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Women's History: Primary Sources

To explore the achievements and events in women's history

Reports and Official Documents

Oral Histories

Constitutional Amendments & Legislation

  • Fourteenth Amendment - from the National Archives.  The fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution extended liberties, that were granted by the Bill of Rights to all Americans, to formerly enslaved women and men, though it still did not exclusively grant women the right to vote.
  • Nineteenth Amendment - from Library of Congress. The Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote.  Importantly, not all women were granted this right...
    • "...While many women were able to head to the polls, the amendment did not give voting rights to all women. Women of color, immigrants, and lower income women were often deterred from voting by laws and social pressure. For example, Native American women were not considered US citizens until 1924 and were not permitted to vote. Women who were convicted of a crime were also unable to vote, even if they completed their sentence..." from the National Parks Service, Women's Rights National Historical Park, Seneca Falls New York
  • The Voting Rights Act of 1965 - From the National Archives Foundation. The Senate approved the Voting Rights Act in 1965.  This act protected voting rights under the provisions of the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments.
  • Title IX of The Education Amendment - From the United States Government Publishing Office. In 1972 Congress passed Title IX in order to prohibit discrimination on sex/gender in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.
  • John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 - From Congress.gov.  John Lewis put forth this act "to amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to revise the criteria for determining which States and political subdivisions are subject to section 4 of the Act" 

Images

Map of United States showing progress of equal suffrage, Circa 1912.  From the Women's Suffrage and Equal Rights Collection, Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association; Ella Strong Denison Library; Claremont Colleges Digital Library.

The vote girl, 1972.  From the Women's Suffrage and Equal Rights Collection, Massachusettes Woman Suffrage Association; Ella Strong Denison Library; Claremont Colleges Digital Library.

Speeches (Videos)

Hilary Clinton gave her "Women's Rights are Human Rights" speech in 1995 at the United Nations Fourth World Conference in Beijing, China.

Important Speeches (transcripts)

UCNJ Libraries' Databases to Find Primary Sources

UCNJ LibGuides at Union College