Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics: The U.S. Women's Jury Movements and Strategic Adaptation: A More Just Verdict

When women won the vote in the United States in 1920 they were still routinely barred from serving as jurors, but some began vigorous campaigns for a place in the jury box. This book tells the story of how women mobilized in fifteen states to change jury laws so that women could gain this additional right of citizenship. Some campaigns quickly succeeded; others took substantially longer. The book reveals that when women strategically adapted their tactics to the broader political environment, they were able to speed up the pace of jury reform, while less strategic movements took longer. A comparison of the more strategic women's jury movements with those that were less strategic shows that the former built coalitions with other women's groups, took advantage of political opportunities, had past experience in seeking legal reforms and confronted tensions and even conflict within their ranks in ways that bolstered their action.

1. Introduction: the women's jury movements and strategic adaptation; 2. Theorizing social movement strategic adaptation; 3. Broadening women's citizenship: a history of US women's rights; 4. Responding to political defeats; 5. Countering public opposition and indifference; 6. Taking advantage of discursive and cultural opportunities; 7. Turning the movement around; 8. Comparing the movements: qualitative comparative analysis; 9. Final thoughts on strategic adaptation and social movement strategy.