The Women’s Institute and Jerusalem ’s Suffrage Past.

Examination of the background to the song Jerusalem reveals that it was originally composed as wartime propaganda in 1916, and was later adopted as the Voters' Hymn during the campaigns for suffrage. This article questions the significance of the National Federation of Women's Institutes' choice of a hymn which only five years earlier had been used to celebrate women's suffrage: was it chosen as a mark of respect to their suffrage predecessors and does it reflect adherence to feminist ideology within the organisation? Although the lack of references to its suffrage background indicates that Jerusalem was not used as a feminist musical backcloth to the Federation's wider goals, it should not be concluded from this evidence alone that its early use was totally devoid of associations with the suffrage movement (particularly in view of the membership network in women's organisations) or that the organisation altogether rejected attitudes and behaviour patterns that might be described as feminist. Examination of the National Federation's leaflets on Jerusalem (published in 1934 and 1950) show that the allegorical nature of Blake's poem enabled its meaning within the organisation to change, and provides a valuable means to assess how important issues such as rural identity and personal empowerment have been to members at all levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]