Anna Jarvis, daughter of Anna Reeves Jarvis, who had moved from Grafton,
West Virginia, to Philadelphia, in 1890, was the power behind the official
establishment of Mother's Day
a.. swore at her mother's gravesite in 1905 to dedicate her life to her
mother's project, and establish a Mother's Day to honor mothers, living and
dead
b.. a persistent rumor is that Anna's grief was intensified because she
and her mother had quarreled and her mother died before they could reconcile
c.. in 1907 she passed out 500 white carnations at her mother's church,
St. Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia -- one for
each mother in the congregation
d.. May 10, 1908: the first church -- St. Andrew's in Grafton, West
Virginia -- responded to her request for a Sunday service honoring mothers
e.. 1908: John Wanamaker, a Philadelphia merchant, joined the campaign for
Mother's Day
f.. also in 1908: the first bill was presented in the U.S. Senate
proposing establishment of Mother's Day, by Nebraska Senator Elmer Burkett,
at the request of the Young Men's Christian Association. The proposal was
killed by sending it back to committee, 33-14.
g.. 1909: Mother's Day services were held in 46 states plus Canada and
Mexico
h.. Anna Jarvis gave up her job -- sometimes reported as a teaching job,
sometimes as a job clerking in an insurance office -- to work full-time
writing letters to politicians, clergy members, business leaders, women's
clubs and anyone else she thought might have some influence
i.. Anna Jarvis was able to enlist the World's Sunday School Association
in the lobbying campaign, a key success factor in convincing legislators in
states and in the U.S. Congress to support the holiday
j.. 1912: West Virginia became the first state to adopt an official
Mother's Day
k.. 1914: the U.S. Congress passed a Joint Resolution, and President
Woodrow Wilson signed it, establishing Mother's Day, emphasizing women's
role in the family (not as activists in the public arena, as Howe's Mother's
Day had been)
l.. Texas Senators Cotton Tom Heflin and Morris Shepard introduced the
joint resolution adopted in 1914. Both were ardent prohibitionists.
m.. Anna Jarvis became increasingly concerned over the commercialization
of Mother's Day: "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit." She
opposed the selling of flowers (see below) and also the use of greeting
cards: "a poor excuse for the letter you are too lazy to write."
n.. 1923: Anna Jarvis filed suit against New York Governor Al Smith, over
a Mother's Day celebration; when a court threw the suit out, she began a
public protest and was arrested for disturbing the peace
o.. 1931: Anna Jarvis criticized Eleanor Roosevelt for her work with a
Mother's Day committee that was not Jarvis' committee
p.. Anna Jarvis never had children of her own. She died in 1948, blind and
penniless, and was buried next to her mother in a cemetery in the
Philadelphia area.
Mother's Day Landmark:
a.. the International Mother's Day Shrine: this church in Grafton, West
Virginia, was the site of the first unofficial Mother's Day celebration as
created by Anna Jarvis, May 10, 1907
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