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Woman finally speaks up.
Anne Hutchinson demands that women be allowed to speak in church and is banished from her church as a result. -
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Schools for Women.
More than 250 Academies for Girls open in North Carolina during this time period. These institutions were open to white students. -
Patents for Women.
Ethel H. Porter, of Lincolnton, patents her invention related to cutting feed for horses and cattle. This was the first known patent issued to a North Carolina woman. -
Women's Rights Movement.
The world’s first women's rights convention is held in Seneca Falls, New York. A Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions is debated and ultimately signed by 68 women and 32 men, setting the agenda for the women's rights movement that follows. -
Breaking clothing stereotypes.
Elizabeth Smith Miller appears on the streets of Seneca Falls, New York, in "turkish trousers," soon to be known as "bloomers." -
Women as Ministers.
Antoinette Brown becomes the first American woman ordained as a minister in a Protestant denomination, serving two First Congregational Churches in New York. -
New constitutions leading to change.
The North Carolina legislature passes a new constitution that grants women the right to own property and businesses, to work for their own wages, to sue in courts, to make wills, and to make contracts without their husbands' consent. -
Suffrage laws being passed.
The first woman suffrage law in the United States passes in the territory of Wyoming. -
New divorce law benefits.
Two-thirds of divorce cases are initiated by wives. A century earlier, most women lack the right to sue, and many are hopelessly locked into bad marriages. -
Women take on new jobs.
During World War I, women move into many jobs, working in heavy industry, mining, chemical manufacturing, and automobile and railway plants. They also run streetcars, conduct trains, direct traffic, and deliver mail. In North Carolina, women contributed in a myriad of ways. -
Women in Government.
Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress as a member of the House of Representatives. -
Amendments against women.
The North Carolina General Assembly ratifies the Nineteenth Amendment after 51 years.