Electronic Resources

Listed below are links to electronic resources that explore and provide additional information on the Manuscript Division's and the Library of Congress's women's history collections, including relevant online exhibitions, more research guides in the American Women series, and related event videos.

Virtual Exhibits Highlighting American Women

Suffragists demonstrating against Woodrow Wilson in Chicago, October 20, 1916.

Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote – This exhibition tells the story of the seventy-two-year campaign for women’s suffrage.

Tells the story of the seventy-two-year campaign for women’s suffrage. Considered the largest reform movement in American history, its participants believed that securing the vote was essential to achieving women’s economic, social, and political equality. For years, determined women organized, lobbied, paraded, petitioned, lectured, picketed, and faced imprisonment. Their collective story is one of courage, perseverance, savvy, creativity, and hope that continues to inspire activists today.

Rosa Parks seated and peering over back of a chair.

Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words – Offering an intimate view of Rosa Parks, this exhibition showcases rarely seen materials that document her life and activism.

Showcases rarely seen materials that offer an intimate view of Rosa Parks and documents her life and activism—creating a rich opportunity for viewers to discover new dimensions to their understanding of this seminal figure. The materials are drawn extensively from the Rosa Parks Collection, a gift to the Library of Congress from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.

Margaret Mead standing between two Samoan girls, circa 1926.

Margaret Mead: Human Nature and the Power of Culture – This exhibition documents Mead’s life, her career as an anthropologist, and the critical reception of her work.

Documents Mead’s life, her career as an anthropologist, and the critical reception of her work by drawing upon the 500,000–item Mead Collection, one of the Library’s largest collections for a single individual.

Marvin Breckinridge at work in Holland, 1940.

Women Come to the Front: Jouranlists, Photographers, and Broadcasters During WWII – An exhibition featuring women journalists who were chosen because of the strength and variety of their collections at the Library of Congress.

Features women journalists who were chosen because of the strength and variety of their collections in the Library. Like their male counterparts, the women followed various paths to their wartime assignments.

Ray Eames holding up dot pattern fabric design, circa 1947.

The Works of Charles and Ray Eames: A Legacy of Invention – Exploring how this famous couple shaped America’s culture in the twentieth century, this exhibition features the Library's rich collection of Eames materials.

Explores how this famous couple shaped America’s culture in the twentieth century. Charles and Ray Eames’s work represented defining moments in American history, such as the economy’s shift from making goods to producing information.

More Research Guides in the American Women Series

American Women: A Guide to Women's History Resources at the Library of Congress – This research guide gathers together all of the topical guides and essays that tell the stories of women in America.

The Library's unique and diverse collections are rich with resources for the study of women's history. This research guide gathers together a collection of topical guides and essays that tell the stories of women in America.

American Women: Topical Essays – A more in-depth exploration of particular events of significance in women's history, including the 1913 woman suffrage parade, the campaign for the equal rights amendment, and more.

Part of the American Women series, these essays provide a more in-depth exploration of particular events of significance in women's history, including the 1913 woman suffrage parade, the campaign for the equal rights amendment, and more.

American Women: Resources from the American Folklife Center – This research guide highlights ethnographic materials at the Library of Congress related to women's history in the United States.

Part of the American Women Series, this research guide highlights ethnographic materials at the Library of Congress related to women's history in the United States.

American Women: Resources from the General Collections – This research guide highlights primary and secondary sources from the Library's general collections about American women's history.

The General Collections of the Library of Congress constitute most of the books and bound periodicals published since 1800. Part of the American Women series, this research guide highlights primary and secondary sources about American women's history.

American Women: Resources from the Geography and Map Collections – This research guide highlights cartographic materials at the Library of Congress related to women's history in the United States.

Part of the American Women Series, this research guide highlights cartographic materials at the Library of Congress related to women's history in the United States.

American Women: Resources from the Law Library – This research guide provides access to digital collections and related resources regarding the legal rights of women in the United States.

