Women Breaking Barriers

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Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton are told by organizers of the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London that they could sit quietly in a separate women-only section curtained off from the main convention hall where they could listen to — but not participate in — the convention's proceedings. They respond by organizing a Women’s Convention in the United States. View full account

Elizabeth Cady Stanton writes the Declaration of Sentiments, modeled after the Declaration of Independence, and 100 of 300 attendees sign the document in support. The document asserts that men and women are equal and are entitled to unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In 16 points, the Declaration outlines the inequity women face in a patriarchal society including the lack of women's suffrage and concludes, “Now, in view of this entire disfranchisement of one-half the people of this country, their social and religious degradation, - in view of the unjust laws above mentioned, and because women do feel themselves aggrieved, oppressed, and fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights, we insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of these United States.” Twelve of thirteen resolutions passed unanimously at the convention. The only resolution that did not pass unanimously was that of women's suffrage, as some people thought it was too controversial and would undermine the women's movement. It is important to note that the Seneca Falls Convention is attended exclusively by middle and upper class white men and women, with the exception of Frederick Douglas. View Full Document Read the papers of Elizabeth Cady Stanton

California’s constitution of 1849 protected women’s rights not only to property acquired prior to marriage but to property acquired independently after marriage. "All property, both real and personal, of the wife, owned or claimed by her before marriage, and that acquired afterward by gift, devise, or descent, shall be her separate property; and laws shall be passed more clearly defining the rights of the wife in relation to her separate property, as to that held in common with her husband." In 1852, the California state legislature enacted a law permitting married women to engage in business as ‘sole traders’. Library of Congress Resources on Women in Laws

Held in Worcester, Massachusetts, the first National Woman's Rights Convention was attended by both male and female leaders of the temperance movement, the abolitionist movement, and women's rights movement. Some notable figures include Frederick Douglass, Paulina Wright Davis, Abby Kelley Foster, William Lloyd Garrison, and Sojourner Truth. The New York Tribune reported that "above 1,000 people were present, and if a larger place could have been had, many more thousands would have attended." Many other conventions were held in the years following, growing in size and support every year. Many key leaders of the movement attended and later spoke at these conventions. Read the proceedings of the Woman's Rights Convention

At the 1851 Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, abolitionist and suffragette Sojourner Truth delivers a speech later called the “Ain’t I A Woman” speech. “That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?” Hear The Original Speech Proceedings recorded in the Anti-Slavery Bugle Read the proceedings of the Woman's Rights Convention of 1851

Clarina Howard Nichols presents issue of women's property rights to the Vermont Senate, where married women were still not entitled rights to their own property. Read The Responsibilities of Woman

Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly, was an international bestselling novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe that brought widespread attention to the issue of slavery. Stowe, a Connecticut-born teacher at the Hartford Female Seminary and an active abolitionist, featured the character of Uncle Tom, a long-suffering enslaved black man around whom the stories of other characters revolve. Read Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Antoinette Brown and Susan B. Anthony are denied the right to speak at the World’s Temperance Convention because they are women, with the remark “The Sisters were not invited there to speak but to listen and learn." Anthony and Brown left and later formed the Woman's State Temperance Society of New York. Proceedings of World’s Temperance Convention

Celia, an enslaved woman, is declared to be property without a right to defend herself against a master’s act of rape. She was repeatedly assaulted by her master over the course of seven years. One night, Celia’s Master visited her quarters and she killed him in self-defense. Her trial was taken to Missouri's Supreme Court where her earlier conviction of first degree murder was upheld, and she was sentenced to death by hanging. Learn more

With rising tensions and the start of the Civil War, Women’s Rights Conventions and most other suffrage efforts are suspended.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucy Stone ask friends and associates to send petitions for women's suffrage to their congressional representatives. Petitions become a very important tool for activism in the suffrage movement. See petition

With the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States are abolished, except as punishment for a crime. View document

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony found the American Equal Rights Association, working to “secure Equal Rights to all American citizens, especially the right of suffrage, irrespective of race, color, or sex.” Proceedings of the first anniversary of the American Equal Rights Association

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 is the first federal law to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by the law. The CRA establishes that "all persons born in the United States" are citizens of the United States, except for Native Americans. View document

While debating the enfranchisement of African American men, Senator Edgar Cowan proposes that the arguments supporting Black male suffrage would also apply to all women regardless of their race. He did not intend to truly advocate for equal suffrage but use patriarchal ideas to divide the Senate and kill the proposed amendment. His assertion failed to stop the enfranchisement of Black men. Voting qualifications were changed from “white male” to just “male”, but Cowan’s strategy highlighted the inconsistencies within the debate for equal suffrage.

