Alice M. Clarkson's Essay "The Civic Movement Among Women," 1908

In her essay titled "The Civic Movement Among Women," Alice M. Clarkson analyzed women's influence in civic and reform movements of the early twentieth century. She argued that women's position as mothers in the home made them ideal candidates for social reform. She wrote, "They are the natural domestic housekeepers, and what more proper than that they should become civic housekeepers? they abate nuisances in the household. Why not in the city?" Clarkson contended that women's patience and persitence made them ideal reformers.