Women's Rights Movements: First Wave

Though we may have vague notions of the American women who fought so heroically for the ballot, they are, in our minds, in our imaginations, in the photographs and first-person narratives that have come down to us, uniformly white people.

A document signed in 1848 by 68 women and 32 men—100 out of some 300 attendees at the first women's rights convention to be organized by women.

The National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection is a library of nearly 800 books and pamphlets documenting the suffrage campaign that were collected between 1890 and 1938 by members of NAWSA.

Originally known as the Woman’s Rights Convention, the Seneca Falls Convention fought for the social, civil and religious rights of women. The meeting was held from July 19 to 20, 1848 at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York.

In the early 1970s the Suffragists Oral History Project collected interviews with twelve leaders and participants in the woman's suffrage movement. Tape-recorded and transcribed oral histories preserved the memories of these remarkable women, documenting formative experiences, activities to win the right to vote for women, and careers as leaders of the movements for welfare and labor reform, world peace, and the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Women were denied voting rights throughout most of history. The struggle for woman suffrage began in the 19th century and was successful in most countries during the 20th century.

Outlines the Women's Suffrage movement from the mid 1800's to the early part of the 1900's.

Link directs to another Research Guide about the Women's Suffrage Movement.

As the 150th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 approaches, historical documents and a script that the National Archives commissioned about the decades long struggle entitled Failure is Impossible serve as valuable teaching tools.

The following document comprises a series of articles from the New York Times detailing the passage of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution in Congress and the battle to get the Amendment ratified by the states.

Celebrating 90 years since the ratification of the 19th amendment guaranteeing American women the right to vote.

On February 27, 1922, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed a challenge to the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which declares that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex.”

A deeper look into the early women's rights movement that goes beyond the right to vote. Explores other issues women were fighting for.

Great overview of the first wave of feminist movement including a timeline, characteristics, videos, and more.

On the first week of Women's History Month Keegan and Madigan cover the first wave of the feminist movement. The ups, the downs, and the badass, fierce, and flawed ladies who made it all happen.

American activist who was a pioneer crusader for the woman suffrage movement in the United States and president of the National Woman Suffrage Association.

Lucretia Coffin Mott was an early feminist activist and strong advocate for ending slavery. A powerful orator, she dedicated her life to speaking out against racial and gender injustice.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a very prominent proponent of a woman’s legal and social equality during the nineteenth century.

Ida B. Wells took on racism in the Deep South with powerful reporting on lynchings.