In the presidential election of 1868, 172 women cast ballots in a separate box in Vineland, New Jersey. Their votes are not counted.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified and “voters” and “citizens” are now explicitly defined as males. View joint resolution proposing the Fourteenth Amendment

The Revolution is a weekly women’s rights newspaper providing updates on current activist efforts and discussions on other women’s issues, including domestic violence, divorce, and reproductive rights. Edited by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, it becomes the official publication of the National Woman Suffrage Association, often differing with the publications of the American Woman Suffrage Association. The Revolution’s first motto was “Principle, not policy; Justice, not favors.” and varied in later editions.

Senator Samuel Pomery introduces Senate Resolution 180, the first federal women’s suffrage amendment to Congress. The amendment proposes that “The basis of suffrage in the United States shall be that of citizenship, and all native or naturalized citizens shall enjoy the same rights and privileges of the elective franchise….” The Senate agrees to let the bill “lie on the table,” but it is never passed.

More conservative members of the suffrage movement form the American Woman Suffrage Association due to irrevocable differences with more radical activists. This organization worked to secure suffrage through individual state constitutions, as opposed to federal legislature. Notable figures include Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell, and Julia Ward Howe. View The Woman’s Journal

During an 1867 campaign for suffrage in Kansas, Stanton and Anthony choose to work with a known racist. This decision alienates abolitionist members and Lucretia Mott, the president of the AERA. After the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, Stanton and Anthony further distance themselves from the abolitionist movement over the exclusion of women in the amendment. They instead encourage members to support a Sixteenth Amendment granting suffrage to women, but other leaders remain hesitant.

After parting ways with the AERA, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony found an exclusively female organization, the National Woman Suffrage Association. This organization worked to secure suffrage through the passage of a constitutional amendment. The NWSA is more radical in their methods and beliefs, compared to other suffrage organizations. View NWSA constitution

The Fifteenth Amendment is ratified, granting African American men the right to vote. The NWSA refused to advocate for ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment and opted to advocate for a Sixteenth Amendment for universal suffrage. This position results in Frederick Douglass and other allies from the abolitionist movement to break from the organization. View joint resolution proposing the Fifteenth Amendment

Victoria Woodhull addresses the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives to argue for women’s right to vote under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. In her speech, she says “whereas, the continuance of the enforcement of… local election laws, denying and abridging the Right of Citizens to Vote on account of sex, is a grievance to your memorialist and to various other persons” and proposed the committee should draft legislation on suffrage. A minority of the Committee advocates on her behalf, but their combined efforts are unsuccessful.

As the suffragist movement gains support and attention, there are counter movements. Society remains very traditional and largely support the historic role of women as homemakers and men as heads of household. Anti-suffragists argued many women were opposed to suffrage because they took care of the home and children, women did not have time to vote or stay updated on politics and some argued women lacked the expertise or mental capacity to offer a useful opinion about political issues. Many women stated they simply didn’t care about voting rights. View anti-suffrage petition

In the early 1870s, what had been spontaneous actions by women to show up at the polls became more systematic as women planned lawsuits. As part of a nation-wide pattern of civil disobedience in which hundreds of women across the country attempted to vote, Virginia L. Minor of Missouri tries to register to vote, but is refused by St. Louis' sixth district registrar, Reese Happersett because she is female. Minor and her husband, Francis Minor, filed a civil suit contending that women were U.S. citizens under the 14th amendment to the Constitution, which "nowhere gives [states] the power to prevent" a citizen from voting. The state supreme court said that the purpose of the 14th Amendment, which guaranteed the rights of citizenship and equal protection under the law to people born or naturalized in the United States, was meant to extend voting rights to the newly freed slaves, giving African Americans "the right to vote and thus protect themselves against oppression...." The court continued by saying that "There could have been no intention [in the amendment] to abridge the power of the States to limit the right of suffrage to the male inhabitants." The Minors appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States which ruled unanimously in October 1874 in a decision handed down by Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite, that "the Constitution of the United States does not confer the right of suffrage upon anyone," because suffrage was not coexistent with citizenship. Primary source document: “Determined to Vote”