Part of the American Women Series, this research guide provides access to digital collections and related resources regarding the legal rights of women in the United States.

American Women: Resources from the Moving Image Collections – This guide focuses on resources on and about women from the Moving Image Section of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division.

Part of the American Women series, this guide focuses on resources on and about women from the Moving Image Section of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division.

American Women: Resources from the Performing Arts Collections – This guide highlights collections in the Music Division that document the lives and work of significant women in music, theater, and dance.

Part of the American Women Series, this guide highlights collections and resources in the Music Division that document the lives and work of significant women in music, theater, and dance.

American Women: Resources from the Prints & Photographs Collections – This guide highlights collections relating to women's history in the Library's collections of photographs, prints, drawings, and architectural documentation.

Part of the American Women series, this guide highlights collections and tips for finding images relating to American women's history in the Library of Congress' pictorial collections of photographs, prints, drawings, and architectural documentation.

American Women: Resources from the Rare Book and Special Collections – This guide highlights the rare book holdings related to women's history and demonstrates the richness and variety of these resources.

Part of the American Women series, this guide highlights the rare book holdings related to U.S. women's history, demonstrates the richness and variety of these resources, and points out some of the division's contemporary holdings and unique treasures.

American Women: Resources from the Recorded Sound Collections – This guide highlights demonstrates the richness and variety of audio resources in the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division.

Part of the American Women series, this guide highlights the Library’s audio collections related to U.S. women's history and demonstrates the richness and variety of these resources in the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division.

American Women: Resources from the Serial & Government Publications Collections – This guide highlights the Library's collections of newspapers, current periodicals, government publications, comic books, and more.

Part of the American Women series, this guide highlights the Library's collections of current and retrospective newspapers, current periodicals, government publications, and several special holdings of a serial nature, such as comic books.

Event Videos

Many lectures, readings, symposia, and other events related to the Manuscript Division's collections are made available as video files through the Library of Congress Web site. These events, held virtually and in person at the Library of Congress, provide opportunities to see and hear discussions by Library of Congress staff and visiting speakers on topics that often intersect with the history and culture of American women. Some examples of these event recordings, listed chronologically, are as follows:

