Women & the American Story

Women & the American Story (WAMS) is a free curriculum website from the New-York Historical Society. WAMS connects educators with classroom resources that illuminate diverse women’s contributions to the American past. Explore units on Early Encounters, Settler Colonialism and the Revolution, Building a New Nation, Expansions and Inequalities, A Nation Divided, Industry and Empire, Modernizing America, Confidence and Crises, Growth and Turmoil, The Information Age, and more.

Material Type: Lesson Plan, Primary Source

Women in US History (HIST 215)

The heritage of women represents one-half of the history of the United States; for that reason alone it is worthy of closer scrutiny than it has received in standard history courses. The movement of women for social, political, and economic equality represents the longest and most far-reaching civil rights movement in U.S. history, yet it is a movement that has received minimal space and attention in standard history courses. This class is an attempt to bring to the foreground a history that we all share but perhaps have until now lacked the opportunity or information to focus on. It is a history that I find both maddening and inspiring, and one whose study is challenging, difficult, and ultimately so rewarding that it is worth every bit of effort, and then some.

Material Type: Assessment, Full Course, Reading, Syllabus

Women's History Nearpod Bellringer

This resource uses interactive tools to get students to think about the topic of Women's History before we begin the lesson.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Asia Cooper

Stories of Women

Elleke Boehmer's work on the crucial intersections between independence, nationalism and gender has already proved canonical in the field. 'Stories of women' combines her keynote essays on the mother figure and the postcolonial nation, with incisive new work on male autobiography, 'daughter' writers, the colonial body, the trauma of the post-colony, and the nation in a transnational context. Focusing on Africa as well as South Asia, and sexuality as well as gender, Boehmer offers fine close readings of writers ranging from Achebe, Okri and Mandela to Arundhati Roy and Yvonne Vera, shaping these into a critical engagement with theorists of the nation like Fredric Jameson and Partha Chatterjee. This new paperback edition will be of interest to readers and researchers of postcolonial, international and women's writing; of nation theory, colonial history and historiography; of Indian, African, migrant and diasporic literatures, and is likely to prove a landmark study in the field.

Material Type: Reading

Author: Elleke Boehmer

Notable Women in American Politics

A record number of 142 women are serving in Congress in 2021 following a landmark election that saw more women, including women of color, running for office than ever before. Still, women make up just a quarter of Congress, while comprising more than half the U.S. population. Throughout U.S. history, women have played an important and evolving role in the political landscape — from Abigail Adams urging the Founding Fathers to “remember the ladies” in 1776 to this year, when Kamala Harris became the first woman and woman of color to take office as vice president. Despite barriers to entry, women in American politics continue to break into new government roles, using their knowledge and experience to shape the nation’s laws, policies, and organizations. As American politics continue to evolve and new resources emerge to support diverse contributors, great potential exists to expand women’s involvement in government.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Case Study

Case Studies on Women and their Impact on Society: Using Powerful Narratives of Women to Teach the CRAIGs.

Through this unit, students will learn a broad narrative of the women's rights movement in the United States and elsewhere. We will begin with the present as to why there are still issues with equality among men and women, and search back through history for its causes. My objective will be to correct students’ misinformation and to encourage them to understand why gender inequality in its various forms--political, economic, and social--persists to the present day. The inspirational examples of influential women will teach students the behaviors needed to succeed in the world. Case studies, informed by the CRAIGs structure, will be our starting point.

Material Type: Lesson Plan, Unit of Study

Well-Behaved Women [and Men] Seldom Make History

Students read and discuss picture book biographies of women [and men] in history. With their teacher, they build a data chart of information about each woman, highlighting her historical setting, accomplishments, and character traits. Finally students apply what they learn to several writing projects focused on historical context and social change. While the focus of biography is on individuals, students will see they did not, and could not, succeed alone but were supported along the way by others.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Women in Fiction / Women in Fact: Power and Worth Exposed by Pandemics

This unit will be geared toward my Advanced Placement Literature and Composition class, but could certainly be taught in any survey course of English literature, or a course that examines women’s literature. One objective, part of the AP Literature curriculum, is to teach historical context. This is always important so that students realize that art is a response to real life, and characters’ lives represent real lives shaped by real events. I also want my students to see connections to their own lives, and that the struggles for equity are not futile, but ongoing and necessary. I would like students also to see that a society that suppresses a group of people, is weaker, not stronger, and oppression is something for all of us to fight. And, I would like to open up some dusty-shelf texts to high school teachers who might not consider teaching them. This unit will ask students to examine the historical boundaries in law, society, and economics for women in medieval literature, and consider how females depicted in stories from these eras might reveal power and agency that is not revealed in laws or politics. The unit will include the ancient Greek play Lysistrata, poetry from Anglo-Saxon England, Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and stories from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