As part of a nationwide attempt to force the issue of woman suffrage and gain headlines, fifteen women, including Susan B. Anthony, are arrested for illegally voting in the presidential election of 1872. At a separate location, Sojourner Truth demands, but is denied, a ballot to cast a vote. Learn more about Anthony’s trial

Oregon passes laws granting many rights to married women. Some of these rights include starting and operating one’s own business, partial financial autonomy, and protection of property in the case of a woman’s husband abandoning her. The passage of these laws is largely credited to Abigail Scott Duniway.

On April 2, 1870, Victoria Woodhull makes national news when she sends a letter to the New York Herald stating her declaration to run for president. In the note, she wrote: "I am quite well aware that in assuming this position I shall evoke more ridicule than enthusiasm at the outset. But this is an epoch of sudden changes and startling surprises. What may appear absurd today will assume a serious aspect to-morrow." Two years later, Woodhull was officially nominated to be the presidential candidate for the Equal Rights Party, a political group she helped to organize. Read “Victoria Woodhull Ran for President Before Women Had the Right to Vote”

The Supreme Court of the United States rules that states have the right to exclude married women from practicing law. Learn more

Ellen Swallow Richards is the first woman admitted to a school of science or technology when she gains entrance to MIT. She is also the first American woman to earn a degree in Chemistry, and upon graduation from MIT she becomes its first female instructor.

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled unanimously in October 1874 in a decision handed down by Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite, that "the Constitution of the United States does not confer the right of suffrage upon anyone," because suffrage was not coexistent with citizenship. As a result of the denial of the right to vote to women, courts found ways in which to limit voting rights for African-American men as well, cynically skirting the 14th and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution with "Jim Crow" laws. Read the case Learn more

Anne Whittenmyer founds the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and later becomes a supporter of women’s suffrage. The alliance between suffragists and prohibitionists proves to be very important in organizing for suffrage, and results in the liquor lobby opposing women’s suffrage.

Written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Matilda Joslyn Gage, the Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States is denied reading at the Centennial Celebration Program in Philadelphia. Five women go to stage anyway to give document to Senator Thomas Ferry, the official representative of the federal government in President Grant’s absence. After exiting the stage, Anthony read the four-page document to a rapidly growing crowd. She closed her presentation by saying “...We declare our faith in the principles of self-government; our full equality with man in natural rights; that woman was made first for her own happiness, with the absolute right to herself – to all the opportunities and advantages life affords to her complete development... We ask our rulers, at this hour, no special favors, no special privileges, no special legislation. We ask justice, we ask equality, we ask that all the civil and political rights that belong to citizens of the United States, be guaranteed to us and our daughters forever.” View document

After reviewing over 30,000 petitions requesting a women’s suffrage amendment, the Committee on Privileges and elections recommends that further examination of women’s suffrage be postponed indefinitely.

Referred to as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, S. Res. 12 provides women's suffrage: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on the account of sex.” The next day, suffragists testify before senators on the issue of suffrage for the very first time. The amendment proposed to Congress is the exact same wording as the 19th amendment that passes 41 years later. Report of the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections

The Senate Select Committee on Woman Suffrage favorably reported a constitutional amendment to the full Senate for its consideration. “We conclude…every reason…which bestows the ballot upon man is equally applicable to the proposition to bestow the ballot upon woman.”, but the Senate did not vote on the measure. View report of the Select Committee on Woman Suffrage

Susanna M. Salter is elected mayor of Argonia, Kansas, becoming the first woman to be mayor in the country.

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The Senate Select Committee on Woman Suffrage reports the Susan B. Anthony Amendment to the full Senate in a positive light. Nine years after it is first introduced to Congress, the first vote on the amendment is held, but is defeated 16-34.

