TWOMN 347: History of Women in the United States
Basic Information Dress reform played an important role in challenging gender norms and societal expectations for women, most notably those belonging to the middle and upper-classes, beginning in the middle of the nineteenth-century. The struggle for dress reform lasted into the twentieth-century. Traditional women’s clothing consisted of constricting corsets, tight-fitting long sleeves, long and wide…
Basic Information The American eugenics movement was formed during the late nineteenth century and continued as late as the 1940s. The American eugenics movement embraced negative eugenics, with the goal to eliminate undesirable genetic traits in the human race through selective breeding. During the American eugenics movement, laws were enacted that legalized forced sterilizations and…
Sarah and Angelina Grimké Basic Information On November 26, 1792, Sarah Grimké was born into an affluent family in Charleston, South Carolina (Alexander, 2018). Thirteen years later, Sarah’s sister, Angelina Grimké, was born on February 20, 1805 (Michals, 2015). Sarah and Angelina were notable activists for abolitionism and women’s rights (“Grimke Sisters,” n.d.). They maintained…
Basic Information Born January 3rd, 1793 in Nantucket, Massachusetts, Lucretia Mott grew to become a central figure in both the abolition and early women’s rights movements of the 19th century. Raised a Quaker, Mott was taught from an early age that all people are equal. Subsequently, she…
Basic Information Isabella Baumfree who then changed her name to Sojourner Truth was born in Ulster County, New York in 1797. She is most known for her famous “Ain’t I a Women” speech as well as her contributions to the temperance movement and the abolitionist movement. She also helped fight for property rights of African…
Basic Information Matilda Gage was a major player in the suffragette movement and was an advocate for abolition and Native American rights. She has been a forgotten figure who was essential in setting the foundation and pushing forward for women’s rights, as well as Native American rights. Because of her radical and progressive views,…
Basic Information Margaret Higgins Sanger was born September 14, 1879 in Corning, New York (Yasunari, 2000). Sanger is widely considered the original pioneer for reproductive rights in the United States due to her work in the popularization and provision of birth control. Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in American history, and founded the…
Basic Information Ida B. Wells-Barnett was an African-American woman who lived to be sixty eight years old. She was born on July 16th, 1862 in Holly Springs, Mississippi and came from a successful family. She was known for her anonymous journalism covering issues of race and politics under the alias “lola.” She was also known…
Basic Information Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born in Johnstown, New York on November 12th, 1815. She is one of the most well-known suffragists in American history as she publicly spoke and wrote about the inequalities that women faced. Stanton was the first woman to organize the first Woman’s Rights Convention which signaled the beginning of…
Basic Information Alice Stone Blackwell was born in Orange, New Jersey on September 14, 1857 to Henry Browne Blackwell and Lucy Stone. She worked most of her life as an editor for the official magazine for the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) called “Woman’s Journal.” The magazine, as well as the association it corresponded…