An Abridged History Of Mother's Day

In the years just before the U.S. Civil War, Ann Reeves Jarvis helped start “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs”, which strived to lower infant mortality rates by teaching women how to properly care for their children.
After the Civil War was over, Jarvis transformed the organization into “Mothers’ Friendship Day,” which involved bringing former Union and Confederate soldiers together to reconcile.
Around the same time, other women around the country organized their own early Mother’s Days.