The American Federation of Labor is organized as an association of American labor and trade unions. In its inception, membership was limited to craft unions comprised of white male members. As the labor movement grew, gaining membership and momentum across industries, the AFL extended membership to women and African-Americans. With the influx of women laborers entering the workforce, issues previously deemed “women’s issues” became worker’s issues. Equal pay, 10-hour workdays, women’s suffrage, and better working conditions are now a part of Union’s agendas. Learn more about women and the labor movement

The National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association merge to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), and Elizabeth Cady Stanton is chosen as president. Comprised of state and local suffrage groups, the NAWSA coordinates the national suffrage effort. The NAWSA does not explicitly exclude African-American membership but state and local groups are often segregated. Many members believe the exclusion of Black women from the suffrage movement would increase support by white women across class boundaries. Marches and conventions are segregated as a result of these practices and beliefs. NAWSA Collection of nearly 800 books and pamphlets documenting the suffrage campaign

Susan B. Anthony collection of correspondence, diaries, a daybook, scrapbooks, speeches, and more

Written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and a committee of 26 women, the publication of The Woman’s Bible results in Stanton being pushed away from the National American Woman Suffrage Association for being considered too radical. The two-part book promoted more than just suffrage, but radical liberation of women through the development of self. It also questioned traditional Christian values, further exacerbating the negative reaction of suffragists.

The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the principle of "separate but equal", allowing segregation. Learn more

The women’s suffrage movement was as segregated as American society. The racism and sexism Black women were subjected to compounded their oppression, creating a unique experience that was not addressed in mainstream suffrage movements. Due to their exclusion from white suffrage organizations, Black women created their own associations to represent their needs and voices. Harriet Tubman, Margaret Murray Washington, Mary Church Terrell, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Frances E.W. Harper founded the National Association of Colored Women’s Club at the First Annual Convention of the National Federation of Afro-American Women in Washington, D.C. The establishment of the NACWC brought together more than 100 clubs for Black women, including the National Federation of African-American Women, the Woman's Era Club, and the National League of Colored Women. Learn more about Black women’s contributions to the suffrage movement

By the start of the twentieth century, all states have legislation modelled after the New York's Married Women's Property Act of 1848. Married women are now entitled to limited control over their property and earnings. Learn more about the New York Married Women’s Property Act of 1848

In the early 1900s, the suffrage movement had stagnated. National organizations had lost touch with grassroots efforts and were largely occupied with their own internal struggles. The Women’s Political Union mobilized suffragists across class lines; it’s first suffrage parade was successful and eventually established an annual event.

Mary Dreier, Rheta Childe Dorr, Leonora O’Reilly, and others found the Women’s Trade Union League of New York. The WTUL is the first national association dedicated to organizing working women. They support suffrage and work for unionization- and are extremely successful in accomplishing their goals. Previously, working women hadn't had the ability to actively participate in the suffrage movement. In the early 1900’s, however, working women started to view the right to vote as a necessary tool to achieve their goals in the workplace. Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s daughter, Harriot Stanton Blatch, began recruiting working women from the WTUL and adopted many labor activists’ tactics. This intersection between the two movements later proves to be vital in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. Read a speech by Susan B. Anthony illustrating the intersection of the suffrage and labor movements

Harriot Stanton Blatch, daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, founded the Quality League of Self-Supporting Women, later known as the Women’s Political Union. Blatch was instrumental in the alliance between the labor and suffragist movements, using both the Quality League of Self-Supporting Women and the Women’s Political Union to recruit working class women for the suffrage movement. Older and more traditional suffragists feared the contemporary, and very public, strategies that Blatch and new recruits favored. Despite their concerns the suffrage movement was reinvigorated and continued to garner combined support from previously independent movements.

The U.S. Socialist Party created a Woman’s National Committee, calling for one day each year dedicated to campaigning for women’s rights. “National Woman’s Day” is celebrated and European Socialist leaders follow suit, and International Women’s Day is formed as a result and falls on March 8th.

Household duties had long been considered 'women's work'. The introduction of electric appliances indisputably made life easier for homemakers. The washing machine was particularly beneficial since hand washing and hanging laundry was a time consuming and arduous task. Household washing machines freed up a large portion of women's time eventually leading to them entering the workforce and participating in the economy on a larger scale. Despite this advancement, the responsibility of chores still fell on working women and mothers, creating a longer workday than their male counterparts.

The NAACP aimed to advocate for equal rights and the end of racial prejudice, and to “advance the interest of colored citizens” in voting rights, legal justice, education, and employment opportunities. The association also maintains a support network for activists and is a pillar of the Civil Rights Movement.