Patsy Takemoto Mink: First Woman of Color in Congress (event date: May 4, 2022)
In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month, Judy Tzu-Chun Wu and Gwendolyn Mink join us to discuss their new biography of Congresswoman Mink, "Fierce and Fearless: Patsy Takemoto Mink, First Woman of Color in Congress". Dr. Wu is a Professor of Asian American Studies and Director of the Humanities Center at the University of California, Irvine, and Dr. Mink, Patsy's daughter, is a noted political science scholar and first-hand witness to the many political struggles that her mother had to overcome. Their book provides vivid details of how trailblazer Patsy Takemoto Mink changed the future of American politics.
Rediscovering Eleanor Roosevelt (event date: March 18, 2021)
David Michaelis' new book "Eleanor" is a biography of America's longest-serving first lady. Much of its research was conducted in the Library's Manuscript Division, including the papers of the NAACP and the National Women's Trade League, as well as the personal papers of Kermit and Belle Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. and Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, second wife of President Wilson. Colleen Shogan, senior vice president and director of the David M. Rubenstein Center at the White House Historical Association, will talk to Michaelis and Manuscript Division staff about the book and its creation.
Searching for Suffrage at the Library (event date: March 9, 2021)
In honor of Women's History Month, Kimberly A. Hamlin discusses her new book, "Free Thinker: Sex, Suffrage and the Extraordinary Life of Helen Hamilton Gardener." The book details Gardener's life as a "fallen woman," who confronted restrictive social mores at an early age, and tracks her growing activism for women's rights that culminated in the passage of the 19th Amendment and her appointment by President Wilson as the highest ranking female civil servant in the federal government.
100 Years of Women Voting Symposium (event dates: August 27 - October 1, 2020) External
100 Years of Women Voting was hosted by the United States Capitol Historical Society, sponsored by the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, and made possible by the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission.
Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote (Webinar for Teachers) (event date: May 20, 2020)
The Library exhibition "Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote" tells the story of the largest reform movement in American history with documents, photographs and scrapbooks from a diverse group of women who changed political history 100 years ago. Many suffragists donated their personal collections to the national library so that their stories would be remembered. The exhibition is part of the national commemoration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment in 2019 and 2020. Manuscript Division Chief Janice Ruth and historian Elizabeth Novara describe the creation of the exhibition and highlight online primary sources related to that topic. Novara also demonstrates "By the People," a crowdsourced transcription project, to encourage teachers to use with their students.
The 19th Amendment at 100: A Conversation with Judy Perry Martinez (event date: March 11, 2020)
In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Law Librarian of Congress Jane Sanchez interviews American Bar Association President Judy Perry Martinez on the impact of the fight for women's voting rights. The curator for "Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote," Janice Ruth, gave a tour of the exhibition's highlights.
Rosa Parks In Her Own Words: Exhibition Opening (event date: December 4, 2019)
Rosa Parks, the civil rights icon made famous for her refusal to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in December 1955, is often mischaracterized as a quiet seamstress, with little attention paid to her full life story. A new Library of Congress exhibition, "Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words," reveals the real Rosa Parks was a seasoned activist with a militant spirit forged over decades of challenging inequality and injustice. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, Rep, John Lewis & other dignitaries formally opened the exhibition to the public.
Rosa Parks In Her Own Words: Press Preview (event date: December 4, 2019)
Rosa Parks, the civil rights icon made famous for her refusal to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in December 1955, is often mischaracterized as a quiet seamstress, with little attention paid to her full life story. A new Library of Congress exhibition, "Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words," reveals the real Rosa Parks was a seasoned activist with a militant spirit forged over decades of challenging inequality and injustice. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and Library staff host an introduction to the exhibition to media and selected guests in advance of the public opening.
100 Years of Women Voting (event date: November 12, 2019)
Christina Wolbrecht, co-author of the 2016 book "Counting Women's Ballots: Female Voters from Suffrage through the New Deal," joins Jane Junn, of the University of Southern California and the Library's Colleen Shogan for a discussion of 100 years of women voting, in connection with the Library's exhibition "Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote."
Exhibition Opening: "Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote" (event date: June 4, 2019)
On June 4, 1919, Congress, by joint resolution, approved the woman's suffrage amendment and sent it to the states for ratification. On the 100th anniversary of that date, the Library of Congress celebrated the opening night of a new exhibition "Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote." Handwritten letters, speeches, photographs and scrapbooks, created by American suffragists who persisted for more than 70 years to win voting rights for women, were featured in this exhibition that told the story of the largest reform movement in American history with documents and artifacts from the women who changed political history 100 years ago.
Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote Exhibition Media Preview (event date: May 30, 2019)
