Facial Hair Friday: Mary Ritter Beard

In celebration of Women’s History Month today’s Facial Hair Friday is in honor of a Beard: Mary Ritter Beard to be exact.  Mary Ritter Beard was a historian, author, woman suffrage activist, social reformer, and archivist! Born Mary Ritter in 1876, in Indianapolis, Indiana, she met future husband Charles Austin Beard while attending college. After … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Mary Ritter Beard

19th Amendment at 100: Mary Church Terrell

The 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920, but this landmark event was neither the beginning nor the end of the story for women and their struggle for the right to vote. Join us in 2020 as we commemorate this centennial year with 12 stories from our holdings for you to save, print, or share. February’s … Continue reading 19th Amendment at 100: Mary Church Terrell

19th Amendment at 100: Women Are First to Protest White House

The 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920, but this landmark event was neither the beginning nor the end of the story for women and their struggle for the right to vote. Join us in 2020 as we commemorate this centennial year with 12 stories from our holdings for you to save, print, or share. January’s … Continue reading 19th Amendment at 100: Women Are First to Protest White House

What is Suffrage?

This year we mark the 100th anniversary of the woman suffrage amendment, and as it turns out, a lot of people don’t really know what “suffrage” means because it's mostly fallen out of common usage. The term has nothing to do with suffering but instead derives from the Latin word “suffragium,” meaning the right or … Continue reading What is Suffrage?

The Movement as a Mosaic: Alice Paul and Woman Suffrage

Our new exhibit “Rightfully Hers” opens in the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery in the National Archives Building on May 10, 2019. Today’s post comes from Michael J. Hancock in the National Archives History Office. I always feel the movement is a sort of mosaic. Each of us puts in one little stone, and then you get … Continue reading The Movement as a Mosaic: Alice Paul and Woman Suffrage

Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Fighter for Social Justice

March is Women’s History Month and today is International Women's Day. To celebrate both events we are hosting an #ArchivesHerstory party! Today’s post comes from Michael J. Hancock in the National Archives History Office. Harriet Beecher Stowe was an abolitionist, author, and figure in the woman suffrage movement. Her magnum opus, Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), was a … Continue reading Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Fighter for Social Justice