The National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage is formed by wealthy and influential women, Catholic clergymen, distillers and brewers, urban political machines, Southern Congressmen, and corporate capitalists. Read “Some Reasons We Oppose Votes for Women”

As progress made by the NAWSA slowed, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns are appointed to its Congressional Committee. Paul and Burns had been radicalized while participating in the English suffrage movement by adopting militant tactics that included direct, and often, violent confrontation with authorities. They aimed to obtain enfranchisement for all women on a national scale by constitutional amendment. Their more extreme strategies concerned leadership of the NAWSA, but they proved to be effective. Paul & Burns organized the Suffrage Parade of 1913 under the NAWSA. The committee was consistently at odds with NAWSA leadership and strategies, pushing Burns and Paul to branch out. They founded the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage in 1913, later merging with the Woman’s Party to become the National Woman’s Party.

Citizens of Macon, Georgia, petition Congress to ask them to vote against a women's suffrage amendment. The petition claimed that the proposed amendment "is dangerous and hurtful to the best interests of our Country and especially to the South, in that the inevitable result of the legislation proposed would destroy white supremacy and states rights." View full petition

Inspired by British activism and marches orchestrated by the Women’s Political Union, the controversial Suffrage Parade of 1913 was planned for the day of Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration to attract publicity. Activists attempted to use their support for the Democratic party to ensure passage of a women’s suffrage amendment. Over 8,000 people participated in the march, facing backlash from anti-suffrage counter protesters as they marched. Police opted to not get involved to protect marchers, and a NAWSA leader stated that the police’s involvement had “..done more for suffrage, to establish firmly those who were wavering, and to bring to our ranks thousands of others who would never have taken any interest in it.” Organization leaders were still wary of modern activism tactics despite the perceived success, fearing militancy would compromise future successes. Read more on the tactics of the NWP and the CU

The General Federation of Women’s Clubs, an organization of over one million female members in the United States, and their endorsement of suffrage brings the movement into the mainstream.

On a transcontinental tour, Vernon and Field gather over 500,000 signatures to endorse women's suffrage. These petitions are presented to Congress.

Margaret Sanger establishes a birth control clinic in New York. The clinic is shut down just ten days later and Sanger enters a legal battle with the state after she and her associates are arrested. Upon her release, Sanger reopens the clinic and it is shut down again after two days. Read “The Progress of the Birth Control Movement” by Margaret Sanger

Alice Paul and 96 other suffragists are arrested for obstructing traffic during their demonstration in front of the White House. In protest of their treatment, suffragists go on a hunger strike in jail. Alice Paul is put in solitary confinement in the prison mental ward in an attempt to break the will of protesters. The decision to protest during wartime, as picketing continued after the onset of WW1, was extremely controversial and created a further divide between the NAWSA and NWP. Nevertheless, members of the NWP were determined to hold elected officials accountable and maintain pressure.

Led by the first female Congresswoman, Jeannette Rankin, the women’s suffrage amendment is introduced to Congress and debate is opened in the House of Representatives. The amendment passes in the house but fails to gain ⅔ support needed in the Senate. Since the amendment was defeated, Congressman John Raker proposes a committee be formed on the topic of women's suffrage. Some suffragists saw the committee as a means for securing voting rights state by state since the constitutional amendment was blocked. The measure was passed 180 to 107.

Following her arrest for the distribution of prohibited material in 1916, Margaret Sanger voluntarily spent 30 days in jail and appealed her case upon release. Sanger’s conviction was sustained, but the appeals judge ruled that doctors were allowed to advise married patients about contraceptives for health purposes. Sanger was not a licensed medical professional, so she was still held accountable for violating the law, but this case marks an important stride in the birth control movement. Learn more

The 19th amendment is passed by both houses of Congress and is sent to the states for ratification. View document

The 19th amendment was ratified in the Constitution after gaining the support of ¾ of state legislatures. “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on the account of sex”.

The agency is formed to collect information about women in the workforce and safeguard working conditions for women. Its mission is "to formulate standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency, and advance their opportunities for profitable, employment." Working conditions at the time were hazardous across industries, especially for women and children. Learn more

Margaret Sanger founds the American Birth Control League to further advocate for women's reproductive rights. The organization later evolves into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1942.

At the Seneca Falls Convention anniversary event, Alice Paul proposes the Equal Rights Amendment to further remedy inequality between men and women beyond voting.