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden formally opens "Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote," a new exhibition that features artifacts and documents from the women who changed political history 100 years ago during the struggle for women's suffrage. The exhibition highlights records from the personal collections of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone and others in an effort to explore the stories of dozens of diverse women who shaped the suffrage movement and made history. Key items of the exhibit include the Declaration of Rights for Women, the "Declaration of Sentiments," images and film footage of political activity and an interactive display on suffragists who helped win the vote state by state. The exhibit is part of a yearlong initiative in 2019 inviting visitors to explore America's changemakers.
Rosa Parks Collection: Telling Her Story at the Library of Congress (event date: February 4, 2016)
This video contains highlights from the collection and a look behind the scenes at how the Library's team of experts in cataloging, preservation, digitization, exhibition and teacher training are making the legacy of Rosa Parks available to the world.
President Warren Harding's Love Letters (event date: July 22, 2014)
A collection of approximately 1,000 pages of love letters between 29th U.S. President Warren G. Harding and his mistress, Carrie Fulton Phillips, is examined. Historian James D. Robenalt and archivist Karen Linn Femia shared their impressions about the Harding-Phillips correspondence and what they reveal about Harding's character and political views; his relationship with his wife; and implications for national security during World War I, given Phillips' German partisanship. Manuscript Division Chief James Hutson moderated the discussion and Dr. Richard Harding, a grandnephew of the president, described the family's reaction to the opening of the president's personal correspondence.
Ellen & Edith: Woodrow Wilson's First Ladies (event date: March 30, 2011)
The wives of Woodrow Wilson were strikingly different from each other. Ellen Axson Wilson, quiet and intellectual, died after just a year and a half in the White House and is thought to have had little impact on history. Edith Bolling Wilson was flamboyant and confident but left a legacy of controversy. Kristie Miller discusses them, the subject of her new book.
My Dear President: Letters Between Presidents and Their Wives (event date: March 30, 2006)
Library of Congress manuscript historian Gerard Gawalt discussed his new book "My Dear President: Letters Between Presidents and Their Wives," in a program sponsored by the Center for the Book. Published by the Library of Congress in association with Black Dog & Leventhal, this compelling anthology draws upon the Library's vast collections of presidential papers to open a unique window into the special husband-wife relationships of our first families. Through 184 letters, telegrams and cables, "My Dear President" offers an intimate look into the private lives of American presidents and their wives--from George and Martha Washington to Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton--during courtship and marriage, in times of joy and times of sorrow, in wartime and in peace.
First Daughters: Letters Between U.S. Presidents and Their Daughters (event date: October 27, 2004)
Gerard W. Gawalt of the Library's Manuscript Division and his daughter Ann G. Gawalt discussed their new book "First Daughters: Letters Between U.S. Presidents and Their Daughters" in a program sponsored by the Center for the Book. "This compelling anthology draws on the Library's vast collections of presidential papers, as well as those of other presidential libraries and private libraries, to open a unique window into the special familiar relationships of our first families," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. The latest in a long list of Library of Congress publications from the personal papers of America's presidents (the Library of Congress holds the papers of 23 American presidents from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge), "First Daughters" includes many letters being published for the first time as well as photographs and original artwork.
Resourceful Women: Researching and Interpreting American Women's History (event date: June 19-20, 2003)
This symposium highlighted current research in the field of American women's history, showcased the Library's magnificent multiformat holdings, and explored in particular the sources and methodologies being used by academic scholars, filmmakers, journalists, theatrical performers, museum curators, children's book authors, and others who are uncovering and presenting the story of American women's experiences to a variety of audiences. The panelists, reflecting the diversity of the Library's researchers, described interesting sources and where to find them, discussed new and creative ways of interpreting familiar sources, contemplated the effects of the electronic revolution on women's history research, and suggested how the nation's library can sustain and promote cutting-edge research in the field of women's history.
Women's Activism and Social Change: Documenting the Lives of Margaret Sanger and Jane Addams (event date: March 24, 2003)
Documentary editors Esther Katz, editor-in-chief of the Margaret Sanger Papers Project at New York University, and Mary Lynn McCree Bryan, editor-in-chief of the Jane Addams Papers Project at Duke University, discuss "Women's Activism and Social Change: Documenting the Lives of Margaret Sanger and Jane Addams". The program also includes opening remarks by John Cole, director of the Center for the Book, and an introduction by Janice E. Ruth, American women's history specialist, Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
The Interplay of Cultures: Margaret Mead Symposium (event date: December 3-4, 2001)
The Institute for Intercultural Studies of New York, in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress, presented an interactive symposium to explore contributions of history and the behavioral sciences to understanding the cultures of rivals, adversaries, ourselves and our present and future allies.

American Women: Resources from the Manuscript Collections

Manuscripts: Ask a Librarian