Date Approved

6-16-2026

Embargo Period

6-16-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. History

Department

History

College

College of Humanities & Social Sciences

Advisor

Melissa Klapper, Ph.D.

Committee Member 1

Emily Blanck, Ph.D.

Committee Member 2

Chanelle Rose, Ph.D.

Keywords

activism;anti Vietnam War protest;antiwar protest;Catholic Left;Vietnam War;women

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | History

Abstract

This historical study investigated the role and experiences of the ten women in the Camden 28, which was a group of Catholic Leftists who raided the draft board in Camden, NJ in 1971 to protest the Vietnam War. In utilizing a myriad of sources from archival collections through scarcely seen personal ephemera to correspondence with individuals connected to this case, this thesis demonstrated the importance of these women to the planning and execution of the raid as well as their significance to the outcome of the trial in 1973. It also showed the need for targeted scholarship on them. Furthermore, this study explored the dynamics of gender present within this social movement, from relationships made within the group based upon unequal power dynamics to differential treatment of the women by both their male counterparts as well as outside actors like the FBI and the media. Nevertheless, the agency with which these women were able to have in this action also illustrated how they were, at times, able to participate in equal measures to the men in the group. There was also some analysis of the use of art by these members of the Camden 28 as well as the impact the women themselves had on the ideology of the group through their own scholarship and in the completion of important behind-the-scenes clerical work. This study concluded with a discussion of how this action had a lasting impact on each of their lives and a call to memorialize the story and courage of these women.

Download

Included in

History Commons

Share

COinS