Congressman Daniel Anthony, nephew of Susan B. Anthony, introduces the Equal Rights Amendment to congress for the first time. This initial attempt and all following 1,100 attempts fail. Supporters of the ERA believed that sex discrimination was so pervasive in society that only a constitutional amendment could protect their rights. This differed from labor feminists, who thought that activists should seek to change individual amendments that directly negatively impacted women, while not changing those they thought to be beneficial. View history of the Equal Rights Amendment

The Supreme Court of the United States upholds a law forbidding waitresses from working the night shift, with the exception of entertainers and ladies room attendants. Learn more

Read the Snyder Act

Mary McLeod Bethune organizes the National Council of Negro Women, a coalition of Black women's groups that lobbied against job discrimination, racism, and sexism. Its mission is “to advance opportunities and the quality of life for African-American women, their families and communities.” Created as an umbrella organization to foster unity between numerous national and local entities, over 4 million African-American women were affiliated with the NCNW in the United States.

The Supreme Court of the United States approves medicinal use of birth control. Information regarding contraceptives is no longer classified as obscene, and federal law prohibiting the dissemination of contraceptive information through the mail is revised. Read more

The Supreme Court of the United States upholds Washington state's minimum wage laws for women employed by private entities. Read more

The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes a minimum wage without regard to sex. Read full document

H.R. 5056 Prohibiting Discrimination in Pay on Account of Sex was the first bill of its kind to be presented to Congress. The bill proposed that employers be required to pay women equally for equal work. The bill was not passed in 1944 but its principles were later enacted in the Equal Pay Act of 1963. View original document

The Supreme Court of the United States rules that women are equally qualifies as men to serve on juries but are granted an exemption and may or may not serve as they choose. Read more

NASA later cancels the program in 1963 and Cobb never travels to space.

The Supreme Court of the United States overturns the principle of "separate but equal". Read more

While riding the bus home from work, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man. She was arrested and fined $10. Four days later the Montgomery Bus Boycott took place, marking the first large-scale demonstration against segregation in the United States.

The Civil Rights Act of 1960 establishes federal inspection of local voter registrations. It aimed to reduce discriminatory practices against minority voters, particularly in the South.

Initially submitted to the FDA for approval only as a treatment for menstrual disorders and infertility, birth control pills are approved explicitly as contraceptives in 1960.

The Supreme Court of the United States upholds a rule adopted by Florida that was designed to make it less likely for women to be called to serve on jury duty than their male counterparts. The rule was based on the grounds that "the woman is still regarded as the center of home and family life." Learn more

President John F. Kennedy establishes the Commission on the Status of Women and appoints Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman. Its purpose is to develop recommendations for “overcoming discriminations in…employment on the basis of sex” and for “services which will enable women to continue their role as wives and mothers while making a maximum contribution to the world around them.” The report issued by the commission in 1963 documents substantial discrimination against women in the workplace and outlines recommendations for improvement. Proposed recommendations include fair hiring practices, paid maternity leave, and affordable child care. Read full report

The Equal Pay Act ensures equal wage for the same work regardless of race, religion, national origin, or sex of a worker. Read more

Betty Friedan publishes The Feminine Mystique, describing the dissatisfaction of suburban housewives. Between 1946-1961, women are distinguished by unique patterns in their life cycles compared to previous years. They tended to live their lives in 3 phases: short time of working or pursuing an education in their late teens and early twenties, raising children full time for about a decade, and then having around 30 healthy adult years with reduced childcare responsibilities. After their children became school-aged, mothers had greater free time and began entering the workforce at record numbers. The Feminine Mystique illustrated the lives and patterns of 'bored homemakers' and became a bestseller, galvanizing the modern women's rights movement.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans take part in the March on Washington to call for racial equality.

The ratification of the 24th Amendment outlaws poll tax in elections for federal officials. Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax. Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, or sex. Read more

The Supreme Court of the United States overturns one of the last state laws prohibiting the prescription or use of contraceptives by married couples. Learn more

The Supreme Court of the United States rules to relax restrictive labor laws and company regulations on the hours and conditions in which women may work. This decision opens up many previously male-only jobs to women. Learn more

President Lyndon B. Johnson established requirements for non-discriminatory hiring and employment on the part of United States government contractors with including affirmative action plans for hiring women. Learn more

The Supreme Court of the United States rules that women who meet physical requirements of a position may work in many jobs that had previously accepted to men. Learn more

The NYPD raid the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay club in New York City. The violent raid sparked a riot among bar-goers and locals in the area, lasting six days. Two transgender women, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, are credited with initiating the uprising and "throwing the first brick". The Stonewall Uprising is widely accepted as the catalyst for the Gay Rights Movement.

