Women's Rights

A lively, accessible collection of essays exploring the history of the struggle for women's rights in the United States from the colonial period to the present.

The fight for women’s rights was one of the first topics explored by women’s historians when the field emerged in the 1970s. Current and authoritative, Women’s Rights: People and Perspectives shows just how complex and multifaceted our understanding of that fight has become.

Women’s Rights spans the breadth of American history, from Native American women prior to colonization to women during the Revolution, Antebellum period, the Civil War, and the Gilded Age. Coverage of the 20th century moves from the Progressive Era to the Great Depression and World War II; from the emergence of modern feminism to the present. Throughout, it offers fascinating details of ordinary and extraordinary lives while charting the evolving roles of women in American society.

• Primary sources, including the 1692 witchcraft examination of Bridget Bishop; an excerpt from a 1917 National American Woman Suffrage Organization document, "Why Women Should Vote; " and excerpts from "School Days of an Indian Girl by Zitkala-Sa"
• Each chapter contains sidebars for more in-depth coverage and an annotated bibliograpy offers information on scholarly works for further research