The Splendid Vision: Centennial History of the National Council of Women of Canada, 1893-1993

James G. Snell is an associate professor of history at the University of
Guelph, the author of In the Shadow of the Law: Divorce in Canada,
1900-1939.

This book celebrates the 100th anniversary of the National Council of
Women of Canada (NCWC). Like most official histories, it concentrates on
the positive achievements of the organization and on chronicling the
major events and personalities. It does not address, for example, recent
scholarship that has criticized the NCWC for being dominated by white,
middle-class women (often the wives of professionals or businessmen).

The NCWC was unusual in its organization, mimicking the three levels of
government by having Local Councils of Women, Provincial Councils of
Women, and a National Council of Women. The author does her best to give
due attention to the two lower levels of the organization, but almost
inevitably focuses on the national level in order to give the book some
cohesion. Each and every national president receives her due, in a
manner all too typical of official histories. Unfortunately, this kind
of emphasis underplays the local councils, where so much of the NCWC’s
work and activity occurred.

The NCWC, says Griffiths, operated as a “clearing house of ideas,”
but it is not clear just what she means by this. The NCWC was never
neutral in its conveyance of ideas, but rather was an active participant
in the construction of the ideas being disseminated. The NCWC can
probably best be understood as a lobbying organization, but its contacts
with governments are not effectively analyzed in this book. There is
little coverage of the tactics and strategies of the NCWC, and how these
changed over time. The general tone of the book implies that the
organization’s lobbying was successful, but no substantial proof is
offered of its influence on state policies.

Despite these problems, The Splendid Vision is a useful addition to the
literature on the history of women’s organizations in Canada.