women’s Jury Rights 53 WHY THESE FIFTEEN STATE JURY MOVEMENTS? 69 4: Responding to Political Defeats 74 THE MORE STRATEGIC STATES: MOBILIZING GRASSROOTS SUPPORT TO RESPOND TO POLITICAL DEFEATS 74 California: Learning from a Defeat 74 Illinois: Mobilizing Downstate Support 78 LESS STRATEGIC STATES: RESPONDING TO POLITICAL DEFEATS WITH FRUSTRATION AND APATHY 87 Montana: Irritation and Frustration 88 Nebraska: Redeploying the Same Tactic 91 CONCLUSION 96 5: Countering Public Opposition and Indifference 97 THE MORE STRATEGIC STATES: ONGOING TACTICAL REVISION IN RESPONSE TO PUBLIC OPPOSITION AND INDIFFERENCE 98 New York: Tailoring Tactics to the Opposition 98 Tennessee: Overcoming Apathy 109 LESS STRATEGIC STATES: FAILING TO RESPOND TO PUBLIC OPPOSITION AND INDIFFERENCE 119 Maryland: Intermittent Activism 119 Massachusetts: Many Obstacles and Limited Response 127 CONCLUSION 137 6: Taking Advantage of Cultural Opportunities 139 THE MORE STRATEGIC STATES: STRATEGIC FRAMING IN RESPONSE TO DISCURSIVE OPPORTUNITIES 141 Vermont: Blurring Boundaries between the Domestic and Public Spheres 141 Wisconsin: Equal Rights for Women 150 A LESS STRATEGIC STATE: MISSED DISCURSIVE OPPORTUNITY SIGNALS 155 Georgia: Traditional Beliefs about Southern Womanhood 155 CONCLUSION 164 7: Turning the Movement Around 167 MOVEMENT-LED STRATEGIC ADAPTATION 168 Colorado: Building a Coalition of Activists 168 Missouri: Coordinating Activities across Groups 175 CONTEXT-LED STRATEGIC ADAPTATION 181 South Carolina: Finding Political Opportunities in Racial Politics 181 Texas: A Political Defeat Leads to Broader Framing 194 CONCLUSION 205 8: Comparing the Movements: Qualitative Comparative Analysis 207 QUALITATIVE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AND THE WOMEN’S JURY MOVEMENTS 207 Engaging in Strategic Adaptation 210 Cases and Measures 212 Results 216 THE PASSAGE OF WOMEN’S JUROR LAWS 225 Cases and Measures 225 Results 229 CONCLUSION 238 9: Conclusion: Final Thoughts on Strategic Adaptation and Social Movement Agency 240 EXPLAINING THE PACE OF POLITICAL SUCCESS 241 EXPLAINING THE CAUSES OF STRATEGIC ACTION 245 Tensions within Movements 245 Continuing Activism and Learning 247 Diverse Membership 250 Political Circumstances 251 Movement-led and Context-led Strategic Adaptation 252 WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? 253 Studying Post-Suffrage Women’s Activism 253 Strategic and Expressive Logics 255 Taking a More Micro-Level Approach 256 Generalizing Beyond the Jury Movements 258 CONCLUDING THOUGHTS ON MOVEMENT AGENCY 259 References 262 General References 262 Court Cases 293 Archival Sources 294 Manuscript Collections 305 Index 310 When Women Won The Vote In The United States In 1920 They Were Still Routinely Barred From Serving As Jurors, But Some Began Vigorous Campaigns For A Place In The Jury Box. This Book Tells The Story Of How Women Mobilized In Fifteen States To Change Jury Laws So That Women Could Gain This Additional Right Of Citizenship. Some Campaigns Quickly Succeeded; Others Took Substantially Longer. The Book Reveals That When Women Strategically Adapted Their Tactics To The Broader Political Environment, They Were Able To Speed Up The Pace Of Jury Reform, While Less Strategic Movements Took Longer. A Comparison Of The More Strategic Women's Jury Movements With Those That Were Less Strategic Shows That The Former Built Coalitions With Other Women's Groups, Took Advantage Of Political Opportunities, Had Past Experience In Seeking Legal Reforms And Confronted Tensions And Even Conflict Within Their Ranks In Ways That Bolstered Their Action-- Introduction : The Women's Jury Movements And Strategic Adaptation -- Theorizing Social Movement Strategic Adaptation -- Broadening Women's Citizenship : A History Of U.s. Women's Jury Rights -- Responding To Political Defeats -- Countering Public Opposition And Indifference -- Taking Advantage Of Cultural Opportunities -- Turning The Movement Around -- Comparing The Movements : Qualitative Comparative Analysis -- Conslusion : Final Thoughts On Strategic Adaptation And Social Movement Agency. Holly J. Mccammon. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 243-290) And Index. "When women won the vote in the United States in 1920 they were still routinely barred from serving as jurors, but some began vigorous campaigns for a place in the jury box. This book tells the story of how women mobilized in fifteen states to change jury laws so that women could gain this additional right of citizenship. Some campaigns quickly succeeded; others took substantially longer. The book reveals that when women strategically adapted their tactics to the broader political environment, they were able to speed up the pace of jury reform, while less strategic movements took longer. A comparison of the more strategic women's jury movements with those that were less strategic shows that the former built coalitions with other women's groups, took advantage of political opportunities, had past experience in seeking legal reforms and confronted tensions and even conflict within their ranks in ways that bolstered their action"-- Provided by publisher Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction: the women's jury movements and strategic adaptation; 2. Theorizing social movement strategic adaptation; 3. Broadening women's citizenship: a history of US women's rights; 4. Responding to political defeats; 5. Countering public opposition and indifference; 6. Taking advantage of discursive and cultural opportunities; 7. Turning the movement around; 8. Comparing the movements: qualitative comparative analysis; 9. Final thoughts on strategic adaptation and social movement strategy. This book explores efforts by women to gain the right to sit on juries in the United States. History shows that the organized female movements that tailored their tactics to the specific demands of the political and cultural context succeeded more rapidly in winning a change in jury law.