Beard, but, in the words of historian Julia L. Mickenberg, Branham "turned from academia to activism, becoming a field organizer for the NWP".

[4] Historian Katherine A. S. Siegel notes that, "In 1916, Branham put her studies aside to begin work in the National Woman's Party.

"[5] Siegel writes that Branham "worked tirelessly for suffrage and, when she could, on the readings Beard assigned her," and she began teaching history in Columbia's adult extension program in the fall of 1920, but she left within a year to go to Russia as a representative of the New York Herald - Armand Hammer described her as the "suffragette history professor.

"[6] Although the dissertation she was working on ("The History of Labor and Politics in New York") was listed as being "in progress" with an expected completion date of 1922,[7] Columbia University "has no record that Branham ever finished her Ph.D."[8] Her Johns Hopkins master's thesis ("An Outline of the Political History of Georgia, During the Revolutionary War") is the only thesis or dissertation listed under her name in WorldCat,[9] so Branham must have been ABD and never finished her doctorate, concentrating on activism rather than academe.

[2] Branham worked for Russian relief with the American Women's Emergency Committee, and lobbied Congress against the Allied blockade of Russia; worked with the American Friends Service Committee; served as field secretary for Russian Reconstruction Farms; headed the Women's Committee for the Recognition of Russia, which was under the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; and was executive secretary of the American Society for Cultural Relations with Russia.