The Supreme Court of the United States rules that private employers may not refuse to hire women with pre-school children, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Learn more

The Supreme Court of the United States holds unconstitutional an Idaho state law that established automatic preference for men as administrators of wills. Learn more

Title IX of the Education Amendment prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in all aspects of educational programs that receive federal support. Learn more

The Supreme Court of the United States rules that individuals right to privacy encompasses an unmarried person's right to use contraceptives. Learn more

The Supreme Court of the United States holds sex-segregated "help wanted" advertisements unconstitutional under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Learn more

The Supreme Court of the United States declares the constitution protects a woman's right to terminate an early pregnancy, making abortion legal in the United States. Learn more about Roe v. Wade Learn more about Doe v. Bolton

The Supreme Court of the United States rules it is illegal to force pregnant women to take maternity leave on the assumption that they are incapable of working in their physical condition. Learn more

Kathy Kozachenko becomes the first openly gay American to be elected to public office when she won a seat on the Ann Harbor, Michigan, City Council.

The Supreme Court of the United States denies states the right to exclude women from juries. Learn more

The Supreme Court of the United States declares unconstitutional a state law permitting 19-20 year old women to drink beer while denying that right to men of the same age. The Court establishes a new set of standards for reviewing laws that treat men and women differently. Learn more

The Supreme Court of the United States upholds women's right to unemployment benefits during the last three months of a pregnancy. Learn more

After undergoing gender alignment surgery in 1975, professional tennis player Renee Richards is banned from competing in the women's US Open due to a "women-born-women" rule barring transgender women from matches. Richards challenges the decision and the New York Supreme Court rules in her favor. She goes on to compete in the 1977 US Open, marking an important advancement in the LGBT+ rights movement. Learn more

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act bans employment discrimination against pregnant women. Learn more

A group of over 100,000 people march on Washington for LGBT+ rights.

The Supreme Court of the United States overturns state laws designating the husband "head and master" of a household, with unilateral control over property owned jointly with his wife. Learn more

The Supreme Court of the United States rules excluding women from the draft is constitutional. Learn more

The Supreme Court of the United States rules that law firms may not discriminate on the basis of sex when promoting lawyers to partnership positions. Learn more

The Supreme Court of the United States forbids sex discrimination in membership policies of organizations. This decision opens up previously all male organizations like the Jaycees, Rotary clubs, and the Lions, to women. Learn more

The Supreme Court of the United States upholds that a work environment can be declared hostile or abusive due to discrimination based on sex. This decision is important in later sexual harassment cases. Learn more

The Supreme Court of the United States rules it is permissible to take sex and race into account in employment decisions even when there is no history of discrimination but when evidence of a manifest imbalance exists in the number of women or minorities holding the position in question. Learn more

Intersectionality is a term used to identify differing forms of discrimination and how they are related to one another. The concept elucidates dynamics that are often overlooked by those outside of disadvantaged groups. Intersectionality considers race, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and economic status.

The Supreme Court of the United States affirms the right of states to deny public funding for abortions and to prohibit public hospitals from performing abortions. Learn more

Anita Hill, previously an attorney-adviser and assistant to Clarence Thomas, alleges sexual harassment on part of Thomas. Hill is called to testify before Congress about her experience working for Thomas, speaking before an all-white, all-male Senate Judiciary Committee. Thomas categorically denies the accusations. There is bipartisan doubt cast on Hill's testimony and credibility, despite a consistent story, four witnesses who were not permitted to testify on Hill's behalf, and a polygraph supporting her statements. Hill continued on to have a long and successful career as a law professor and attorney. The Anita Hill hearings created a national dialogue regarding race, gender, and workplace discrimination. Black feminists and women across the nation mobilized to create a remarkable response, including fundraising campaigns and the large numbers of women elected to Congress the following year.

The Health Benefits Expansion Act establishes domestic partnerships in the District of Columbia.

