LibGuides: History Vault: Struggle for Womens Rights, Organizational Records, 1880-1990

Struggle for Women's Rights, Organizational Records, 1880-1990

Struggle for Women's Rights, Organizational Records, 1880-1990 (Module 9)

This module is comprised of records of three important women’s rights organizations: the National Woman’s Party, the League of Women Voters, and the Women’s Action Alliance. As the movement for women’s suffrage in America was accelerating, the National Woman’s Party (NWP) brought to the campaign a new militancy and daring. Originally a committee of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), the NWP was founded in 1913 when Alice Paul and her colleagues broke away from NAWSA in dissent over strategy and tactics.

The rift was permanent. The NWP’s use of confrontational tactics against the Wilson administration and such provocative wartime actions as picketing, demonstrations, and marches clashed with NAWSA’s more conservative approach to reform.

After the suffrage victory in 1920, the NWP turned its energy towards winning an equal rights amendment to the Constitution. Long before the ERA became a goal of the women’s movement mainstream, the party was clearly in the vanguard of evolving attitudes about women’s place in society.

The Women’s Action Alliance, established in 1971 as a grass-roots organization, concerned itself with issues such as employment and employment discrimination, childcare, health care, and education. The League of Women Voters collection documents almost every facet of women’s involvement in U.S. politics from 1920 to 1974.

Use Case: Alice Paul and the National Women’s Party Papers
by Mary Walton, and journalist and book author. Walton used the NWPP microfilm, held at Rutger’s University, to write the book A Woman’s Crusade: Alice Paul and the Battle for the Ballot.

People

Jane Addams
"Why Women Should Vote," by Jane Addams.Found in: National Woman's Party Papers, Part I: 1913-1974, Series 3: Printed Materials, 1850-1972. Date: Jan 01, 1912 - Dec 31, 1912
Emmeline Pankhurst
Women's suffrage movement in the United States and Britain and visit of Emmeline Pankurst to the United States, newspaper clippings. Found in: National Woman's Party Papers, Part I: 1913-1974, Series 3: Printed Materials, 1850-1972. Date: Jun 30, 1913 - Oct 31, 1913
Helen Keller
Government publications, including Senate and House bills, committee hearings and reports, and items from the Congressional Record. Includes "The Modern Woman" by Helen Keller as printed in the Congressional Record (pg. 64). Found in: National Woman's Party Papers, Part II: The Suffrage Years, 1913-1920, Series 2: Administrative Files, Printed Matter, and Photographs, 1889-1936. Date: Jan 01, 1904 - Dec 31, 1914
Susan B. Anthony
Suffrage movement materials submitted to, collected by, or used in The Suffragist. Found in: National Woman's Party Papers, Part II: The Suffrage Years, 1913-1920, Series 2: Administrative Files, Printed Matter, and Photographs, 1889-1936. Date: Jan 01, 1915 - Dec 31, 1915
Suffragettes, including Harriot Stanton Blatch
Newspaper clippings on suffrage and the suffrage movement Found in: National Woman's Party Papers, Part II: The Suffrage Years, 1913-1920, Series 2: Administrative Files, Printed Matter, and Photographs, 1889-1936. Date: Apr 08, 1916 - May 12, 1916
Clara Barton
Pamphlets of other organizations, including programs, reports, and newsletters. See p. 171. Found in: National Woman's Party Papers, Part II: The Suffrage Years, 1913-1920, Series 2: Administrative Files, Printed Matter, and Photographs, 1889-1936. Date: Jan 01, 1916 - Dec 31, 1916
Betty Friedan
Equal Job Opportunity, A National Goal (pamphlet), Woman (magazine), Catholic Church, and maternity benefits. Found in: Citizens Advisory Council on the Status of Women, 1963-1977, Part 1: White House Files, Meetings, and Records of Task Forces. Date: Apr 01, 1971 - Apr 02, 1971
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem administration of the Women's Action Alliance, publicity, and interview with Phil Donahue. Found in: Women's Action Alliance, Part 1: Administration--General, Board of Directors, and Executive Director, 1971-1996. Date: Jan 01, 1971 - Dec 31, 1989
Ruth Abram
Ruth J. Abram speech on Planned Parenthood. Found in: Women's Action Alliance, Part 1: Administration--General, Board of Directors, and Executive Director, 1971-1996. Date: Jan 01, 1974 - Dec 31, 1996

Organizations

National Women's Party
National Woman's Party press releases on legislative efforts, conferences, and pageants celebrating the 75th anniversary of the first women's rights convention. Found in: National Woman 's Party Papers, Part I: 1913-1974, Series 3: Printed Materials, 1850-1972. Date: Jan 01, 1923 - Dec 31, 1923
National Women's Trade Union League of America
Legal opinions, support for, and opposition to proposed federal Equal Rights Amendment. Found in: National Woman's Party Papers, Part I: 1913-1974, Series 1: Correspondence, Section A: 1877-1933. Date: Dec 16, 1921 - Dec 22, 1921
Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage
Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage press releases on organization and suffrage movement activities. Found in: National Woman's Party Papers, Part II: The Suffrage Years, 1913-1920, Series 2: Administrative Files, Printed Matter, and Photographs, 1889-1936. Date: Mar 03, 1913 - Dec 31, 1913
League of Women Voters
Carrie Chapman Catt correspondence Found in: Papers of the League of Women Voters, 1918-1974, Part III, Series A: National Office Subject Files, 1920-1932. Date: Jan 01, 1924 - Dec 31, 1926
Women's Action Alliance
Women's Action Almanac, uncorrected proof copy. Found in: Women's Action Alliance, Part 8: Library, Publications, and Photographs, 1972-1995. Date: Jan 01, 1980 - Dec 31, 1980. This volume covers major women's issues. For example, questions posed on p. 70: Why is hysterectomy, a complex and difficult operation, the third most commonly performed surgery in United States hospitals? Why is the rate of Cesarean section births as high as 25 to 30 percent in some American hospitals?
National Organization for Women (NOW)
Women in the military, Civil Rights Act equal employment provisions, discriminatory language in employment advertising, and abortion Found in: Citizens Advisory Council on the Status of Women, 1963-1977, Part 1: White House Files, Meetings, and Records of Task Forces. Date: Jan 17, 1967 - Jan 17, 1967

Places

Seneca Falls, NY
First convention called to discuss the civil and political rights of women, Seneca Falls 1848 Found in: National Woman's Party Papers, Part I: 1913-1974, Series 3: Printed Materials, 1850-1972. Date: Jan 01, 1848 - Dec 31, 1848