US Herstory: from the Remedial Herstory Project

In modern history women’s roles remain complex. Women’s identities are shaped by themselves as individuals, within their families, and in their public lives. This chapter discusses women's history in politics. Find the bibliography, transcript, and learning materials that support this episode at: https://www.remedialherstory.com/26-modern-women.html#/ Support this work at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://ww...

Since the Stonewall riot, the LGBTQ+ movement has fought to dismantle gender and sexual norms. Although not always embraced by feminists, the LGBTQ+ movement gradually worked to dismantle the patriarchy through modern US history. In 2013, Edith Windsor sued the US because she was taxed upon inheriting her deceased wife’s estate. Although legal, LGBTQ+ rights and humanity remain threatened by the f...

Following the Civil Rights Movement, women were inspired to fight for equality and opportunity in society. As a result, many social movements arose in different communities which combatted sexism and sparked the rise of the women's liberation movement.  Find the bibliography, transcript, and learning materials that support this episode at: https://www.remedialherstory.com/24-the-feminist-era.h...

Reproductive Freedom, or the rights to control your reproduction, came under attack by laws in the late 19th century. As soon as women gained political freedoms, they began attacking these restrictions in the 20th century, with advocacy efforts peaking in the 1960s. Rights to privacy, rights to contraception (birth control), and rights to abortion were all focal points for women and their allies....

Women were pivotal in many aspects throughout the Cold War. They were soldiers, pilots, code breakers, nurses, and more. They supported the Cold War either on the front lines or from home. Of course not every woman supported war; in the Vietnam war many found themselves sympathetic with the Vietnamese women. Towards the end of the Cold War women found their social positions constantly changing, bu...

The bold actions and sacrifices made by many women involved with the Civil Right Movement are frequently overlooked or overshadowed by the contributions of their male counterparts. The pivotal impacts made by notable women like Rosa Parks and JoAnn Robinson were credited to the achievements by figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. Female civil rights activists were subjected to unlawful detainmen...

After World War II, women returned home, or at least that’s what society hoped. The reality was a bit more complicated than that. The 1950s is remembered as the good old days, when gender roles were clear, families were united, and everything was “normal.” But to what extent was that true? And at whose expense was this normalcy achieved? Find the bibliography, transcript, and learning materials th...

Women in World War II, again, entered new fields. They became members of the military, and even faced combat. Took over their families, became correspondents, spies, and code breakers. The war created a time for women to branch out but still many struggled financially or were prevented, from things such as racism, to grow. Find the bibliography, transcript, and learning materials that support this...

The Great Depression brought a new era of economic reform headed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Although these reforms mainly helped men who were dispositioned, leaving women to fight for themselves. Women entered new job forces and faced struggles men didn't have. They were expected to maintain their houses and families but also work in offices, while also not taking away from a man'...

The period between 1919 and the Stock Market Crash of 1929 “roared.” Who roared and why gives us some interesting things to examine in this episode. The term “Roaring Twenties” brings to mind cultural rebellion, frivolity, and assertions of independence, especially for women. From working girls in growing cities to flappers, Miss America, the Harlem Renaissance, and women athletes, the decade was...

The first wave of suffragists were gone. It was up to a new, educated, and persistent generation of women to earn the right to vote. This final push for women's suffrage saw pageants, parades, marches, boycotts, silent sentinels, hunger strikes, in addition to all the tactics used before. When World War I broke out, women did not back down as they had during the Civil War, escalating the atten...

The significant roles women played during World War I implored Americans to take a hard look at gender equality. The contributions and sacrifices made by women during this time ignited the demand for social change, which ultimately led to the ratification of the 19th Amendment.  Find the bibliography, transcript, and learning materials that support this episode at: https://www.remedialherstory.com...

In the absence of the vote, women sought change through progressive social movements, efforts that stretched the traditional roles of women, and dragged them ever-more into politics. Women sought reform on temperance, child labor, lynching, public schools, and more. Women's efforts were central to and the backbone of the progressive.  Find the bibliography, transcript, and learning materials t...

The backbone of every economy is the labor of women, both paid and unpaid. It was the Industrial Revolution, however, that first made this distinction and created a value system that favored "salary" work over unpaid domestic labor. Women's labors varied by class, but women everywhere worked and their work fueled industrialization.  Find the bibliography, transcript, and learning mat...

Where US imperialism went, so did women, and of course women were already in places where the US went. US imperialists gave indigenous people they encountered two choices: the male soldier, or the female teacher. They were going to Americanize them one way or the other. Indigenous people responded differently depending on the location and their unique history. Two great examples are US imperialism...

The right to vote was a highly contested and controversial amendment. Who should get it first? Black men or was universal suffrage possible during Reconstruction? If women, which ones? Could women work together across race and class to achieve suffrage? And, although female suffragists fought tooth and nail for the right, other women fought just as hard against it. Ultimately black men would recei...

During the Reconstruction Era, which followed the American Civil War, women faced many new challenges. Freedwomen struggled to find their place in society due to separated families, mistreatment from former masters, racism, and lack of assistance or resources. Some white Northern women worked with the Freedmen's Bureau and helped African Americans where they could. Whereas, white Southern wome...

The role of women throughout the American Civil War was diverse and widespread. Regardless of whether one was black or white, southern or northern, women were vital in the war efforts. Some were soldiers, nurses, or took control over their farms and families stations that the men usually would. Trigger Warning: for discussion of rape and sexual assault. Find the bibliography, transcript, and learn...

The west was a crossroads, and a place where we can see the intersection of so many different women. Mexican women, gold rush women, Chinese immigrants, American homesteaders, cowgirls, and Native Americans all staked claim in these territories. Their interactions created a diverse, tense, and fascinating culture that led to freedoms and restrictions for women.  Trigger Warning: for discussion of...

Women of all races identified with the abolition movement–some as Christians, some as humanitarians, some from personal experience–and  many became notorious household names for their quest to end slavery in the United States.  Trigger Warning: for discussion of rape and sexual assault. Find the bibliography, transcript, and learning materials that support this episode at: https://www.remedialhers...

Indigenous women in the Southeastern and Northwestern frontiers of the United States, found their communities in direct conflict with expansionist Americans eager to displace them and Southerners who wanted to take their lands to expand slave-based plantations. Cherokee women in particular were affected by this conflict and endured despite the violent expansion efforts. Some white women used their...

Following the American Revolution, there were many changes in American culture and society. . Women in this new republic found new roles and opportunities. However, many of these were shrouded by their societal expectations, particularly as mothers. In order for democracy to work in this new nation, its citizens needed to be educated and virtuous. If that was going to happen, mothers needed to be...

Women of all classes and races were not only supporters and opponents of the American Revolution, they actively promoted, engaged, wrote about, fought, and were deeply impacted by the outcome of the American Revolution. Their experiences were and perspectives were about as diverse as the women themselves. Trigger Warning: for discussion of rape and sexual assault. Find the bibliography, transcript...

Life in Colonial America had many challenges. For women, the experience was both freeing in some respects–specifically from patriarchal controls–but also horrifying. This era would witness women who were able to acquire wealth through marriage and entrepreneurship, and women who would be burned at the stake for witchcraft. Undoubtedly, women’s experiences were incredibly diverse.​ Find the bibliog...

Women were on the Mayflower when it landed in North America. They were sent to Jamestown as Tobacco Wives. Even the first European born in the English colonies was a woman: Virginia Dare... named after the Virgin Queen. Women were also leaders in Indigenous communities, like Pocahontas and Weetamoo. Some indigenous women resisted the encroaching Europeans, others allied or married with them. The f...