Dorothy Day and Catholic Workers Movement

Dorothy Day was the creator of the Catholic Worker movement. She was born on November 8, 1897 in a small town of Brooklyn in New York. A severe earthquake hit San Francisco in 1906, which made Day family move to Chicago. These were hard times for day family because John Day, father of Dorothy was jobless. It is during this time she developed deep compassion for unprivileged people. A few years later john Day was appointed as the sports editor and finally Day family had some relief in the so far turbulent life. At this time Dorothy started taking interest in books and reading. She was an optimist and always tried to look at the brighter side of things. She was able to find out beauty among drab streets with geranium and tomato plants, garlic, olive oil, roasting coffee, bread and rolls in bakery ovens. She even saw beauty in the pungent smell in the streets.

In the fall of 1914 Day won a scholarship to study at university of Illinois and it is here she began to look at things professionally. She was a different and objecting scholar. Her point of view rarely matched with that of the norms that were present. She did not take any part in the campus social life and she made it her insistence to earn her own living and rejected to live on her father's money. Here she developed socialist views.

University life was not her cup of tea and she dropped out two years later and went on to join the newspaper called The Call, which had socialist inclinations. Her main assignment was to cover rallies and her main focus was on interviewing butler, waiters and other blue collar workers, because she believed people like them have the revolutionary passion. These people want justified distribution of wealth.

The Masses was her next stop. This paper was against American involvement in world war that was going on in Europe. This paper was banned by the government, the issues were confiscated and many reporters were arrested. Five editors were charged with sedition of charges.

Day also fought for women's right to vote. In 1914 she was one of the forty women who were arrested in front of the white house to allow women the right to vote. Day was manhandled at after the arrest along with other women. The arrested women went ...