Material Type: Lesson Plan, Unit of Study

Conversations with History: Justice in Rwanda and the Rights of Women, with Alice Karekezi

In this edition, lawyer and human rights activist Alice Karekezi joins UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler to reflect on the plight of women in Rwanda and the importance of making their struggle part of the human rights agenda. (60 min)

Material Type: Lecture

The Senate and Women's Right to Vote

This site on the U.S. Senate webpage includes information, primary sources, political cartoons and other images related to the suffragist movement and the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Material Type: Case Study, Primary Source, Reading

Author: United States Senate

Mending America, women and the Civil War

How women contributed to the repairing a country that had been torn apart. Lilly Martin Spencer, The Home of the Red, White, and Blue, c. 1867–68, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches (Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Art Acquisition Endowment Fund, 2007.1), a Seeing America video Speakers: Taylor Poulin, Assistant Curator, Terra Foundation for American Art, and Beth Harris. Created by Smarthistory, Beth Harris, and Steven Zucker. Find learning related resources here: https://smarthistory.org/seeing-america-2/

Material Type: Lesson

Author: SmartHistory

Women's Suffrage

A selection of Library of Congress primary sources exploring women's suffrage in the United States. This set also includes a Teacher's Guide with historical context and teaching suggestions.

Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Primary Source

World War II: Comfort Women

"Comfort Women" is a subject of contentious debate between Korea and Japan. This video focuses on the history of "comfort women" in Korea.

Material Type: Lecture, Lesson, Module, Unit of Study

Author: Anupama Mande

Women of Discovery

Women spearheaded breakthrough scientific missions and helped shape the Space Shuttle era.

Material Type: Reading

Author: National Air and Space Museum

Who Were the Foremothers of the Women's Suffrage and Equality Movements?

This lesson focuses on women who are too often overlooked when teaching about the "foremothers" of the movements for suffrage and women's equality in U.S. history. Grounded in the critical inquiry question "Who's missing?" and in the interest of bringing more perspectives to who the suffrage movement included, this resource will help to ensure that students learn about some of the lesser-known activists who, like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, participated in the formative years of the Women's Rights Movement.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Women and the Temperance Movement

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Temperance Movement fought to reduce consumption of alcohol. The movement began in the 1820s, rooted in Protestant churches, led by clergy and prominent laymen, and powered by women volunteers. More women were involved in temperance than any other cause in US history up to that point. Women’s involvement seemed natural since the movement targeted men’s alcohol abuse and how it harmed women and children. At first, the Temperance Movement sought to moderate drinking, then to promote resisting the temptation to drink. Later, the goal became outright prohibition of alcohol sales. This shift coincided with a large wave of immigrants from Southern, Central, and Eastern Europe, and some temperance advocates echoed the concerns of nativists as they objected to immigrants’ “wet” cultures and drinking customs. In addition, temperance advocates regarded urban saloons as hosts to a range of immoral behaviors beyond drunkenness, such as gambling, adultery, prostitution, profanity, and corruption.

Material Type: Primary Source

Author: Melissa Strong

Statewide Dual Credit American History II

Statewide dual credit (SDC) classes are college-level courses taught at the high-school level by trained high-school teachers. All SDC courses culminate in a challenge exam which is used to assess mastery of the postsecondary-level learning objectives. Students who meet or exceed the exam ‘cut score’ receive college credit that can be applied to any Tennessee public postsecondary institution.  The SDC American History II text contains Chapters 15 through 30 of The American Yawp: A Massively Collaborative Open U. S. History Textbook (CC-by SA 4.0) and additional resources to cover the time periods from Reconstruction through the recent past. This is the foundational text for the SDC American History II course. Except where otherwise noted, Statewide Dual Credit American History II is licensed CC-BY SA 4.0.

Material Type: Full Course

INFOGRAPHIC: 10 Things You Should Know About Copyright

FREE infographic you can download and print to distribute or share with your school. If you would like printed glossy 11×17 posters, we would be happy to mail to your schools, free of charge. Send a request by emailing: info@copyrightandcreativity.org.

Material Type: Diagram/Illustration

Author: CopyrightandCreativity.Org

Women and the Blues

This collection uses primary sources to explore the impact of women blues performers. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

Material Type: Primary Source

Author: Melissa Jacobs

Pocahontas

Among the most famous women in early American history, Pocahontas is credited with helping the struggling English settlers survive. This resource is from a collection of biographies of famous women. It is provided by the National Women's History Museum, and may include links to supplemental materials including lesson plans about the subject and related topics, links to related biographies, and "works cited" pages. The biographies are sponsored by Susan D. Whiting.

Material Type: Reading

Author: National Women's History Museum