The Supreme Court of the United States upholds Roe v. Wade but allows states to impose restrictions on abortions, such as waiting periods and requiring parental consent for minors seeking abortions. Learn more

The Family and Medical Leave Act is designed to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities by allowing them to take reasonable unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. It also aims to ensure the interests of employers and promote equal employment opportunity for men and women. Learn more

The Supreme Court of the United States rules that a victim need not show they have suffered physical or serious psychological injury as the result of sexual harassment. The law allowed homosexual couples to register as domestic partners and granted them some rights that heterosexuals received in marriage. Learn more

The Gender Equity in Education Act trains teachers in gender equity, promotes math and science learning in young girls, provides counsel to pregnant teens, and aims to prevent sexual harassment. Read full text

The Violence Against Women Act funds services for victims of rape and domestic violence and allows women to seek civil rights remedies for gender-related crimes. Read full text

The Supreme Court of the United States affirms that male only admission policy of the state supported Virginia Military Institute violates the Fourteenth Amendment. Learn more

The Supreme Court of the United States invalidates the portions of the Violence Against Women Act permitting survivors of rape, domestic violence, and other gender-related crimes to sure their attackers in federal court. Learn more

The Supreme Court of the United States rules that states can be sued in federal court for violating The Family Leave Medical Act. Learn more

The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Title IX prohibits punishing someone for filing a complaint regarding sex-based discrimination. Learn more

Congress passes The Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, marking the first law to ban a specific medical abortion procedure. The Supreme Court upheld the ban in 2007.

Tarana Burke, a civil rights activist, founded the Me Too movement. She first used the phrase "Me Too" to raise awareness of the pervasive sexual abuse and assault in society. The term is later used by actress and activist Alyssa Milano, and the movement spread via social media.

The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act allows victims of pay discrimination to file a complaint with the government against their employer.

The Affordable Care Act requires private health insurance companies to provide birth control coverage without copays or deductibles.

The 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act extends coverage to Native American women who are attacked by non-tribal residents, as lesbian women and immigrants.

The Supreme Court of the United States decides that a key portion of the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law used widely to discriminate against same-sex couples, is unconstitutional because it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. Same sex marriage is now legal in the United States and recognized by the federal government. Learn more

Obergefell v. Hodges is a critical civil rights case guaranteeing same-sex couples the fundamental right to marry by the Due-Process Clause & the Equal Protection Clause. Learn more

Hillary Rodham Clinton is the first woman to be nominated and lead the ticket of a major political party when she receives the democratic nomination for the presidential election. She is also the first and only woman to win the popular vote in a presidential election.

Over 200,000 people march on Washington the day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump to protest numerous statements considered by many to be offensive and anti-women. The Women's March is the largest single-day protest in United States history, gathering between 3-5 million participants nationwide, and over 7 million globally.

Following a New York Times article outlining the sexual harassment of actress Ashley Judd by Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein, actress Alyssa Milano tweets "If you've been sexually assaulted or harassed write 'me too' as a reply to this tweet". Over 19 million tweets using the hashtag 'me too' have been sent. Following Ashley Judd's initial accusation, professionals from the following industries came forward to share their experiences with sexual violence: media, fashion, religion, education, finance, politics & government, sports, medicine, music, military, and the sciences.

Christine Blasey Ford, a psychology professor and research psychologist, contacts her congresswoman and the Washington Post after Judge Brett Kavanaugh is reported to be a possible Supreme Court justice nominee. In a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein, Ford outlines her experience with Brett Kavanaugh when they were at a high school party in 1982 where Kavanaugh allegedly sexually assaulted her. Ford requested anonymity for fear of backlash, but after redacted FBI documents are made public and the media attempts to identify the reporting party, she comes forward publicly. Ford agrees to testify before Congress, undergoing questioning by Democratic committee members and prosecutor Rachel Mitchell during confirmation hearings, and FBI investigators in a supplemental investigation. Similar to the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas controversy, many question Ford's credibility and character, dismissing the allegations as partisan attacks to smear Kavanaugh’s name. Legislators move to confirm Kavanaugh, citing a lack of evidence to satisfy the preponderance-of-evidence standard, which is described as "more probable than not".

For the fifth year in a row, Congress is the most diverse it has ever been. 127 women hold seats in the United States Congress- 25 serve in the Senate and 102 serve in the House of Representatives. Of the 127 congresswomen, 47 are women of color.